A Blog Is Changing The Way General Motors Interacts With Its Customers And Enthusiasts
Sep 15, 2008
Blogs may not revolutionize organizations or change the competitive dynamism in any way. But they do revolutionize the way we communicate. How is it so, you can find out from the following instance:
Bob Lutz joined GM (General Motors) as Vice Chairman for Product Development in the year 2001 and after three years of his tenure in GM, he found things weren’t moving as desired. Customers were not showing interest in GM’s new product lines, nor were the critics interested in making pronouncements about what’s hot in the auto industries. Bob, being a dynamic and articulate communicator was finding it difficult to drive across his message to the masses. Bob was looking for a way to openly interact with the people who were still willing to listen to GM’s message.
His desperate thinking resulted in the launch of a blog by the name FastLane, where the initial entries were tout but the blog’s first post received 121 comments from the readers. The entries were a mix of criticism and positive feedback. Seeing the response, Bob continued penning posts with different titles on a regular basis. He was glad to find a technology that allowed his innate desire to communicate. After four months into blogging, Bob wrote:
“What began as an experiment has become an important means of communication for GM. It has given me, personally, an opportunity to get much closer with you, the public. Often, I find your comments insightful and compelling. At times your criticism is harsh. But the fact that you have remained interested and continue to have faith in our efforts to develop great products is a worthy motivator.”
Now GM does not depend on auto industry trade magazines or TV commercial ads alone to communicate with customers, dealers, or even their employees and investors. GM has a direct channel where he can react quickly to news items, criticisms and even float new ideas to have public reactions. What more – blogs offer a side benefit where every post gets about hundreds of comments, allowing new ideas to generate!
Posted by Amrit Hallan | Tags: business blogging
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