Don’t Just Relate—Advocate!: A Blueprint for Profit in the Era of Customer Power

Chapter 2. The Internet Creates Customer Power

It is perhaps not too surprising that the Internet has become such an important factor in our lives. The unexpected aspect of the Internet is not that people will use the Internet for purchasing, but that it has fundamentally changed the relationship between customers and companies. The Internet has generated a phenomenal growth in customer power. The Internet is to business in the 2000s what TV was to business in the 1950s. TV produced branding and promotion—the critical ingredients for traditional marketing and advocacy. The Internet is producing Customer Power—the critical driver of trust-based marketing. This chapter builds on the ideas summarized in the first chapter of this book. After reviewing ...