Information: the source of all power in this day and age. The gatekeepers of information have been able to control its flow and access over millennia and as such, decide how power is distributed.

This is what the companies of the old world knew. This is how they developed their empires. The consumer was the slave, born in the bondage of capitalism.  The organisation, the dark lord which possessed the ring of power.

In the old world, information, like time, was one directional.

This world has come crumbling down. We have witnessed the revolution that the power of information-sharing, collaborating, influencing and engaging can bring. And this unlimited power source is wholly owned by its creators, its sharers, its spreaders and its controllers – today’s consumer.

Last week, I exercised my right as a consumer to battle not one, but two, of Australia’s big banks. David beat Goliath with a stone. My weapon of choice – Social Media.

In summary, my funds were transferred (by me) into an invalid account. Sure this was my fault. But when this happens, surely basic customer service dictates that companies, especially banks, should not abandon their customers.

After a couple of phone calls to each bank, I was told my funds were in limbo by both banks. No one wanted to claim responsibility. Furthermore, neither bank was pro-active in helping me, their loyal customer.

As such, I turned to Social Media. Not as a form of attack, but rather a test. I wanted to see how well both banks would stand against one single consumer in the big bad world. So why did I choose Social Media?

Social Media is fast becoming a large part of many companies’ marketing strategy. Why? Because this is where their consumers are. They are not in front of a TV awaiting a one directional message to be beamed into their lounge room in the form of an advertisement. They are hunting for information, growing ever more hungrier and feeding off any data they can find online about brands, products, services, companies etc.

As such, companies, crippled at the knees, have bowed down and been forced to be open, transparent and provide as much information as possible to the ever more knowledgeable consumer. If this consumer hunger for information is not satisfied, the company is easily passed over, as the consumer finds the next company that can satisfy their needs.

But the consumer does not stop at sourcing information. This was the dawn of the internet age. We now live in the age of attention, where this information is interchanged. This information is shared. This digital currency can make or break companies with 140 characters. The power of the digital opinion is now mightier than the pen and sword combined.

Common sense dictates that each company would have some form of Social Media presence, monitoring and engaging. Why? Because if something goes wrong, the consumer now has the technology to spread this negative PR globally at incredible speeds. Social Media and the internet have now armed the consumer with Zeus’s lightning. Social Media has now shifted the power from companies to the consumer.

Companies need to be able to not only react quickly, but also to become more pro-actively engaged in online conversations, in developing relationships with their consumers and in staying ahead of trend bubbles, which rise and pop at immense speeds. Yesterday’s fad was a lifetime ago, tomorrows sensation could be the difference between a million and a billion dollars. It’s explosive and the zenith continues to climb!

I turned to Social Media not only to directly confront these two banks in a public forum, but also to share my experiences with anyone else who feels the same way. Sure, this may have not have happened to other consumers, but the thought of it happening was enough for them to join the conversation and also to express their opinion about it.

My experience provided me with two different approaches that these companies took with their social media. One bank just scraped through to keep me as their customer. The other, well, let’s just say after a lifetime of banking with them, they have lost a long-term promoter of their company.

Let’s begin with the everyday bank. Even though I stated their name in my posts and used hashtags on twitter, never did I hear from them. To them, I am a single drop in the ocean, and one they are happy to live without.

How could such a huge organisation let negative publicity slip past? How could they allow such comments to be distributed across the internet for thousands to read? If I were to place an ad in the paper with my comments, would this company still allow it to occur, or would they counter-attack with their own ad?

There is only one thing worse than negative publicity, and that’s not managing it at all. This company indulged in the cardinal sin of social media by allowing the issue to slip past as they slept through the night, living the Stepford dream that their customers are the happiest people in the world.

The online bank however, did engage using social media. Did they do it in a way that their customer was happy? No. But 10 points for attempting. I at least have respect for that. Sure, they might have a training issue when it comes to their Social Media usage, but at least they are using Social Media.

The issue with the online bank was that their social media representative made an assumption that they understood their industry more than their consumer. However, one should never underestimate the knowledge and power of the consumer, especially in a world where information freely flows.

Just because a company is using Social Media does not mean they need to abuse this use by assuming they still hold all the information. This old method of one-way communication was not what I was looking for.  Rather, I was asking the bank to use social media to turn my bad experience into a positive issue for the bank.

It finally took the founder of the bank and the current general manager to provide me with a personalised, accountable service with a solution. Yes, I got my money back the next day. Yes, the online bank’s general manager was helpful. But did I really have to go to such extremes? Shouldn’t the Social Media representative have been able to provide me with this service to begin with?

Some lessons for companies from a digital consumer’s point of view:

1. Definitely have a Social Media presence that is being monitored, engaging and pro-active. There are a multitude of free online tools which any business can use and utilise to listen carefully. If companies want to make a real investment, there are some great software purchases which will help fine tune this to the business’s core needs.

2. Just because you’re in Social Media, don’t assume you know everything. Information is now exchanged at rates faster than you can imagine, and sharing, collaborating and interacting now form part of that information. The quickest solution to this is to be as transparent as you can with your customers.

3. Do not underestimate the power of the Digital Opinion. Word of mouth information is many folds more trustworthy, and moves at faster speeds around the globe due to our hyper connections.

This is where these two companies failed their consumer. This is where I now have the power to spread my information about my experience to other consumers to ensure they are not treated in the same manner. This is the power shift from the business to the consumer in the digital age of attention. And most importantly this is the power of Social Media.

Naturally, I will ask you to Enjoy + Share.