During class the idea of how the Mackenzie Customer Decision Journey highlights the impact consumers can have on a brand and product after purchasing a product by spreading their experiences to friends and followers through social media.  These experiences can be good or bad depending on the experience the customer during and after purchasing the product.

While harsh criticism from customers about a company’s products may be hard for employees to hear, the opinions that are raised can be constructive and useful.  For example, elements of the criticism can be used to improve products and tailor distribution channels to fit consumer’s preferences, ultimately creating positive value for the company and customers alike.  However, what is not useful is criticism written by “artificial writers”, or people who are employed by competitors to write negative news about a certain company in hopes that the news will go viral.  Another danger of “artificial writers” is that the content they create could be picked up while mining for social media insights, causing marketers to come to the wrong conclusion about consumer’s behavior and brand preferences.  In order to avoid gathering incorrect data, companies need to identify if the source of negative comments are coming directly form a consumer or from a competitor.