Consumers are talking !! Are brands listening?

Every now and then I like to dish out some basic stuff. Today is one of those "Now and Then" moments

While discussing Marketing 2.0 with a fellow brand manager, I was dishing out some of the regular stuff on Web 2.0, the conversation age, how to get consumers to talk and more importantly why you should encourage conversation with the consumer.

A simple question asked goes like this - Till a few years ago, the marketing team of any organization controlled any mass communication on the product, why will the brand manager encourage consumers to talk when he is unsure of what they will say.

How can control be established over the brand communication. How can one message be communicated to all.

It is not as easy as it was in a non interactive media world. TV, Radio and Press lent themselves to consistent messaging. The internet is more complex, banner advertising can have a single message but how can conversation which is supposed to be breed further conversation also be controlled?

Initial thoughts suggest that marketers have no choice but to track conversations using a number of tools. The most obvious tool is google alerts followed by technorati for tracking blog conversation. Another useful tool for tracking conversations especially on twitter is Summize. Tracking is insufficient, you need to participate too.


What would you suggest? How do you track conversation on the net and what would you do to control it? Would you control it at all?

Update: Get Satisfaction allows you to express your love and hate for a company and even encourages companies to get involved with their consumers. A tool which every company should use.