Drivers for Big Data? - Big Data Analytics: Disruptive Technologies for Changing the Game - page 8

expectations, and disappointments with small and large social groups. Unlike
email and text, the conversations are on the Web for others to read, either now or
later.
So far, we have been dealing only with single forms of communication.
The next sets of sources combine information from more than one media. For
example, Facebook conversations involve a number of media, including text,
sound clips, photos, and video. Second world and alternate reality are becom-
ing interesting avenues for trying out product ideas in a simulated world where
product usage can be experimented with.
We often need experts to help us sort out product features and how they
relate to our product usage. A large variety of experts are available today to help
us with usage, quality, pricing, and value-related information about products.
A number of marketers are encouraging advisor or ambassador programs using
social media sites. These selected customers get a preview of new products and
actively participate in evaluating and promoting new products. At the end of the
day, people we know and trust sway our decisions. This is the biggest contribu-
tion of social networks. They have brought consumers together such that sharing
customer experiences is now far more frequent than ever before.
How would a consumer deal with a poor service quality experience? Figure
2.1 shows typical behaviors in mature and emerging markets as studied by an
IBM Global Telecom Consumer Survey conducted with a sample size of 10,177. 7
In this survey, 78 percent of the consumers surveyed in the mature markets said
they avoid providers with whom friends or family had bad experience. The
percentage was even higher (87 percent) in growth markets. In response to a
Source: 2011 IBM Global Telecom Consumer Survey, Global N = 10177; Mature Countries N = 7875
Figure 2.1: Behaviors in response to poor service quality experience