The voice of the customer. Social platforms give brands the ability to listen to what the customer wants and needs. But after reading a Susannah Edelbaum post on fashion biz blog The High Low, I found myself asking:

Is it possible for brands to rely too heavily on the voice of the customer?

She presents the case of designer Nicola Formichetti, whose recent 2^nd collection received tepid reviews from the pro design world. Susannah suggests the social media savvy designer hasn’t appeared highly concerned about the ho-hum pro reviews, perhaps because he places more emphasis on what bloggers and online fans think. She notes, “…for a stylist who just recently made the leap into designing, heeding both amateur and professional feedback would be wise.”

It’s not hard to imagine what are more probable—but similar—situations for most businesses, such as a decision maker who launches big-time changes in response to one bad review, or a manager who disciplines a star employee based on a single and unverified complaint posted on Twitter. The voice of the customer is critical, but so is reasoned and objective analysis of the data that takes the big picture into consideration.

What do you think?