An intriguing yet perfectly understandable situation. You and the stranger share something in common; both of you have used the same product and therefore share the same experience. You both feel satisfied, affected and sometimes even cheated by the same brand/business/person.

In one way, you have created a bond, a common significant action, with a total stranger unknowingly. What does this mean? Well, corporate/brand websites are losing their grip on controlling brand influence. But it also means that there are many other online channels that are now much more effective in building trust and confidence, such as email, reviews and rating sites and social networking spaces.

How the world has changed! Being without one’s mobile phone/PDA/netbook is as bad as being locked in a claustrophobic cookie jar (minus the cookies, of course). People are less apprehensive and reluctant to share their views, especially when they can do it in the comfort of privacy or even a cloaked identity.

Today, people can interact on so many levels, such as short messaging system (SMS), email and blogs, photo sharing, video sharing and of course, plain old talking (yes, phones still do that too).

People want to know when somebody’s messed up, but nobody cares if it’s business as usual (that’s why people watch the news, after all). And now we have so many ways of saying it, especially online. There are no longer any restrictions on what to say or when to say it. If somebody is unhappy, they can do considerable damage to you. Just a couple of decades ago, anyone who wanted to broadcast a TV programme needed a licence from the government. Today, all you need is a handycam and YouTube.

Paper, in its many forms, communicate. So does the Internet. We immediately think of a website when we talk about the Internet, when there’s so much more. Email messages, mobile apps and messaging, electronic direct mailers all are within the Internet fold.

Even among websites, there are so many uses it’s difficult to generalise. People use the Internet to play games, email, do their banking, search and research, purchase products, plan their holidays and so much more.

Music, animation and video are all playing a bigger role in the communication process. There’s a sense of immediacy and urgency required in mobile communications that’s just not necessary in the home or office.

Don’t stress them out by asking too many questions or making them deal with umpteen pages of forms and options. Or worse, give them a site that doesn’t work as expected. Many businesses fail by not having the right planning or strategy at the start. Know how to handle enquiries as they come in from your website, and how to follow through a prospect or order effectively.

For example, should it manage inventories or be asked to accept payment? Can it offer you useful information on how your customers behave and what their preferences are? Being online is all about getting the biggest bang for your buck, so make your website work hard for its money.

Users are more accurately classified based on where they spend their time, how much they engage in conversation and what they talk about. A good segmentation strategy will identify who your audience is, their habits and patterns and what they are likely to buy. Measurability, after all, is one of the most important selling points of the Internet. This approach saves a lot of time and money.

The first purchase is merely the start of what will hopefully be a lasting relationship, as the customer and brand interact regularly throughout its life-cycle and (hopefully) when the time comes to replace/upgrade. A strong customer relationship management process and system will help brands understand their customers better and build loyalty in the long run.

l. People are talking behind your back. Remember the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes? There are important parallels to be drawn with social media and marketing. As a brand owner, nobody is likely to give you a completely honest and unbiased opinion on your product. But people are more likely to have genuine conversations amongst themselves.

Social media provides people a platform to share and compare personal experiences, and monitoring this space helps you listen to what people are saying, good or bad, about your product.

● The writer is CEO of Aquanova Digital Malaysia.