The growing influence of consumer opinion and the trend towards outcomes-based market conduct regulation means organisations can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to social media.
At the time, some executives may have considered the online chatter as innocuous grumblings from digital nobodies. Things have changed though. The Momentum debacle illustrated social media’s growing influence as a court of public opinion that determines — far more than any ombudsman — what is, and is not, fair. After mounting public outrage online, Momentum announced that it would reverse its initial decision and amend its policies, despite the ombudsman siding with the insurer.
When Vodacom changed its tune on these charges in February 2019, Business Day’s editorial highlighted that “the most interesting thing about the Vodacom saga is what it says about a new risk that companies have to navigate, and how so many have been found wanting”. The editorial concluded that “Vodacom’s announcement that it would review the roll over fees stemmed from consumer ire on Twitter and not due to regulatory pressure”.