Recently,while monitoring Twitter I discovered a thread from a person working at a large customer; he was asking questions about alternative solutions to one of our products.

I reached out to the account team and informed them of this conversation; they jumped all over it and quickly found out this person was “just” a systems admin. A comment I got back was “We have executive sponsorship, so we are good.”

This comment made me realize there is a fundamental mindset shift that needs to occur. The shift is to understand and embrace the role of “The New Influencer” and to realize that a single person can shape the perception of your brand at a moment's notice.

These “systems administrators” are likely some of the most connected in the organization, understand the power of a tribe and how to mobilize it. They will organize grass roots support and build a persuasive argument for why things need to change.

If you are of the mindset that your product is secure because you have top down support, I encourage you to monitor the conversations taking place about your products and services. Here is a great post on a variety of tools that will give you an idea of how many are talking, what are they about and what is the tone of the dialog.

There will be a high price to pay for ignoring these conversations and thinking everything is ok because you have a small group of supporters. The price could be that you find yourself being replaced by another solution.