Phil Windley points out how customers have a lot more power than they did just a few short years ago:

The truth of the matter is that your customers are probably talking about your company right now. You can't control what they say. That's leaves two options: ignore what they're saying or join the conversations. The first option probably isn't good for business. How can you be part of the conversation?

His example involved a customer recording of a conversation with a service rep - which then got posted to the net. Word of Mouth advertising has always been viral, but it's been amplified by the net. A decade ago, you had to rely on someone in media picking a story up. Now, you mostly don't. That's tilted the balance of power more towards the customer, and a lot of companies are still trying to figure that out. The long tail can act like a scorpion's tail if you ignore it.

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