Let me ask one of the most popular business questions currently on the Net. Why does social media and Internet marketing matter for companies?

And the answer: Because your customers are using it. Granted, they may be using it to meet people, network and share, but one of the key things that they are also doing is influencing each other.

Case in point. I've got the Applebox blog in my RSS reader...smart, funny, entertaining and she loves cats so even if I didn't know her sister I would feel an affinity for much of what she writes about. Today I ran across a post she wrote about the Furminator. I was intrigued for several reasons.

1. She wrote glowingly about this crazy cat brush on her blog.
2. She described the Amazon reviews as "orgasmic," a term that may harken back to her witty post title but more importantly adequately describes the fervor by which the reviewers talked about how well this brush worked. As a company, wouldn't you love to see such gushing love for your product?
3. She was inspired to purchase the darn thing as a result of reading a review by one of the more famous bloggers, Dooce.

You might see where I'm going with this. One thing to keep in mind - I wasn't even looking for or even THINKING of buying a catbrush.

So at this point, I'm intrigued. Someone I trust has recommend a product and she points to many others who endorse the same product.

The steps I took to determine whether or not I really was going to buy this funny catbrush:

1. Scanned through the 284 (!!) positive reviews on Amazon. (Note that the dog version had well over 1,000 reviews!)
2. Did a quick websearch, mostly looking to see if I can find it for less than the $22 Amazon price, which seems like a lot for a brush.
3. See that there are a slew of YouTube links demonstrating the brush. Spend 15 minutes going oooh ahhh at all the fur that this brush seems to pull up.
4. I'm SOLD. But I'm still hung up on the $22 price so I go to NextTag and BizRate to search for a better price.
5. I determine that Amazon does indeed have one of the better prices plus since I have Prime I don't pay for shipping.
6. My husband suggests that we wait and see if the natural pet store we go to for Romeo's food has one, so we'll do that later today. If they don't have it, I'll just head back to Amazon.

One of the biggest take-aways from this, if you are reading, should be the realization that in this process,

I NEVER WENT TO THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE.

I've worked with companies that assume that, "well of course the customer will come to us FIRST to find out about our product! We don't need to worry about blogs or social media."

Maybe. But maybe not. The thing is, customers no longer need to rely on the company to find out about that same company's products and services. They can go to their peers, their network (asking questions on their blogs, Twitter, Facebook), search engines, YouTube, etcetera. The reason I am going to buy that FURminator catbrush is because I have the testimonies of the masses, not because I read some marketing jargon on the homepage of the FURminator Web site.

What does that mean for companies? It means that not only do you have to start thinking about how to create superior products that will engender such loving praise among buyers but that you need to listen to what people are saying around the Web. Be in those places where people are talking. Don't assume that your own company web site is the first place that a potential customer will go for information - it may be the second place or the third, or not at all. If that's the case, make sure you know what is out there...what the pros and cons are in the ongoing discussion. Use the Web to share additional information. Get your videos up on YouTube. Put whitepapers out wherever people will read them - not just on your Web site where they have to fill out a tedious sales form to get information (because remember, they don't even need to go to your site anymore so why would they bother filling out a form?). Participate in discussions on blogs and forums around the Web. Be visible and make it apparent that you are listening and that company policies and products are being shaped by what the consumers want. Look at the potential of the Web to build relationships. In a word, participate. Don't just sit back and assume that if you build it, they will come. Because with the Web, they may not have to.