We all know about the fanatical brand allegiance Apple computer users used to have for the company’s products back in the Steve Jobs (News - Alert) days.

While few companies can achieve the level of brand allegiance Apple enjoys, they still would be mindful to focus strongly on customer experience. Roughly 80 percent of a brand’s revenue comes from loyal customers on average, according to newBrandAnalytics.

What’s more, that same percentage of customers said they share negative customer experiences online. So it isn’t just that happy customers are the bread and butter of commerce, it also is true in the days of social media that unhappy customers can be a big thorn in the side of business.

Increasingly, brands are being controlled less by marketers and more by customers.

Roughly 79 percent of consumers reported that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, according to an infographic by newBrandAnalytics. What’s more, 44 percent of these buyers said online reviews are the single most important factor when deciding what to buy.

The way to make buyers happy is obvious from the feedback on social media. According to the infographc by newBrandAnalytics, 45 percent of the comments in reviews are service-related. This is higher than the 33 percent of comments that are product-related, and dwarfs the percentage of comments about price and value (12 percent) and facilities (6 percent).

So customer service is key.

The numbers also bear this out. About 54 percent of outperforming organizations are deeply collaborative with customers, according to newBrandAnalytics, and a relatively small 1 percent increase in connections with online reviewers can result in between 11 percent and 25 percent increase in overall online sentiment.

Clearly, it pays to be present online and in social media when it comes to corporate brands. If that wasn’t clear, newBrandAnalytics found that 54 percent of consumers want to be able to communicate with companies via social media, and half of all customers expect replies on Twitter (News - Alert) from a company when its brand is the subject of a post.

Striking, 34 percent of these negative comments were removed after the person was engaged online with the brand.

Customers are telling us what they want. We just have to listen and act accordingly.