Consumers' use of web video to dramatize their complaints is outstanding news for consumers. It gives them a big increase in bargaining power with companies that have done them wrong. That's because a catchy video could spread virally around the world. This feature is something that a letter written to a company's CEO could never achieve.

It could also help out companies and their shareholders over the long run. How so? While they will garner more bad publicity as their foibles are zapped around the Internet, companies have two opportunities to benefit from such videos:

• Fix the problem and let people know. Companies with a sense of humor could show the consumer's complaint video and then pair it with a video showing how it resolved the problem. If a company demonstrates that it is willing to spend some money to fix legitimate consumer problems, its reputation could be enhanced.
• Re-engineer the processes that caused the problem. If a company uses a consumer complaint video as the spur to investigate and fix the source(s) of the problem within its own business processes, then the company's shareholders could ultimately benefit. That's because a business that makes fewer mistakes, generates fewer customer complaints and is likely to make more money. And re-engineering the business processes that lead to consumer complaints could achieve those very goals.

I would be surprised if many companies take advantage of the opportunities for improvement that consumer complaint videos present. But those few companies may be worth your investment.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Apple.