Your customers and numerous clients are chatting about you whether you fancy it or not. Guess what? People are taking note!
There are thousands of review sites such as yelp.com, insiderpages.com, maps.google.com, citysearch.com, and local.yahoo.com that are constantly being updated by user reviews. As a business owner, not only should you monitor these sites, but also see what people are saying about you on Twitter and Facebook. The new word of mouth has become the “tweet”, “the click and post”, and the online forum where people vent or praise.
You have to take charge of your online reputation. It’s crucial for you to obtain tech savoir-faire and get yourself tangled in social media and a mixture of various online forums. The Opinion Research Corporation, a global market research firm founded in 1938, recently published a survey stating that nearly 83% of Americans glance at the online reviews of a business and most likely base their verdict on whether to make an appearance at the business from the assessment.
Recently, there were companies who posted fictitious reviews to endorse their business in an unscrupulous fashion. In mid-2009, Belkin, a manufacturer of audio, video, and computer accessories, was caught red-handed. Their business development representative, Mark Bayard hired people to write & post positive reviews. The latest perpetrator was DeLonghi, a espresso & coffee machine manufacturer. In July, 2009, the The Wall Street Journal reported that an Atlanta lawyer noticed that a user named “T. Carpenter” was constantly posting positive reviews on DeLonghi products. After several emails and phone calls, the truth was uncovered. One can only imagine the discomfiture these companies experienced once they were exposed.
The motto is…the preeminent way to get a dignified review is to provide superb service.
