Dream Systems Media Blog
[dreem sis-tuhms mee-dee-uh blog]
|
Check this out: Pat Robertson did such a good job at making an ass out of himself that in less then 24 hours Google is already suggesting easy ways to find his stupid comments about Haiti, and the earthquake. Great job Pat! Great job! You are such an inspiration.
Pat Robertson Reputation Nightmare
Pat Robertson Google Suggest from Mat Siltala on Vimeo.
It’s no secret, I love Yelp, and have been an active Yelper since April of 2008. I was reading a discussion on my local Yelp thread today about about a business going in and creating 9 different profiles, and submitting the same company (a computer repair service company – my guess was his) a 5 star review on each one. I get it, you want to try and game the system, figure out how to push the boundaries … but cmon’ that’s just damn stupid!
Not only did the accounts all get removed and banned from Yelp, but the business then proceeded to get real reviews, (for doing so) from real – active Yelpers – and trust me … they are not good. In less then a day, this idiot business owner has created himself a reputation management nightmare that will be very hard to overcome. Yelp ranks well, as he obviously knew, but what he failed to understand is why it ranks so well (much trust), and how the community works. These negative nasty reviews on his business listing (the real one finally – haha) will probably rank above his website, or close to it, and guess what? It’s always going to be there!
Today I read a post by Matt McGee – 5 Ways Negative Reviews Are Good For Business – I just want to expand on one of them here, but hat tip to Matt for posting this. It really is worth a read!
The point I want to take a closer look at here is: They help you make better business decisions.
You don’t set up a business hoping it receives tons of negative reviews. My guess is most (legitimate) business owners that have a ton of negative reviews are truly sad about them, and didn’t set up their business planning on getting them.
Where I think businesses do fail:
Can You Be Bought?
I am talking about reviews, and review sites. This is just something I was wondering if other people struggled with too, especially after an experience I had over the weekend that involved some really hard thinking about the subject. I am a huge fan of reviews and people giving their honest opinions, but I am also a huge fan of businesses doing everything they can to eliminate negative results and trying to remedy a problem.
I just don’t feel right about naming the business here (I am sure if you dug deep enough you could figure it out), but lets just put it this way – I did a pretty bad review (but 100% honest) because of an experience I had that was not good at all. It was a food place, and the actual owner of the place contacted me about the review and asked me if I would be willing to give his place a second chance? I want to make this clear – he never once asked me to take the review down, just to give his place a second chance. Here is the kicker though, he offered me a gift card that would cover the cost of my meal to try them again.
Search & Reputation Management – What do people find when they search for you by name? Is it negative? If so, what do you do? What can you do? Depending on the situation, there are a range of tactics that may help. This session explores the issue.
Moderator: Barry Smyth, Director, Search Strategies
Speakers:
Chris Bennett, President, 97th Floor
Leslie Carruthers, CEO and President, The Search Guru
Noah Elkin, Managing Partner, Steak
Bill Hartzer, Search Engine Marketing Manager, Vizion Interactive
NOTES:
Chris Bennett, 97th Floor SMX West 2009
Chris Bennett, President, 97th Floor
Topic: How to Put Fires Out ASAP
You need to put fires out ASAP and the best way to respond is to get something out there on the web immediately. Something such as: We are looking into this and working to resolve these issues in an appropriate manner.” Chris states that you need to be transparent and recommended an excellent article called “The Transparent CEO.”
Dave posting yesterday about how bad customer service can effect your online reputation got me thinking today. It made me want to share some tips how we (Dream Systems Media) practice good customer service with our own businesses, and get amazing testimonials sent to us.
IMO – The first rule of customer service is to be a good listener. If you are not able to sit and listen to your customer without getting defensive thinking you know everything then you will never do well at the customer service game. Anytime issues arrive we make sure and do everything we can to build a relationship of trust, even if they are start raving mad at something that has happened.
For those of you who read yesterday’s blog post, you know that I have had a major bone to pick with the Highland Utah Jiffy Lube. If you are interested in following the saga here is a short update. Today I received 2 voice mails and 2 emails from different high level Jiffy Lubers. (I have to admit, these people have both written and spoken to me as if they know a few things about customer service and I appreciate that – I told you customer service counts!)
Occasionally I experience something in the business world either so good or so bad that I cannot help but blog about it. My goal (beyond ranting) is to remind the business owners who read this blog about the priceless value of real customer service, as well as providing a taste of the business-crippling effects that spawn from bad customer service.
The Good
A few weeks ago, Andrew and I were introduced to a new restaurant by a client. This Utah Thai Food Restaurant was a refreshing experience in every way: 1) The food was outstanding, 2) The service was TOP NOTCH (the ladies we interacted with were the definition of customer service), and 3) The owner gave us complimentary homemade coconut ice cream just because we had never had any before.
Andy Beal
I want to thank Andy Beal for taking time out of his very busy schedule to answer some reputation management questions for me with this guest blog post today. I have received, (and had on my mind) many questions about reputation management, and what normal businesses can do – including the reputation monitoring software Trackur, created by Andy. I felt I needed to ask the person who IMO is the authority on reputation management. Again, I really want to thank Andy for setting aside some time for me!
Why do YOU feel companies need to make reputation management a priority?
Companies need to pay attention to what their stakeholders have to say about their brand. A stakeholder could be a customer, employee, or even a business partner–anyone that interacts with your brand. Numerous studies prove that, as customers, we trust the reviews and opinions of others “like ourselves” and are less trusting of official corporate communication. With that in mind, it is vital that companies listen to the conversations and, if appropriate, join those conversations.
There is a lot of talk buzzing around the Internet of online reputation management, as well as brand management. In most of the articles or blog posts I have read, I have noticed that people are confusing the two – almost blending them. The two should not be blended, and each should have their own seperate marketing strategies. I am hoping to give you a better idea of what the two are, so lets define them.
