What’s your online reputation worth?
Small companies can be completely ruined by one person that decide to vent his grievances online. And for large companies losses can amount to millions of dollars. All it takes is one disgruntled employee or customer.
More than an eye for an eye
Today's online world has enabled destructive people to have a field day. Small companies can lose a lot of money and even go bankrupt. Sure companies make mistakes but sometimes there is no proportion between what harm they have caused and the price they have to pay. But still few companies take precautions.
Beware of disgruntled employees and customers
One company got badly hit by a former employee making negative comments in a forum of relevance to their business. The comments swiftly came up high on Google's search results. Another example is an angry customer that took revenge on a small town company that had to close down as a result.
An IT company was mentioned in a thread on an online forum with thousands of comments. What the dissatisfied customer wrote had a huge impact and because the company didn't react swiftly the damage was huge. They are still having problems despite the fact that the customer in question was compensated years ago.
How much does bad online reputation cost you?
Having a bad reputation online can easily be calculated financially per month or year. A company that suddenly has a bad reputation just need to compare their sales to the year before. The difference is the price they are paying.
Ruining your brand or burning your company?
If customers don't dare to buy from you because Google is wrongly giving the impression that your company is surrounded by conflict you will suffer. All it takes for that to happen is that someone googles your name and a revengeful post ends up high on the first page of search engine results.
Is your customer service excellent?
The customer is always right. But regardless if they are or not, you have to make sure your customers are content. Already before the internet one upset customer meant you lost ten. Nowadays you may lose thousands. So having excellent customer service is absolutely fundamental in our online world.
Does your internal communication make staff feel appreciated and important?
Many companies, especially SMEs, have not paid much attention to internal communication and merely regarded it as an expense. Nowadays that’s no longer possible. Do your employees feel “part of the family”? If not, do you communicate in ways that make them see what’s in it for them? Do they have access to you or other superiors to air their grievances? If not, they are likely to vent their concerns online. Nowadays everyone has an online audience, Facebook friends if nothing else. So if your internal communication isn’t making staff identify with and like the company, you have a problem that needs to be rectified swiftly.
How can you change your online reputation?
By pushing already highly-ranked negative posts down search engine results pages so that they are seen by fewer people. Several companies have started blogs and used social media to turn around their reputation online. By constantly updating their blogs and social media accounts it normally takes about three to six months to squeeze the bad post down from the first to second page on Google.
Prevent it from happening
All businesses should keep an eye on the web and do what they can to prevent anyone from harming their reputation. You have to start monitoring SERPs (your search engine result pages) and how and when you are mentioned in online articles and forums. A simple way is to use Google Alerts or other such tools. It's also important to make sure that you own all the URLs that could possibly be used to give the impression that the information comes from you. Angry environmentalists for instance purchased a .net for one company and started publishing negative information with the intent to harm.
Have you adapted to the internet recording everything and forgetting nothing?
With the increasing number of constituencies using the internet to find information, are you doing online reputation management? Do you know what your employees, customers or the public at large write about you online? If not, it's high time you look into this aspect of our online world. The World Economic Forum recognized the importance of doing so by naming one online reputation management company as one of the 31 Technology Pioneers for 2011. Through proprietary technology they enable companies to monitor the web, delete information, and control how they look when searched online. If necessary, use one of those companies.
The tools are there, so what are you waiting for? Someone to get a negative article about you published online? That people bent on revenge should have this kind of power is in my opinion completely wrong. But that's unfortunately the way it is so, like it or not, it's time to start contemplating how we should live our lives in a world where the internet records everything and forgets nothing. There are software that enable companies to see everything a person does online, including on social media. And once that kind of software is widely used the tables will be turned and revengeful people will find their online reputation ruined. They will not be able to get a job and people will be reluctant to do business with them. Presumably that will make such people think twice before trying to harm someone online. But until then, invest in internal communication and customer service to make sure your customers and employees are happy. It’s a small expense compared to a bad reputation online.
Photo: Christopher Hill – PhotoExpress
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Tags: 31 Technology Pioneers for 2011, customer service, Google, internal communication, internet, online reputation, online reputation management, SERP, social media, World Economic Forum
February 13th, 2011 at 22:31
It is curious that as a society we focus on "online bullying" predominantly in our children's lives. You very effectively point out that it is caustic in the professional adult world as well. Seems unlikely that a vengeful individual in the midst of a smear campaign will find their conscious so the best thing to do is prevent it from happening whenever possible. It's damage control before the fact. Good leaders should be meeting with their employees or clients regularly and assessing for yays and nays. Gettng the "yays' in writing could come in handy as discrediting any future negativity that is expressed.
February 14th, 2011 at 00:24
I seriously knew about almost all of this, but that being said, I still thought it was practical. Great work!
February 14th, 2011 at 11:08
It's amazing how many companies just don't understand this, Catarina!
Many seem to think that by not monitoring what's being said about them, they can avoid trouble – but all that happens is that things can easily get out of control. Companies MUST track what's being said – it's so easy to do with Alerts, etc. – and react very quickly. Taking an unhappy customer and showing you care can turn him/her into a brand advocate, and there's little that's more powerful.
Just look at the trouble the Benihana chain is getting itself into due to the Kuwait franchise trying to sue a blogger over a mildly critical review. The hashtag #BenihanaKUW says it all…
February 14th, 2011 at 12:07
Couldn't have said it better myself guy. Having said that I have noticed on social media that about 2-3% of all people are genuinely nasty and want to "assasinate others" for nothing. Those people it's difficult to stop from going for the kill because they thrive on it and feel powerful doing so. But having excellent internal communication and customer service should avoid about 97% of the potential trouble.
February 14th, 2011 at 12:08
Thank you Dagmar. Hope you are monitoring your online reputation.
February 14th, 2011 at 12:12
Great comment Keyuri. When I swim and have a sauna I have noticed that teenage girls don't dare to take off their bathing suits in the sauna. They are afraid of a bully taking a photograph and posting it online. It's seriously time to legislate online activity. Why should someone get away with a smear campaign online when they can't do so in real life? These people are no better than the ones creating viruses to wreak havoc.
February 14th, 2011 at 23:13
Absolutely love the fresh layout. I really liked this article about online reputation. Thank you for this great write.
February 15th, 2011 at 07:59
first of all i would like to thank you for posting that kind of articles. What's happening nowadays with big firms, they are hiring specialized agencies, with joined efforts, to manage and maintain a good reputation. i will go further and share with you Gatorade experience, they hired a team of 15 specialists to leverage their reputation. They are facing a major brand hit: youth are considering Gatorade as an old brand that were used by previous legend but currently the brand does not reflect the youth image and interests. Gatorade first action was to start online reputation management as the first advertising solution.
I believe in the coming 10 years we will be dealing with several online agencies specialized only in that type of management.
February 15th, 2011 at 12:21
My pleasure August.
February 15th, 2011 at 12:23
Good comment Wissam. What you are predicting will most likely happen. Let's face it, it's essential since it only takes one person bent on revenge to create a bad reputation online.
February 15th, 2011 at 14:58
This is a very important and growing problem online. We run a free webinar on Tuesdays teaching people how to use our four part process to deal with negative online content. Information is available on our website at http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com and on the http://RepairYourOwnLegendNow.com site where you will find a 10 minute overview video as we show you how to Assess, Correct, Makeover, and Monitor your online reputation. Please feel free to grab this information and join us on a Tuesday webinar. There is no cost.
February 15th, 2011 at 18:18
Hi Catarina, well written article. I have seen many times people who post negative or provoking comments on Linkedin group discussions just to be noticed ! It is hard not to respond . Sometimes you can beat them at their own game, but at the end the damage is done. Just one sarcastic post can destroy a nice conversation because people are afraid to be criticized in public. It's a shame!
February 15th, 2011 at 19:21
great article which could be inlcuded in any employee training handbook.
I hope more companies will become aware of their on-line reputation and it's
link to profit and credibility.
there are many ways to use on-line reputation and it makes you think about the
positives and negatives of having instaneous feedback. having specialized agencies is a
brilliant way to take control of the on-line brand.
February 15th, 2011 at 19:22
Actually these services have now been offered to the everyman. In the facebook age, it's common to see someone bIasted on the web. These companies advertise on the radio how they can eradicate bad information about you on the web here in Los Angeles. I totally agree with Keyuri's comment.
February 15th, 2011 at 19:35
There are other tools that businesses should be monitoring like Yelp, Yahoo Pipes, City Search, Angie's list. I know some of these are only in US but there are probably similar ones in many countries. I explore these in this post http://bit.ly/dCf3L7.
Rob
February 15th, 2011 at 20:12
Great article! Really loved the mention of monitoring. I think more and more businesses are seeing how important it is to not ignore and let these toxic comments fester. It's also not only about being plugged in and monitoring such comments, but also about being reactive and timely in your addressing them (and actually making sure that you address them). Not sure if I'd work hard to push the comments down the SERP as much as I'd work hard to respond directly to the comments. It's a tough call, actually, with a lot of potential for it to explode if handled incorrectly.
You've given me something to ponder!
February 16th, 2011 at 00:42
Excellent article Catarina. This is such an important topic. I'm always watching my Google alerts and log ago bought the most common TLD level domain names like net and mobi. It's amazing how much damage can be done to a company's reputation. The example that comes to my mind is the YouTube video "United Breaks Guitars" against United Airlines. It had almost 10 million views the last time I looked and attracted the attention of CBS News. This is definitely a different world that we live in now.
February 16th, 2011 at 02:32
Hi Catarina,
I like this post – straight and to the point. It is in everyone's best interest to just NOT be rude, unprofessional, or inappropriate online or offline to your customers – especially online. The bottom line is that even if a company has done nothing wrong, and has tried in every way to appease an unhappy customer, that same customer might still try to smear the company online and there isn't anything that the business can do about it. Your suggestion to track what is being said via the web is a great suggestion. In this case, it is certainly better to know than not know, and if necessary, the business can do their best to do some damage control.
February 16th, 2011 at 06:09
Even the largest companies aren't keeping track of what's being said about them on social media. A colleague was tracking "Twitter imposters," people who have other people write their tweets. She called the PR Department of a Fortune 500 company to inquire about the CEOs' tweets and it turned that that this time it truly was an imposter. Someone had commandeered the CEOs name and was sending out tweets. That was the first time the company found out about it.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:31
Agree with you completely Anne. It's time for those people to be careful. If not, they will suddenly find that their reputation is dameged and they will not be able to get a job and people will be reluctant to do business with them.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:33
Good comments Sam. It's becoming a must for companies and individuals to monitor their online reputation. To ignore it is to invite trouble.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:35
Good to know Dennis. Pretty soon that kind of services will be offered all over the world. Just hope libel legislation will be applied online as well. Why should these people be able to blast someone online and not in real life?
February 16th, 2011 at 12:36
Good point Rob.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:38
Glad you agree with me Bryan. Catch is if you only answer the toxic post is seen by too many people. So you need to do something to push them down the SERP. Otherwise the damage will be done despite your answers. People may not bother to read what you have to say.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:39
Glad we are of the same opinion Sherryl. Good example about United Airlines.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:42
Good points Julie. Some people are just nasty and no matter what you do they will persist with their revenge. If that happens the only thing to do is try to put their post down SERP in order for less people to see it. If necessary it will a company will have to hire an agency specializing in dealing with such problems.
February 16th, 2011 at 12:45
Horrifying example Jeannette. But it doesn't surprise me. Unfortunately there is a huge need for legislation online to deal with such perpetrators. Just look at Linkedin, there are an abundance of people using fake identities. Why should such fraud be allowed online? Expecially since some of them are up to the kind of activities you mention.
February 16th, 2011 at 14:39
Hey right there with you! Your name is EVERYTHING especially professionally. I have a saying "Enforce what you Endorse"
February 16th, 2011 at 18:46
Glad we agree on that Darren. But let's not forget that kids that are being bullied online can be mentally damaged for life.
February 17th, 2011 at 05:40
Great post Catarina. In the 'old days" if in a large company you would set up listening posts for any and all mentions of the company and brands in the media as well as a customer service policy that all employees would know. This meant that the procedure was easy to follow.
Today it is necessary to do the same thing to include the online world whether it is done in house or via a company. Speed of response is a key today and having a clear policy of how to handle different situations.
February 17th, 2011 at 10:15
Thanks Susan. Couldn't have said it better myself.
June 17th, 2012 at 15:57
This is so very true. The entire cyber-world has become one giant battlefield. I once noticed that a colleague who was asked to put in his papers (for lack of performance) had begun to use various groups in LinkedIn to vent and vent loudly. I managed to send these posts to our HR dept, which then replied accordingly, alerted the group manager and had the posts removed.
A company when confronted with such a situation should rope in some trusted employees who know that the allegations are false and also launch a campaign on social networks if need be.
When it comes to blog, since I have begun to review books, on a rare occassion an author had sought a 'nice' review, instead of an honest review. I refused to take this forward, did not send my postal address for shipment of this book and have stayed away from review of his books. Even when it comes to an individual, even if it is a non-professional blogger as in my case – I review books as a hobby – the online reputation matters a great deal.
My recent post Duffy Barkley Seek Well (Book 2)
June 17th, 2012 at 17:29
Glad we agree Lubna. Your collegue who vented his anger in Linkedin groups is a good example Good thing your HR department managed to have his posts removed.
Like you I don't do anything online that I don't want to take responsibility for. For that very reason I, for instance, neither have guest writers nor recommend strangers on Linkedin. We make our own brand online and it's there forever.
June 17th, 2012 at 17:44
What an excellent article. I have many takeaways: It is really scary to know that a negativity false statement aout a company or an individual can reck havock for a greater time then it is possible to imagine. Paying attention to the noise that is out there about your business is more important then ever. Taking decisive steps to mitigate it even more so. I'm going to be checking mine out right now.
My recent post Breville “The Hot Wok” Electric Wok: Product Review
June 17th, 2012 at 17:57
Thank you Susan. Probably the most difficult is someone who was fired, like in Lubna's story. When they are angry they can spread inside information that's not flattering for the company as revenge. Even if the information is true taken out of context it can seem horrendous:-)
June 17th, 2012 at 18:07
This is such an important topic. People do not realize that with everything happening in 'real time' any comments made can have a quick and immediate response, not always a good response. Better to be proactive than reactive and perhaps too late.
June 17th, 2012 at 18:24
Glad you agree with me about the importance of this topic, Geek Girl. Presumably you know a lot about it. The same phenomena exists on social media where, on Linkedin, approx 2-3 percent of members behave badly i.e. bullying, nasty comments, slandering others and so forth. Don't these people realize that they are shoothing themselves in the foot? Their abuse behavior can come back to haunt them 20 years from now and stop them from being accepted for a post in say, The State Department:-)
June 18th, 2012 at 17:47
A few of my colleagues who also blog were discussing over lunch today the changing cyberspace environment. Can you believe this, large companies are willing to pay bloggers to mention their product in a blog with a link back to the product. The mention of the product is subtle.
For instance, I hastily brushed my teeth with my favourite Mint (XYZ) brand of toothpaste and ran to grab the taxi to the airport. Hurrah we were flying to India!
The reason, mention of XYZ sound like an advertisement yet it appears in Google searches and improves visibility, the content is not repeated (which means Google does not penalise).
I would prefer to stay away from this, it doesn't sound quite right.
My recent post Law Street (The Economic Times:April 27, 2012)
June 18th, 2012 at 18:12
Doesn’t surprise me Lubna.
Social media is interesting. We all work for free for Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter and make billions for the owners.
But we get, or at least think we get, something in return since we build up our personal brand, network and so on.
There are however a multitude of people who promote articles from The New York Times, Harvard Business Review and so forth by starting discussion in groups on Linkedin with a link to articles from those papers. And they don’t get paid to do so. Presumably they believe that by doing so people will believe they are brilliant and associate their name with, say, Harvard, even though they didn’t study there?
By the way, it’s different when you include a video from say Harvard inan article on your blog because then the video helps you promote your blog.
To get paid for mentioning products with links in your blog is a far better idea than promoting articles on social media without getting paid for it. Many times wonder if members of social media are keen on slave labour? If not, why do they devote a lot of time to working for free for the publications in the world?
June 18th, 2012 at 20:10
I'm glad you brought up the importance of having good internal communications. As you allude to, it's one of the best deterrants of keeping a bad online reputation from happening. A bad reputation doesn't start only from customers, but from inside, or from ex-employees. I also love that you said use a blog as a deterrant or as a way to drive the "bad exposure" down the page rank on Google. I'm a big proponent of business blogging, and so I totally appreciate this idea. I had never thought of using blogs in this way, though, so this was enlightening to me. _As for Google alerts, pretty sad that I am the only one in the company where I work that has set these up. There have been several times I've alerted our executives to either what the competition is up to, or what is being said about us. Not sure why they are not doing this themselves, or setting up a process to make this happen (even though I have shown them all about it). Maybe I should be more proactive and encourage this even more than I have been.
June 18th, 2012 at 20:18
Glad you agree with me Bethany.
June 20th, 2012 at 17:03
Great topic, Catarina. You've illuminated a problem. While the efforts to protect one's reputations may be prodigious, the one small safety factor may be that with all that is available on the internet, the bad may be buried among the several hundred thousand results of a Google search.
I am still shocked when one of my blog pages comes up number one from among 46 million results in a Google search. Still, it is only one Google search.
Slim
My recent post Merkel and Charybdis
June 20th, 2012 at 17:19
Glad you like the topic Slim.
By the way, if you google a headline for an article you have written it will come up on top:-)