by Mack Collier

As the dynamic CK points out, “Your Company” + SUCKS is the new Google barometer for how well you are
satisfying your customers.  And sometimes, it’s not very pretty.

So how do you change the conversation that your customers are having about your business?  By listening and participating, of course!  And that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to start blogging.  In fact I would never advise a business to begin blogging UNTIL they have begun to monitor the online chatter about their business, as well as what others are saying about their competitors and industry.

If you want to change the ‘You SUCK’ reaction online from customers into ‘You RULE!’, follow these steps:

1 - Monitor.  Find out what is being said about your business RIGHT NOW!  I’ve already detailed exactly how to launch a plan to monitor the blogosphere in a previous SEG post.

2 - Participate.  Once you find these online conversations, join them.  Reply to bloggers, address their comments and concerns.  Launching such an initiative can be done in one day.

3 - Engage.  Challenge your customers to continue the conversation.  Encourage them to give you more feedback, and address and RESPOND to the feedback they give you. 

4 - Co-Create.  You can’t change your bad perception by yourself.  And you can’t do it by listening, either.  You have to bring your customers in and listen to and act upon their complaints.  You have to work with them to co-create your online reputation.  Remember that passion that’s ignored can become anger which leads to a bad online reputation.  But if you embrace the passion of your customers, and apply that passion to creating and improving a dialog with them, then that passion can become evangelism for your business.

But remember that these conversations are happening online about your business, whether you are a participant or not.  Indifference and ignorance are no longer viable excuses, if they ever were.    

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under SEM. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.