You just received your order, food looks great and you whip out your cell phone to capture the moment to share on social media.
Or your doorbell rings and you’ve just received your package from Amazon and open it to see if everything is correct.
Then comes the moment where we, as consumers, feel inspired by one of two things. Either pure excitement or utter disappointment, and hardly ever in between. It’s human nature, and we absolutely must share how we feel with the rest of the world. It’s our duty, right?
We’re all familiar with Yelp, Google Reviews, Facebook Reviews, Angie’s List and all the other dozens of ways to leave feedback for a product or service you’ve purchased. And it’s these infamous platforms that consumers love and business owners love to hate.
The world of user feedback and ratings is a volatile world and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the love was lost but it has certainly been a developing relationship of tension. But what we can say is that this empowering act of leaving feedback or a review has gone to our heads, and consumers seem to sometimes take it too far.
Last year, Yelp was waging a war against critics who have gone as far as attempting to sue their users for posting unfavorable reviews. Since then, Yelp has fought back by posting disclaimers such as the one below, encouraging users to not be intimidated by such lawsuits and not give up their right to the First Amendment.
It’s a bold strategy but is it necessary?
Yelp seems to think so. And stuck in the middle are thousands of small business owners who, for the most part, just want to provide honest goods and services but are at the absolute mercy of consumers who sometimes aren’t entirely fair and balanced in their commentary.
And it’s this emotional and venomous feedback that can be devastating to the longevity of a business.
What’s becoming more and more apparent is that business owners, specifically small business owners, need to understand the weight that their online reputation carries. Even more so, the ramifications of neglecting their reputation can be crippling to their brand.
Back in May of this year, Home Advisor’s parent company, IAC, acquired Angie’s List in a mega deal worth more than $500 million. This transaction alone is a testament to the powerful growth that the Review Company Industry has seen recently.
But what about from a company’s perspective, how do companies ensure that there is proper balance kept there in this new system of open feedback and ratings?
Herman Tumurcuoglu, CEO of ORM Firm Internet Reputation Services, has an interesting view as to how businesses should view online reputation management or ORM. According to Tumurcuoglu, a company should treat ORM as a priority and not so much differently than they would public relations. Furthermore stating that “A reputation problem can significantly impeed growth. For a growing company that does not have ORM issues, the way to think about ORM is like insurance. The cost of monitoring and preventing ORM issues is a fraction of dealing with a crisis, not to mention the business loss that happens during such a crisis.”
Businesses can now be proactive in the protection of their brand and reputation. There are things that business owners can do themselves, today, to help balance the negativity that comes their way and may not entirely be fair. Monitor Google for reviews about your company, do searches on your company name from time to time to see what pops up and what people are saying. If you have a Facebook, be sure to respond quickly to all reviews that come in, good or bad.
Not everyone is a business owner, but we’re all consumers. So next time you’re quick to whip out your phone to leave a review of the place you just had lunch at, try and remember just how much impact that review can make for a business. Not everything in this world is simply a Rating of 1 or 5. We’ve been given these platforms and entrusted to provide fair and accurate feedback. And at the same time, businesses are now accountable for the products and services that they provide, it’s supposed to be a win-win, right?