Small businesses have always known the importance of word of mouth. Manysuccessful businesses have been built on word of mouth referrals, and many havebeen killed by bad word of mouth.
But now the landscape is changing, making word of mouth more important thanever - only now, that word of mouth is being communicated on the Internet.
People - your customers - are turning to the Internet as their primary source ofinformation on products and services. Instead of opening the yellow pages of theirphone book, they turn to Yahoo or Google. And in addition to websites and listingsfor local businesses, they are finding ratings and reviews!
Sites like Amazon.com and ePinions pioneered product rating systems. In somecategories, these ratings have become essential to a product's success: more than60% of consumer electronics purchasers report that they consult online ratingsbefore making a purchase decision!
Ratings have also become common is a few other business categories, such asrestaurants and hotels.
But the online ratings explosion is just starting; Internet entrepreneurs aredemonstrating that virtually anything can be rated online.
RateMyProfessors.com, launched in 1999, allows college students to rate - well,professors. The site has accumulated over 3 million ratings, and has spun offanother site, RateMyTeachers.com, aimed at high school and elementary students.
ApartmentRatings.com has the most comprehensive database of apartment ratings,with almost 250,000 reviews. RateMDs.com was formed to allow patients to ratetheir doctors. A new site, ClubRatingz.com, allows patrons to rate nightclubs andbars (perhaps while recovering from hangovers?)
Rating sites are even risking the wrath of the legal profession: LawyerRatingz.comprovides attorney ratings and reviews.
All of these sites feature a fair share of rants and raves. Many of the comments aresemi-coherent ramblings, often typed with Caps Lock down. But surprisingly, overtime and with enough ratings, a fairly accurate picture emerges. Some reviewersprovide well-thought reviews and useful information. And the sites are beingvisited and read!
The ratings phenomena may not have reached your industry or your community, butit probably will. So what can you do about it?
First, be aware of ratings sites. Use a search engine to look for rating sites in yourarea and business. (Search for things like landscaper ratings in Pittsburgh or hairsalon reviews in Sacramento.) You may find that your business is already listed ona rating site. If it is, make sure that the basic listing information (business name,location, website) is correct, and if not, contact the site operator. If your business isnot listed, see if there is a way to add your listing. Do not pay for this service! Legitimate rating sites are not supported by the businesses being rated! (However,a few sites offer enhanced "listings" for a small fee. Consider paying for this is thesite seems to be well run and have a lot of traffic.)
Check the rating sites regularly. You might actually get some good information onhow customers see your business, and where you need to make improvements.
Encourage your patrons to rate your business. Satisfied customers will give yougood ratings. (Don't try to "flood" a rating site with bogus reviews; many of thesesites use algorithms to detect the source of ratings, and may even removebusinesses that try to cheat.)
If you get a bad review, there's probably not much you can do about it. The ratingand review sites are on pretty solid legal ground, and most will not remove badreviews. However, some sites have a mechanism for responding to a review, so besure to ask about this. If nothing else, you can submit your own review and calmlyrefute the complaints of other reviewers. Be careful to stay calm and professional,and not get into online debates that can damage your credibility.
In the end, business success is still based on word of mouth - but now more peopleare listening.
Bob Nicholson / WYGK Consulting provides business, technology and strategicconsulting for small businesses, internet start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Visit http://www.wygk.com |
