When I started blogging back in 2004, I didn’t write anything other than my own thoughts and observations on topics that had my interest. In a way, not much has changed since then, but I now understand the real power of this medium, both from a search engine perspective and from the viewpoint that information can be shared with incredible ease across multiple platforms now. Somewhere along the way, I began to write about businesses, mostly good stuff, but with a healthy dose of the bad as well. Posts I’ve composed about truly horrific customer service are negative, to be sure, but they are negative with a purpose, namely to warn others.
With the increasing popularity of sites like Yelp, which allows customers to write and post reviews on the fly, it’s never been easier to help or harm businesses in a matter of minutes without even returning home. In fact, I would argue that these “mobile reviews” are some of the most powerful around, since they likely come during or just after the service experience.
I like that phrase, actually. “Service experience”. With few exceptions (state and federal government offices come to mind), those who provide products and services to consumers would do well to think of their own service experience, and how it compares to those of their competitors. Be mindful of how you are being perceived.
With newer geo-location tools including Foursquare and Gowalla, it’s also possible to let others know where you are at any given moment by checking in. You can also add tips, such as, “Avoid this place like the plague.” or “Try the crispy beef taco platter – it’s always good.”
My point here is that each and every one of us now has the potential to be a restaurant reviewer, or to have the influence of a local newspaper columnist. Any business that intends to succeed in 2010 and beyond would do well to be mindful of this.
Believe me – we can tell when you care about us.
