Be Very Afraid

Be Very Afraid by Marc Emmer

We have all fallen victim to bad service in auto repair shops, retail stores, and restaurants. And then there are doctor's offices, the land of inaccurate billing, mis-information, apathy and indifference. We consumers may end up with the last laugh, even before the particulars of healthcare reform unfold.

On the website, healthgrade.com, consumers have the opportunity to rate their physicians and the service provided by their offices. As Zagat is for restaurants, and TripAdvisor to Travel, Yelp is becoming a go to destination for ratings on everything from bicycle shops to CPA's.

It is not that I am fascinated by Yelp as much as the concept of Yelp. Businesses from construction contractors to service businesses should be both excited and petrified of the repercussions of being rated online. Customer satisfaction ratings on the Internet can be the impetus to competitive advantage or become an onerous wave of customer discontent that is difficult to reverse.

Feedback directly collected by the provider can be a source for innovation, and marketing fodder. It is critical that every company be proactive about formally gathering customer feedback. If you fail to control the message about your company on the Internet, someone else will control it for you. Organizations should gather customer feedback regularly in order to:

- Gauge the quality of their service level, in the eyes of the customer

- Understand how customers perceive them relative to competitors

- Monitor changes in the marketplace that may lead to continuous improvement/innovation

- Understand customers' changing wants and needs

Companies are well advised to assign a marketing professional (internal or outsourced) to monitor postings on the Internet, from both institutional sources and customers. To preserve the optimum positioning, they should actively combat irresponsible or inaccurate postings.

As blogs and various Internet sources replace traditional media, perceptions about a product and services can be formed in a matter of hours. It is incumbent upon the marketer to seek positive relationships with customers and shape their online messaging to their strategic advantage.