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SALT LAKE CITY — Businesses used to take care of their customers because they knew a bad experience would be told to five or so of the customer's close friends. Today, a bad review can reach thousands, even millions of people in a matter of hours.
"I've seen companies that have had to shut down or re-brand their whole image because of this kind of technique," said Internet marketer Tad Timothy, owner of Brand Burst.
One of the names for this technique is Internet trolling. It happens as someone hounds a company or organization by posting bad reviews, using words like "rip-off," "scam" or "fraud." That means trouble when someone searches for the company on Google, Bing or other search engines.
"Once it's there, it's there," Timothy said. "It's very difficult to get content removed from the indexes."
Timothy demonstrated just how quickly a bad review can impact a company. He set up a bogus business named Captain Clucks Peanut Butter Pickles. He created an online profile in Google Plus and Facebook — complete with recipes and giveaways — fun, positive marketing things that are common.
Once it's there, it's there. It's very difficult to get content removed from the indexes.
–Tad Timothy
Everything was going well for Captain Clucks until someone posted a couple of crummy reviews.
One of them called the company "a scam," and referred to "a con artist and a liar."
Another said, "I heard rumors that Captain Clucks doesn't even use real peanut butter or real pickles."
Now an Internet search for Captain Clucks turns up the negatives.
"Our blogs, Google profile, anything we had positive is not there," Timothy pointed out. "Rip off Report, Facebook, and Scam Report are one, two and three in Google."
That happened less than 4 hours after Timothy posted the negative reviews. It's a sour pickle for Captain Clucks and bad news for any business or organization that's been trolled.
- Whenever possible, counter a negative reviewer's comments with concrete facts
- Response should speak indirectly to potential future customers
- Communicate in an authentic, not corporate way
- Don't call out liars
- Always treat customers with deference and respect
- Break down and respond to complaints; never rant
- Take ownership of things you can control
A recent survey from advertising firm Chitika showed 94 percent of Internet users rarely go past the first page of search results. When bad reviews hit that first page, it can mean money lost for the business.
"If you can protect that first page and your brand, it will pay off dividends forever," Timothy said.
So how do companies protect their brand?
Ash Buckles, president of Draper-based Internet marketing firm SEO.com said, "Once there is information out online, you can't always remove it. But what you can do is augment the positives you're providing as well."
Buckles said companies should decide whether to respond publicly or privately based on the situation, the information and who is involved. If the complaint is legitimate, the complainer usually will work with the company to correct things.
Buckles said prevention will go a long away.
"If you are part of local associations or do business locally and support the kids in the community or what have you, you can use those as an opportunity to help people understand that you might have made a mistake, but you are not generally a scumbag business owner," he said.
Timothy said consumers need to evaluate negative reviews. If they are full of second-hand information, missing a lot of information, or riddled with vindictiveness, there's a good chance they were posted by someone with an axe to grind.
