It’s no secret that satisfied customers bring you more sales, while unhappy customers can prevent them. People who feel strongly about a service they received or a product they purchased in either a negative or positive way are very likely to tell others about their experience.

Before the internet, this effect was limited to actual word of mouth. A customer could tell his family, friends and co-workers about his fantastic or horrible experience with your business. But this took some effort on the customer’s part to get the word out, however, and many customers wouldn’t take the time. Very few people actually took the step of writing a letter to the business or would even tell friends about their experience more than a few days after their interaction with a business. Only if they were extremely pleased - or displeased - would the word get out.

The growth of the internet has made it much easier to praise or complain about a company in a public way. But there are many online directories that allow anyone to post a comment about a business. Not only does this allow a customer to make their opinion of your products and services known to many More >