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If you thought that small companies are immune to the vitriol typically thrown at big corporations on the Web, just visit bitchaboutit.com. At this homegrown Web site, companies of all sizes are subject to an array of scathing consumer complaints, calls to organize boycotts, even attempts to establish class-action lawsuits. And there's nothing to stop your disgruntled employee or dissatisfied customer from attacking you on this Web site, in chat rooms, or via a host of other bulletin boards.
For example, in March, an unhappy customer of a Dallas bakery wrote this to bitchaboutit.com: "To whom it may concern Sir/Madam, I would like to file a complaint about a local business here in Dallas, which has ruined the most important day of my life, My WEDDING DAY."
Of course, many of these complaints may be perfectly justified. Others may be less genuine, perhaps the work of a competitor or simply a mischief-maker. Whatever the origin, it's becoming increasingly important for companies to monitor their reputations online -- and where appropriate, respond to the complaints and catcalls.
To learn how to prevent and cope with an online assault, Business Week's Dennis Berman spoke to Nancy Sells, vice president in charge of eWatch, a St. Paul (Minn.) company that monitors what people say online about companies for 800 corporate customers.
Q: Three years ago, companies didn't care much about what was being said about them. How -- and why -- has that changed?
A: So many people are now using the Internet that they can quickly through AOL or Yahoo!, get into any message board or chat session, and find information that interests them. That can be used proactively, to find health information, say. But if I'm unhappy with an airline, I can log onto the Internet and complain about it.
I think that all companies are shocked at the degree and sheer degradation of what's going on out there.
Q: Are companies actively responding to complaints or comments made about them online?
A: Corporate-communications people are advising their companies to be aware of the disparaging remarks being made about them, and to take them to heart if they have a problem. Generally, the companies are in a watch-and-listen mode. They're not at all responding. If they do that, it opens up a can of worms -- the back-and-forth never ends.
Q: There's no question some Netizens will say outlandish, potentially harmful things. But what if it appears other customers are taking that information to heart? Seems like you could have a real PR disaster on your hands.
A: Generally, if you choose to respond you're almost giving whatever someone says more credibility. And responding to those situations can be difficult for companies to control. It certainly keeps these PR people busy. If you know something is clearly defensible, than you may choose to address it in a press release, without mentioning the Web. But it could be from someone sitting up in some remote location who has nothing to gain in any of this. And you have everything to lose.
Once you're in real battle mode, you can try to find the person behind the message. It works, but you've probably spent the money and the time to find someone at a university campus in Idaho just doing something to annoy someone else.
Q: How are small companies being affected by online opinion-makers?
A: I haven't really encountered instances where there is a huge need to defend small companies, but that is going to change very fast. In the five years eWatch has been around, the need to find this information has grown. As more and more people get on the Internet, more people are being made aware of their ability as consumers to state their opinion.
Q: How should companies prepare for managing an attack on their online reputations?
A: Preparation is key. And you want to have senior management made aware of it. Ask yourself: "Do we want to respond. If we do, what format do we want to respond in?" Build a three-, six-, and nine-month plan if this thing continues to snowball.
I'm constantly amazed at how many corporations and small companies don't have crisis plans in places. When a problem occurs, they're all scrambling people on airplanes in different cities. Better to think it through, anticipate a worst-case scenario, and have a spokesperson selected. That's why a small company should go onto these message boards see where it's happened to someone else and prepare as if it were happening to them. It doesn't take long to establish a crisis communication plan, and with the Internet, it's more likely to happen than 10 years from now.
Q: What are some cheap methods for monitoring how you're being perceived online?
A: One place where it's always really fun to go is deja.com, and type in your product name or company name. As a small company, it will give you a birds-eye view of what's going on with your competitors if you yourself are not mentioned.
Have a plan. Don't always be reactive. Understand what the downsides of your business possibly could be, and be prepared to see them on the Internet. Disgruntled employees are a big problem. They put out a lot of the erroneous information floating around out there.
Q: Still, there are plenty of people who have legitimate gripes against companies' poor customer service or generally inattentive attitudes. How do you differentiate those folks from real troublemakers, say, those maliciously spreading false information?
A: I think if you monitor things on a daily basis, you'll get a feel on who is out there blowing smoke. You will see a number of recurring people out there who aren't causing any damage, who have bona fide, well-founded concerns. I don't think companies are responding to those complaints in the way they should.
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