Catherine "Cat" Seda

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Online Reputation Check

Once upon a time, a potential client called me for consulting. I immediately "Googled" the company and to my shock saw that the firm was being sued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for advertising false claims. WHOA! Uhhhh, I declined the consulting request. Too risky.

Have you ever checked out a company (or individual) before doing business with them? How did what you found online influence your decision (please don't use their name in your comment)? Did you confront your contact to confirm the information was true before making your decision?

The Internet is a confusing web of truth, lies and fairy tales. Although it's a powerful research tool, be careful when making critical business decisions based on what you see.

posted by Cat Seda at 12:19 PM

9 Comments:

  • I believe that marketing and copywriting people have a moral obligation to not help a client cover up poor business practices if the client is not actively working to correct those wrongs.

    There have been many instances when copywriters have been SUED because they have helped a client sell a product or service that didn't live up to its claims.

    I always check out a company before doing business with them and I even have my VA sift through every page that comes up on the search engines (somtimes the "good stuff" is a bit buried) to make sure. I've spent a lot of time, energy, money and hard-earned lessons to have my business credibility shot to h*ll because we didn't do our due diligence.

    -Lena L. West
    Creator, http://www.TechnologyDiet.com
    CEO, http://www.xynoMedia.com

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:25 PM  

  • I completely agree with you, Lena!

    By Blogger Cat Seda, at 11:21 AM  

  • Internet users are overwhelmed by the amount of information available to them and actively seek trusted sources to help them filter through some of the noise. Online communities are one of the places they look for this kind of information. Be certain to monitor what is being said about your company, its products and its services in the blogosphere.
    It's also important to make yourself aware of any sites where consumers can post reviews about you and to monitor these, as well.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:21 PM  

  • Hi Cat
    We had a situation where our business development department sold a high level SEO plan to a hotel and then assigned them to the promotion department when the contract was signed. The first things WE did was check them out on tripadvisor - 54 of 55 reviews were horrid, the 1 good review was posted by the hotel manager.

    We were stuck for awhile, and we did the best we could, but the moral of THAT story was we taught Bus. Dev. all about TripAdvisor and Yahoo! Travel!

    Great tip! The best way to ensure successin business is to set yourself up for success. That being said, dont shy away from a challenge, but dont defeat your purpose before you start!

    By Blogger Carrie Hill, at 8:43 AM  

  • Cat, any comments to make on eBay's fee hikes for store owners, and the loud response from many quarters? Do you think eBay stores are still going to be a leading e-commerce solution in the future, or is this a fatal mistake from the giant?

    Phil

    By Blogger Phil Morgan, at 8:31 PM  

  • Phil,

    Ah...the recent round of eBay fee hikes is creating quite a reaction (some folks now call the company "FeeBay"). I'll admit, I gripe when as a client of any product or service, my fees go up. But a fee hike also forces me to become a smarter marketer. And if a marketing tool remains profitable, we'd be crazy to stop using it!

    With eBay's fee increase, selling low-cost, unique items is an even bigger time and money-wasting move. Focus on higher-priced and higher-profit items. You could also pad your shipping fees a bit but be careful; over-inflated shipping fees could prevent a greater number of higher bids (or sales if you offer a "Buy it Now" option).

    I'm going to ask a few eBay experts to comment here too. Stay tuned...

    Cat

    By Blogger Cat Seda, at 1:47 PM  

  • Thanks to both Cat & Janelle for your responses.

    Actually, the way I came upon Cat's site and blog (and Janelle's) is that I sat and watched all those eBay live videos, and have been doing my best to implement the things you've listed again in your comment, Janelle. I've also run a couple of pay-per-click campaigns, Cat. It's all superbly helpful stuff you've both given us. (BTW, we hit #2 spot on Google for a word search yesterday - which I discovered by "drilling down" a traffic report on our store.)

    I think we can still improve our store, but you've both already helped us a lot. I should say that we're in the very early days of our eBay business.

    Glad to hear you're both positive about the future of business on eBay regardless of the increases. And I do take the point, Cat, that it just drives us to become smarter with our marketing.

    Thanks again and kind regards,

    Phil

    By Blogger Phil Morgan, at 10:58 PM  

  • OK, Janelle. Check us out at www.styletimers.com

    Starting up from scratch has been a challenge - customer confidence is everything. But we've made a half dozen sales this week, so hopefully the feedback will climb, and get us moving.

    We're already on your newsletter list.

    Thanks so much, Phil.

    By Blogger Phil Morgan, at 2:40 PM  

  • Thanks for taking the time to look the store over, Janelle. Thanks for the feedback, and the encouragement. We really appreciate it. I'll spend some time on the store again this evening working on those points you've listed.

    I'll also look forward to getting your tips on building those newsletter lists.

    Phil

    By Blogger Phil Morgan, at 3:52 PM  

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