Chapter 6
Claiming Your Space on Review Sites
In This Chapter
Discovering the beginnings of online feedback
Understanding the power of peer reviews
Finding review sites
Handling reviews, good and bad
Word of mouth (or WOM, as it is called in ad circles) has been the most relied-upon form of business promotion since the beginning of commerce. Deceptive ad practices force consumers to be wary of what they hear and read in adverting, so a recommendation from a trusted friend generally trumps paid promotions. Getting a reference to dependable service professionals is treated as sharing trade secrets — from friend to friend or colleague to colleague, over the phone and in person.
At the turn of the previous century, WOM was even more prevalent. To protect businesses from spurious rumors, the Better Business Bureau system was founded in 1912. Their goal was to vet businesses and to promote legitimate ones while protecting consumers from mistruths and idle gossip. Today, they are still in business and on the web at www.bbb.org.
Now, with new media, the consumer has many more options (and ...
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