An interesting New York Times article recounts a horrifying online shopping experience a woman had with an e-retailer. The poor victim subsequently learned about an advocacy website where consumers vented their frustrations and experiences with this particular online merchant. The most disturbing part of the story was a statement posted at this consumer advocacy site by this unsavory merchant claiming his dishonest and sometimes threatening business practices (even involving physical threats and intimidation) were part of an overall strategy to generate online sales:
“Hello, My name is Stanley with DecorMyEyes.com…I just wanted to let you guys know that the more replies you people post, the more business and the more hits and sales I get. My goal is NEGATIVE advertisement.”
The merchant claims that the negative response resulted in higher listing spots in Google and increased sales online: “I never had the amount of traffic I have now since my 1st complaint. I am in heaven.”
Negative advertising is nothing new. It works. And it can even be used effectively in a positive way, like Listerine’s negative advertising campaign that focused on the fact that the product tastes bad: “The Taste You Love to Hate (twice a day).”
Negative online customer reviews, however, are akin to notoriety. And notoriety and popularity are two very different things. Poor customer service and bad business practices are never advisable if you plan on staying in business for the long run. It is much more productive to develop sales initiatives that support both your overall growth objectives and your company mission statement. Three solid years of great online reviews and five star customer satisfaction goes a long way toward helping you achieve not only your search engine effectiveness but your longevity or even your value if you wish to sell your business or go public.
Long term versus short term: every short term initiative has a long term consequence. Encourage positive online reviews by offering your customers real value. From the experience they have at your website to the benefits of the product or service they receive from you, give them a good reason at every turn to take time out of their busy day to rave online about the experience they had with your company.
