We’ve often talked on the blog about how SEO and web design, for example, go hand in hand. We’ve talked about how SEO and conversion optimisation are two very complementary practices. Obviously, there’s no use in having lots of traffic if none of them spend anything on site. Today we’re looking at why customer service is another of the complementary activities to SEO and web marketing- because there’s no point being at the top of the rankings if your bad reputation precedes you, and people refuse to click no matter how high you show up.

SEO

Some customers don't get mad ... they get the Dark Side

The angry consumer

We’ve said it in jest before (not that long ago, when we were discussing ‘Why the Internet Sucks’), but it is true. Getting behind a keyboard and a screen allows people’s anger to rise to amazing levels. Someone that has a bad experience at your shop will vent in a much more vicious way if left to stew, and then explode online, than if you’d tried to resolve the issue immediately in-store.

What can the angry consumer do?

Some extreme examples of venting by frustrated consumers include the website BanTarget.org, set up in response to the Salvation Army being banned from collecting donations outside Target Stores a while back. Or how about iPodsDirtySecret.com, a site set up including an actual recorded conversation with an Apple customer service rep over the fact that when an iPod battery died, the only alternative was to replace the entire machine.

Other ways consumers get even

However, there are plenty of ways that consumers can vent about businesses they feel disappointed by, where someone doesn’t have to be annoyed enough to spend $25 on domain name registration and hosting. These include:

  • Ranting on their own Facebook pages, and setting up Pages or Groups on Facebook that are anti-your business.
  • Publishing negative tweets about your company
  • Leaving negative reviews on review sites … including on Google Local’s feature, where if you rank highly, this will be one of the first things prospective customers see.
  • File a report about your business with the Consumer Complaint Commission. US businesses can find complaints listed about them with the highly respected Better Business Bureau.
  • Leave complaints on complaint sites, set up especially for the purpose.
  • Write articles about your company online, create a hub page, Squidoo lens, etc

If you don’t treat your customers well, all that web marketing energy will go down the tube. The age of the internet is the age of accountability for customer service … both fortunately, and unfortunately :-)