| One of the hallmarks of the modern web is the ability | | | | have very visible links from your sites to the most |
| for users from every walk of life to review just about | | | | important review sites, and consider including a |
| anything, from products to services to contractors. | | | | "Review me on Yelp!" or similar note on business |
| Consumers are becoming increasingly dependent on | | | | cards or other bits of media. |
| these services as their first stop when looking at | | | | Don't Take it Personal, Remember It's Easy to |
| buying a new product, going to a new restaurant, or | | | | Complain |
| hiring an independent consultant. One of the most | | | | The main reason for this has to do with how much |
| productive things you can do for your personal brand | | | | energy people are willing to expend for positive and |
| is to build a reservoir of positive feedback on these | | | | negative reviews. The threshold of what people have |
| sites, as they have high search relevance and are | | | | to spend to make a positive review is quite low. Since |
| trusted by consumers. | | | | they generally feel very little reward from it, if they |
| At first it can be difficult for people to accept the idea | | | | have to look for more than a minute or two they will |
| of opening themselves up to critique from anyone who | | | | likely not review you positively. And many people don't |
| wants to leave a review – after all, if someone is | | | | even think about posting a positive review of a service |
| capable of giving you positive feedback, they're also | | | | provider – unless you remind them. Negative |
| capable of giving you negative feedback. The thing is, | | | | reviewers, on the other hand, are willing to spend a |
| just because you don't actively pursue these review | | | | great deal of energy badmouthing you and your |
| sites doesn't mean you won't appear on them, it just | | | | business. They'll go out of their way to post a negative |
| means you will have much less influence in who is | | | | review, since there is a very direct feedback – they |
| reviewing you. Anyone can create a profile for you to | | | | are able to vent their frustration. Since this imbalance is |
| review your service, whether you want them to or not. | | | | fundamental, it's up to you to try to displace negative |
| By taking a proactive stance you stand a much better | | | | reviews by creating positive reviews. |
| chance of generating positive feedback, as well as | | | | If and when you do get negative reviews, don't panic. |
| managing negative feedback when it does inevitably | | | | Most review sites have tools to contact negative |
| crop up. | | | | reviewers privately, and you can approach them |
| Make It Easy for your Customers to Post Positive | | | | calmly and without being overly defensive, to see if |
| Reviews | | | | you can resolve the situation. On the other hand if you |
| Once you have a profile on the major review sites, | | | | find yourself unable to deal with the negative reviews |
| make it as easy as possible for your customers to | | | | by yourself, you might want to use one of |
| post positive reviews for you. Try to avoid actively | | | | LookupPage's reputation management profiles or |
| soliciting their reviews, though, as this will generally not | | | | professional services to improve your online reputation. |
| work, and may frustrate clients. Just do your best to | | | | |