In a marketing newsletter I subscribe to from Marketing Improvement I read an article on Web 2 that I found interesting as it goes to the heart of the opportunities and risks companies have with Social Media Marketing. For completeness here is the article:

Here's a salutary tale for you. Right now I'm writing this while ensconced on a balcony overlooking the north end of Lake Garda. Blue-green lake meets sheer cliffs to my right, towering 500 metres to grey-gold summits flecked with outposts of foliage from trees foolhardy enough to experiment with growth on the fractionally less vertiginous slopes. Below me is the Piazza, surrounding the harbour, tables lie in gay abandon in front of a plethora of cafes and restaurants, all waiting expectantly for the lunchtime crowd. Tourists amble by in an amazing variety of clothes and body shapes, occasionally stepping aside to avoid another vividly lycra-garbed cyclist. It is, quite simply, a little bit of heaven on earth. But I nearly didn't get here - thanks to Web 2.0. Why? Because I Googled the hotel (Hotel Sole, Riva Del Garda) and Google found a bit of Web 2.0 content - a review on TripAdvisor.com that said it was a rubbish hotel, with awful food. And the review was posted just five days before I was due to arrive. But, I re-read the review and concluded that the reviewer was miffed by a 200m walk to the hotel in the rain and was not being as fair as he might. Suffice it to say, Hotel Sole is in a superb location, the rooms are great, the food is good and the service far better than most five star hotels (it is only 60euros a night!).

The point, however, is the Hotel had no idea (I asked them) that there was such a hugely negative comment about them on TripAdvisor and that Google was highlighting it for all to see! This is the danger of Web 2.0. It encourages us all to comment and, allied to Google, our comments are then given a prominence they perhaps do not merit. Reputational management is something major organisations have long been used to. But for smaller organisations it can now be just as critical. This hotel is currently half empty (it would usually be full) - the reason, one bad review!

For some reason it would seem we take critiques by complete strangers with no creds more seriously than we do those from "professional critics". So what can you do? Simple, search for YOUR company or your product or service every day on Google and see what is being said about you. Then at least you can do something about any injustices you may find. In the case of the Hotel Sole, I have written an alternative review - you can find both here. Enjoy!

I think I know the writer and admire them immensely both personally and professionally and so trust their opinion but I will try to be objective in my comments. To see the above review and all the others go to TripAdvisor.

Leaving aside the rather catchy articles title (showing the reviewers copy writing skills and knowledge of using a good title to pull the punters in) here are some comments on the interesting points the reviewer raises especially about the power of Web 2 and Social Media.

Firstly a legal warning.

From the end of this year it will be illegal under European Directive 2005/29/EC for a company to write or have commissioned to write or communicate a glowing reference by pretending to be a consumer without disclosing that fact. This has serious implications for ‘buzz’ and ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing, where marketing agencies are paid to promote products and services. They must disclose their contractual and financial arrangements. A number of big PR agencies have been exposed as being behind ‘we love x’ campaigns. Under the new Directive this will be illegal. A disclosure of the relationship is necessary. 

A great example is the blog by David Brain, CEO of Edelman Europe. When mentioning clients in blog posts he always discloses current and past relationships. 

Back to the newsletter. The artcle author raises a number of good points:

• The internet with Web 2 allows all consumers to have a voice. This can be used to praise and criticise. Think of it as Citizen Watchdog. Being a multi-billion organisation does not allow you to ignore people as Dell found (see my earlier post about Dell Hell) to their costs. The ‘little people’ now have a voice and are getting more confident to use it. We can now have online ‘fan’ groups and ‘rant’ groups forming around issues and companies. With ever increasing internet connections and improved speed this is a global reach. Within 15 minutes a consumer can create a blog and be posting globally using free software and an interface just as easy as a word processor. For less that the cost of a stamp you can share your feelings – good or bad!
• Online PR and Reputation Management is important. As the reviewer mentioned they ‘Goggled’ the Hotel before booking. As they said the ‘hotel had no idea’ about the negative review or maybe even the existence of TripAdvisor. Most people will check multiple sources of information, including reviews before buying something. You may ask a friend or work colleague for advice or use a social media site like TripAdvisor. You may read magazine reviews. Companies that ignore the online ‘chat’ about itself are missing an important and rapidly growing source of information for consumers.
• Synthesising the data. The Reviewer mentioned that they thought the negative reviewer ‘..was not being as fair as he might...’. There are many reviews at TripAdvisor on the hotel and by reading them all you will get a balanced view. Certainly more objective than you would expect the company web site or brochures to portray. Multiple reviews are in effect what is called ‘The Wisdom of the Crowd’. If one person says something it has influence. When multiple people say the same thing it increases our confidence in the information. Research has shown (common sense?) when we use one review as a source of advice proximity, authority and depth of knowledge is important. We trust close friends judgements more than strangers unless they are in a uniform or are ‘authorised’ in some way. But if a room full of strangers says to do something or not do something we will usually follow their advice. This is where I disagree with the reviewers statement that Google maybe give the comments prominence they do not merit. At a philosophical level all comment has merit and everyone should have a chance to have their say. Secondly companies have always had more power than a citizen customer. When we complain about something how often do we feel ‘fobbed off’ or given the run around. We are often made to feel our issues are unique, unimportant and trivial. That the company has better things to do than sort us out. What can a single person do? They can now see if others feel the same way and create a blog or comment on review or similar site.
• Web 2 is out to get you! Nice title. How about - Web 2 is a great tool to help ensure you (the company) maximises customer service and gets repeat businesses. Uum...not as sexy I know....A company can use social media/web 2 tools to get immediate 356/24 customer satisfaction reports from customers. Now what is that worth to a company?  Where mistakes have been made (and you will - you are only human after all) you can address the issue by commenting on that persons blog or posting and take action to address it and tell people what you have done. Maybe if everyone is writing negative comments about the food you should acknowledge it, fix it and tell people what you have done. The next person to post may says the changes are working and this will help drive business. The reviewer says to check everyday. 100% agree. You should and you can. Do it automatically using tools like GoogleAlert.
• Why do we trust ‘wisdom of the crowds’ and not professionals? Well quite simply because the professionals have sometimes been shown to be anything but. Even the venerable BBC has been shown not to be above a little ‘spin’ or maybe more accurately ‘allowing spin to happen’ through independent producers rather than BBC employees. As I said I think I know the reviewer. They have no financial incentive to write anything positive as far as I know. It is personal so has more impact.
• Facebook/MySpace and Web 2 tools. This is a very interesting development. TripAdvisor is great. I use it all the time but sometimes I would like to know a bit more about the reviewer so I can weigh-up the value of their comments but they hide behind a name without any personal data. So you have to use judgement and ‘safety in numbers’ where you look for patterns and threads. What if I knew more about that person? Food and musical tastes? Similar family circumstances and life styles, hobbies and interests? Similar opinions on a range of subjects? It is strange but we often have friends we like even if we do not know lots about them. We may have friends through social media tools that we have never met but we know so much about them – maybe more than maybe our physical friends. Now armed with our online matching profiles am I happy to follow their advice? Yes. What I will do is see what they say about a movie or a restaurant. Try it myself and if I agree with what they thought I would have even more confidence in their opinion when I come to decide on a bigger value purchase.

 Finally. Notice the date the reviewer joined TripAdvisor by checking their personal profile. They joined just to make the comment. They had such a good experience that they wanted to ensure the other negative review had a counter balance. That is the real power of social media that companies can leverage. Customers can become evangelists just as easily as critics. With no payment the reviewer took time out while on holiday to write the review and post a photograph.