Black Hats Are Better Armed

I suppose this is just part of the natural progression of things, but it seems as if the bad guys of web marketing have way better tools than the good guys. What I mean is that if you have a competitor out there willing to use any available tools to smear your business on the internet there is precious little you can do. Sure, I've read all of the articles that discuss reputation management, successful response strategies, yada yada yada. But the reality is that it is excruciatingly difficult to get negative mentions off of the web regardless of their veracity.

I'm actually a big believer in the power the web gives consumers to speak out about problems. The reality, however, is that you can't believe the negative or positive ratings given by the "public" -- ever. That's because you have absolutely no idea who wrote the review and what their agenda was/is. A competitor, or just someone out to cause trouble, can always be one step ahead, publishing negative (or positive) reviews using a variety of writing styles, in differing lengths, from different ISP addresses. The casual reader will never know something nefarious is happening. They'll just read that your product is junk or that your service is a scam. Next time you're out buying a product, think about the online reviews you see. There are typically so many good buying options that any negativity surrounding one option simply means you'll likely move on to the next one.

So far, I've found only one really good solution to this "black hat" assault. From the beginning, go out of your way to build a vocal, loyal, and energetic legion of customers to defend you in the marketplace. You want the kinds of people who'd shout the good news of your product from the rooftops more than just once, but every single time they get the chance. The only way to fight the spectre of negativity is to have such a positive aura around your product that any new customer is already aware of the shininess of your brand and when they see negative postings they'll likely default to giving you the benefit of the doubt.

It's a very dangerous competitive world out there, with unscrupulous snipers out there just looking for a chance to kill your brand's reputation. They only safe way to travel through the online world is to be surrounded by your friends. Do you have enough friends yet? Has your company made any new ones today?