We all love to get feedback and online reviews are a great way to get a check on how we're doing. This great article on Mashable contends that not checking out how your small business is perceived on line is "just plain lazy." And I agree.
There are so many places your business can be reviewed online – Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, TripAdvisor, LinkedIn – the list is long and growing. If you're doing something right (or seriously wrong), you're sure to have at least a few reviews out there.
People are more likely to post online reviews in extreme cases — either they've had a really great experience, or something went horribly wrong. A waitress was having a bad day; a hotel room smelled like smoke; a project didn't flow the way it should have. Whatever the reason, now you've got a negative review out there and you can't do anything about it.
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.