In the last few years, social media has exploded into our lives in a way that it would have been almost impossible to predict even a decade ago. If Facebook were a country it would be the third most populated country in the world, coming in above the United States with a staggering 400 million users as of 2011.

Recently, television adverts have started to feature “Find us on Facebook” badges directing people to their company Facebook page, and there is no doubting social media’s ability to get more people involved with your company, building brand awareness and loyalty in the process.

But if you are a small business owner, just how relevant is social media going to be to your company and how can you best utilize it in your company?

Small Businesses

Social Media was one of the buzz words for small businesses in 2010, and it stands to reason that 2011 will be much the same. Still, you shouldn’t have a social media campaign just to have one. Over and over people think that having a Facebook or a twitter account is their gateway to thousands of new visitors.

Then after awhile they give up thinking that they just don’t get “social media”. The bottom line is that some markets just don’t need social media. Did I just commit blasphemy? Everybody needs a facebook fan page right?

I would say that every small and local business needs to be involved in social, but from a reputation management standpoint. For some markets Facebook isn’t going to make or break your business, but it will sure help your customers connect with you if they have a problem.

I love the ability to use twitter to keep people updated on recent happenings, but I definitely don’t expect it to be my main source of traffic. If you have a product that is viral or revolutionary, by all means tweet it and watch social at it’s best. But for most of the people I work with that just isn’t the case.

They are in a competitive market, and are just looking for more ways to get new customers. For that I’d say Google is still your best source of traffic.

Accurate Expectations

The problem with most social platforms is they tend to be a replacement to the web. Don’t believe me? Create a facebook fan page for a website and watch how many people leave that fan page to interact on the website.

The majority of consumers on facebook are comfortable with it, and see no reason to leave to do their commenting, liking, and sharing. After all can you blame them? Is there anything they can do on your website that they can’t also do on facebook?

Well I can think of a few things like purchasing products, downloading software, and reading articles. But those are very specific things that all need to be taken into consideration before you dive head first into social media.

The most important thing you can do before going into any Social Media campaign is to drop all your unreasonable expectations.

Simply creating a Facebook Fan page will not skyrocket your business into the stratosphere overnight.

Creating buzz in an already noisy space can be challenging at times. High expectations can lead to discouragement early on, at a time when you should be allowing yourself a learning curve. Any form of digital marketing, including Social, takes a substantial investment in time and energy.

Building Awareness

Build Brand Awareness Through Community
Brand awareness is a great benefit of a good Social Media strategy. Whether you are marketing to 1 or 1 million, you need to convey a message and work to create a community around it. That is why Facebook makes it so easy to advertise in small increments to build your brand.

The biggest mistake people make early on with Facebook is to constantly blast out there message, without engaging their target community at large. Key players in your niche are actively seeking out fresh content, if you build it they will come.

Don’t assume you have to be “in your face” for people to notice you. Authentic social communities stand out in a world of copy cats and spam.

Learning from Consumers

While everybody else is out there gunning for thousands of fans and followers, you can be quietly gathering the next million dollar idea. Consumer intelligence is everywhere, but all businesses seem to notice are the actual consumers.

You might only have a core group of 100 fans on Facebook, but what does that sample size tell you about the whole? Watch for trends, segments, and techniques that drive better bottom line results. You’ll begin to see how key members of a community can really move the needle for you.

Don’t be afraid to launch side projects, and always be testing. Forget about gold for a second, those who have the data make the rules.

Social Media is a great tool to have in your digital marketing arsenal, but it’s not an end all be all solution. Give yourself time to learn, and don’t be too disappointed when your first tweet doesn’t go viral overnight.

There are lots of people out there just like you, and some have been doing this a lot longer. The great thing is that Social Media is still free to use and relatively easy to understand.

So drop the expectations, work toward building a community, and gather consumer intelligence.

I love to read lists of the best companies to work for each year. It is no secret what separates the good places to work from the great places to work. It is the classic battle of the good company culture vs. the bad company culture.

You don’t need a degree in HR to understand that the companies with strong cultures, led by level 5 leaders, are usually at the top of the list year after year.

Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and vision/meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself). ― Tony Hsieh

Instead of looking for a company, why not work for a great culture? Instead of trying to build a company, why not birth a culture? So what if you go down swinging, in the long run we need more thriving corporate cultures, not mediocre companies.

How do you define a thriving company culture? It’s group of people with not only the same behaviors and ideals, but the same core values.

In the end you end up with an incredible group of human beings who don’t mind battling side by side each day in the trenches. They understand that they are more than individuals. They are a team working together towards a shared set of values and goals.

Here are a few attributes of strong company cultures that I have worked in:

• Leadership
• Honesty
• Professional development
• Humility
• Transparency
• Work/life balance
• Kindness

Great company cultures thrive on open and transparent communication. They do not have anything to hide, because they act with integrity and do the right thing for employees and customers alike.

I love the Zappos interview process. One person interviews the candidate for technical savvy, the other for culture fit. If the candidate doesn’t ace both interviews, they don’t hire them, period.

Now that we have a better idea of what to look for in a good company culture, here are a few attributes of bad company cultures. Unfortunately, I have also experienced some of these firsthand as well:

• Politics
• Micromanagement
• Gossip
• Poor communication
• Internal competition

In a bad corporate culture you will not only be fighting against your external competition, you will actually have to battle your fellow employees for recognition and resources. Gossip will be the primary way communication flows, and management will have no choice but to micromanage their teams.

So, the next time you are considering a job change, why not look for a great role inside of a company with a great culture. It will be far more fulfilling than simply looking for jobs that fit your profile. You need a company that fits your values too.

A great company culture culture is formed by bringing together those with very similar core beliefs like passion, curiosity, trust, reciprocity, courage, dedication, integrity, and humility.

There are already enough obstacles to overcome in the competitive free market. Your culture should not be another challenge to overcome. So, the next time you consider joining a company ask yourself one question. Are you joining a good culture or are you joining a bad one?

Over the years I have learned a great deal about reputation management and the anatomy of a customer complaint. In fact, I just realized I have read more than 100,000 customer complaints in my lifetime through HissingKitty (the complaints website I founded)

Surprisingly enough, the problem of a customer filing complaints online is only getting worse with time. Ripoff Report now has nearly 1,000,000 complaints indexed.

So, why does this happen? In short, corporations keep growing, and then outsourcing customer service, and ignoring customer feedback. It seems to be an unavoidable and dangerous cycle.

How Do You Stop Complaints?

There are a ton of reputation management companies out there who “specialize” in all kinds of digital marketing and online marketing. Dealing with consumer complaints are big business for both consultants, customer service software, and 3rd party websites.

There are now dozens of online complaint sites including:

• Google
• Yelp
• BBB
• Consumer Affairs
• Pissed Consumer
• RipOff Report
• HissingKitty
• My3Cents
• Complaints Board
• Complaints.com

Customer Complaints Are Usually 100% Preventable

The bottom line is, almost all of the negative feedback and complaints against businesses are 100% preventable.

You can stop customers in their tracks from even thinking about going online to complain about your business. If you read between the lines, almost every complaint posted online follows a very similar pattern.

A customer is upset (usually at something very small), and the business ignores and agitates them to the point of no return. The point of “no return” is what I like to call the point at which a customer is so upset and frustrated with you that they will do anything to ease the pain.

I can’t emphasize this enough, customers don’t want to destroy your reputation online, they just want someone to listen to them and fix the problem.

The Anatomy of a Customer Complaint

With that in mind, I present for your consideration a nearly 900 word complaint submitted recently about a Target store in Jacksonville, Florida. This came in through HissingKitty, and it was so interesting I decided to post it here instead.

This is a great example of a customer starting off with a minor problem, and the company slowly frustrating them so much the customer took to the Internet with their story.

I would argue, in my professional opinion, if at any point Target had just listened, justified, and comforted the customer, we would never see this complaint live on the internet.

Part 1 — the background:

A Personal Complaint to Target in Jacksonville, Florida. On Monday Oct 10, 2011 I went into the Target on Beach Blvd in Jacksonville, Florida 32224. I went directly to the pharmacy and dropped off my prescription as usual and then went to pick up several additional items. I then went back to the pharmacy to pickup my prescription and pay for the items. The cashier came to the counter and starting to check me out she had totaled $97.00.

I then laid out a $100.00 for payment of said products, she then realizes that she had misses two additional items and added those, while this was going on another customer came up and she looked over her shoulder to inform the girl at the back pharmacy counter that she would take care of that customer as well and then my sale was completed, I then put out $3.00 more dollars to pay in full.

Customers complain about bad service because they have an expectation for good service. Notice the expectation instantly formed in the customers mind when the girl at the pharmacy counter verbally stated she would “take care of the customer”.

Part 2 — the problem escalates

That is were everything went crazy, she couldn’t find the $100.00 she looked into the bags, the register the floor and the patted herself down. Then looked at me and asked where did the money go, I then started looking and I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought well maybe I accidentally picked it up in all the confusion. So people started to line up I then said let me go ahead and pay another $100.00 and we would get it settled and not hold up the line.

Wow! The customer see’s the line forming and offers to help out by paying again, so that other customers behind don’t get held up. In the case, the customer is already displaying more “customer service” than the business.

Part 3 — management only makes it worse

She then called in the supposing manager. The cashier explained her side I told her mine, and even explained to Jeanette that I would recount my monies since I just cashed my Social Security Check that I knew exactly how much I had in my wallet. If she could lend me a calculator I would check my balance.

At this point she starts telling the cash register is right there, and there is only $100.00 in the register and I stated that would be correct since I paid the balance, but where was the other $100.00 all of this going over her head. I then became so frazzled after her rudeness, unprofessional and downright bad attitude.

Nobody likes being called a liar, but sadly that’s what this manager is assuming. Instead of talking off the floor, or going somewhere more private, the manager has a conversation about money in a public place. By calling the customers integrity into question, a rational level headed person is now backed into a corner.

Part 4 — escalation to corporate customer service

I reexplained to let me check like I said in the beginning I wasn’t sure what had happen. After being treated in this manner I just got so fed up with her attitude I told her what I thought about her demeanor and how unprofessional she was, because we were going nowhere. The cashier never came back to the register at all.

I feel that we both would had worked this out so much more effectively, I then left the store got into my car and called the store for the Target store in question to speak with the manager. The customer service representative answered I asked to speak to the store manager, and guess who comes on Jeanette the one and the same the same one that I had a problem in the store with.

Never allow personal feelings to escalate a customers complaints further. Always have a third party or alternate person ready to be a fresh face without preconceived opinions. Most people are just ready to vent at this point. So let them vent, and allow the cool down process to begin.

Part 5 — corporate makes it worse

I asked her if I could speak with the manager and she informed me she was it. Right! I asked for corporates number she then tried to apologize for all the confusion. To late for that one. In the meantime another person (Mike) came on the line I then asked him for the Target Corporate Office number.

He gave it to me, and then I asked who was the store manager he stated at first Jeanette, but he stumbled I knew then that she wasn’t it. I really knew all along she has couldn’t be it. No manager handles a situation the way she did. I then repeated my question who was the manager of the store he (Mike) then said Micah. So Jeanette totally misrepresented herself and her company.

Another key mistake that businesses make is trying to ignore the problem instead of addressing it. Most people aren’t buying a simple apology. They want your empathy, and to know you have the situation under control. Fumbling the ball at this point is costly, and just reinforces to the customer they need to continue to escalate this to get results.

Part 6 — corporate makes a promise they cannot keep

After reviewing all this I realized a few things. I took the responsibility of the cashier errors. She was the one that was distracted trying to multi-task and causing the confusion.There was other workers who were available and trying to work and she stopped them.

I then called the Corporate Office and explained what had happened. Ron words were this would be handled swiftly. I hope so. It seems in todays world when you try to handle a problem and is willing to work through something with someone like this cashier and all you want is to retrieve the items, the money that is owed to you without any problems.

I truly realize after this incident stores like Target just don’t care. I said to them I would never come back for anything.

This was a great place for Ron at the corporate office to make things right and win back the customer. Of course he probably thought by saying “he would handle it”, that everything would be OK.

But you can see that this simply wasn’t enough of a response for the customer. The level of response has to meet and exceed the level of frustration.

Part 7 — where you finally lose the customer for good:

They have lots customers to fall back on but no accountability on the behalf. I stated to Ron that this was a major competitors move. Well I was wrong about that one, the competitors, I’ve never had this happen with them, so that is were I will take my business, monies, and purchase happily.

It only takes one negative experience to lose a customer for life. And today’s digital world, that lost customer can cost you thousands more customers if they take their complaint to the Internet.

Negative Reviews Online Really Hurt

Every time I am involved in a new venture I get a chance to learn about a difference industry. Different groups carry with them different consumers and customer behavior, and lately I have been all about reviews and UGC (user generated content).

Consumer and editorial reviews continue to gain swagger in search engines, and a good review is an easy way to get that bump over your competition.

Bad reviews, on the other hand, also present an easy way to lose customers. Consumers keep getting smarter, and more each day are searching for reviews online before they make a purchasing decision. So what’s a bad review worth to you?

Now why would anybody want to buy a bad review? I’m really not sure, but companies do it all the time. One of my fun little side projects right now involves consumer reviews, and many of them are negative.

Complaints Are Easy to Prevent

In the majority of these cases the company could have avoided the bad review with a settlement of less than $50, and most times it is far less than that.

Do people like to post negative reviews of companies? Think about it if they are upset enough to find a website online and go through all that trouble then they have been really inconvenienced (at least in their mind).

If at all possible, why don’t companies pay off these bad reviews and complaints? We are coming into the age of the consumer, where a person can go online and absolutely wreck your companies reputation based on 1 single incident that wasn’t handled properly.

Now that company is going to go out and hire a professional to do reputation management (or at least try to pick up the pieces). Which costs more paying for Johnny Q’s faulty $5 widget or $10,000 a month for reputation management and damage control after John Q posts his story all over the internet?

I don’t think companies should bend to every single consumer complaint and bad review, but I definitely believe a corporation that has a blanket policy of ignoring them all is asking for trouble.

If there is one thing I see inside and out of a successful website it’s passion in one form or another. Don’t get stuck in semantics, all I’m saying is that good websites form an almost immediate and long lasting emotional connection with visitors.

This connection drives everything from referrals to repeat traffic, and guess what it also drives new ideas. Consumer intelligence is key, but I’m going to take it one step further, leverage consumer passion for the easy win. If there is one thing gathering consumer intelligence has shown me, it’s that passionate connected consumers are active consumers.

You might have heard this argument before, but rarely do you get down to the psychological nuts and bolts of what makes people tick. Have you looked at the woman in the picture yet? Her job is to illicit an emotional response, all processed and computed in your brain within a fraction of a second.

Make Up Your Mind

I couldn’t make my mind up in college on what to major in, I just liked studying too many different kinds of things. One of the areas I loved to focus on was psychology, specifically behavioral and developmental. People are incredibly predictable at scale, you just need a large enough sample size to predict varying responses in a group.

There is a process to the way people think and react to stimulus, and when you’re building websites you need to be leveraging that process for your own means. It might sound devious, but it’s exactly what all the major players are doing, so why are you any different?

You don’t think facebook knows that a “like” becomes a positive reinforcement for good behavior. What could facebook possibly want to reinforce? Oh maybe posting a status update, uploading a picture, or maybe creating a fan page?

Drive Revenue

All these things drive revenue, so it pays them (well) to connect you emotionally to their KPI’s. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that they are leveraging your emotional wants and needs for their own ends. Ouch.

Over and over I come across websites that have great concepts but no passion curve. Where is the emotional connection, where is the hook? There are too many neutral websites out there, don’t throw you’re hat in the ring with every other largely ignored piece of content on the web.

You don’t have to be TMZ, but you should probably be closer to Huffington Post than the national weather service. Learn where people’s emotional hot buttons are, and you will learn how to make money online.

Think Backwards

You have this wonderful idea, but you have to make sense of it all. How are you going to monetize it? What’s your long term plan? Too often we think of websites as a quick and easy way to make money. We look past traditional planning and decide to “wing it” as we go along, figuring that your ideas will come to you with time. The important thing is getting that idea up and running right? Wrong.

Before you build, before you recruit help, you have to have a long term plan. You have a great idea? So does everybody else. Why doesn’t every great idea make it’s creator a millionaire? Well obviously it’s never easy starting an online business, but I happen to believe most people (as I once did), go into online ventures without thinking long term.

Hence the idea of planning backwards from the start. Your end goal is to make money, so why not let that be the driving force behind everything that you do. When I started building websites I would get an idea, work countless hours to build up traffic to a site, then sit and rack my brain as to how I was going to make money off all those visitors. I had arrived at the end goal, but now had become my own worst enemy.

Begin with the End in Mind

Your model has to start with the end goal, what is going to make you the most money. Everything will be driven by that force, and should be centered around it from the start. Your subject, conversion methods, user testing, keywords, articles, site structure, SEO, social media, rich media, and the list goes on.

People create and create and create and then try to figure out the financial gains to be made. Too often you will find that unless you plan to make money from the start, you won’t make much money at all. There’s that old saying I can’t seem to get out of my head, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Well the same can be said of internet marketing and online business development. Plan ahead, think ahead, and you will get ahead.

I tried to make the title of this post as confusing as possible, because that’s how most business plans start out. You have this wonderful idea, but you have to make sense of it all. How are you going to monetize it? What’s your long term plan?

Too often we think of websites as a quick and easy way to make money. We look past traditional planning and decide to “wing it” as we go along, figuring that your ideas will come to you with time. The important thing is getting that idea up and running right? Wrong.

Before you build, before you recruit help, you have to have a long term plan. You have a great idea? So does everybody else. Why doesn’t every great idea make it’s creator a millionaire?

Well obviously it’s never easy starting an online business, but I happen to believe most people (as I once did), go into online ventures without thinking long term. Hence the idea of planning backwards from the start. Your end goal is to make money, so why not let that be the driving force behind everything that you do.

When I started building websites I would get an idea, work countless hours to build up traffic to a site, then sit and rack my brain as to how I was going to make money off all those visitors. I had arrived at the end goal, but now had become my own worst enemy.

Your model has to start with the end goal, what is going to make you the most money. Everything will be driven by that force, and should be centered around it from the start. Your subject, conversion methods, user testing, keywords, articles, site structure, SEO, social media, rich media, and the list goes on.

People create and create and create. And then at some point down the line try to figure out the financial gains to be made. Too often you will find that unless you plan to make money from the start, you won’t make much money at all. There’s that old saying I can’t seem to get out of my head, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Well the same can be said of internet marketing and online business development. Plan ahead, think ahead, and you will get ahead.