“Word of mouth is the best advertising” is a term we’ve all grown up hearing. How about “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”? In this age where everyone has the opportunity to broadcast their opinions to anyone who wants to hear, are either one of these cliches still valid? I see social media, blogs, etc. as yet another reason why businesses would work even harder to provide outstanding customer experiences. A company such as Zappos, which happens to be an online company, have built their business with a laser sharp focus on not only providing outstanding service to their customers, but making it the core of their brand. Obviously by doing that, they need to back it up. One company that I work with that does things the right way is 37 signals, makers of Basecamp, Highrise, and other productive software products. The company is constantly improving their offerings and giving us more without ever raising the price. How can they do it? Well I’m sure I’m not the only person singing their praises, which will inevitably lead to new customers for them. So maybe word of mouth is alive and well. But what about bad publicity? Is there so much noise on the internet now that no one hears it? Review sites such as Yelp are helpful when checking out a new restaurant, but are unhappy customer rants encouraging businesses to pay more attention to details and improve? I have a client that was told by someone “If you don’t give me what I want I’ll write bad things about you on the internet!”. That seems the new age equivalent of finding a hair in your soup. Bad behavior will always exist, and chances are intelligent people will be able to discern between legitimate criticism and personal vendettas. I just had a bad experience with an online retailer and posted a simple tweet about it. Chances are nobody’s listening, but I’m human and I got it off my chest.

The bottom line for me is simple. Great customer service will always be rewarded, regardless of how the word gets out.