Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

GYN Disposables Google SERP

This blog’s postings are directly under GYN Disposables.com results in positions #3 and #4.  This screen shot was sent to them with a final request for payment arrangements of the consequences would be publishing their name as a deadbeat client along with postings to Better Business Bureau and RipOffReport.com as well as other complaint sites.

I also explained that while I can remove postings from this blog, I cannot remove postings made to complaint sites.  The result:  no payment and consequences are underway.

One more thing, because of this heading and the listings on the complaint site, simply putting in GYN Disposables will bring up this blog posting — no need for the full search terms listed above.

Could this be a new debt collection strategy?

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

What can you do to let others know when you are dissatisfied with the way a business operates? And why would you want to report to the world about your problems with collecting money from customers or clients? I suppose the watchword here is Justice. If you know that there is a business that doesn’t pay their bills, you might be doing a service to let others know that business should be avoided.  Frankly, I think that is where my focus lies. I do not like the thought of doing damage to any business — but blatant disregard for professional business practices is reason enough to stand up and be heard.

There are a number of places you can report disreputable business practices starting with the Better Business Bureau in all of the cities in which they operate. Then you can report them to RipoffReport.com (the most difficult to deal with in reputation management because they never remove a complaint), Complaints.com, PissedConsumer.com (although I’m not a consumer, I’m a vendor), ComplaintNow.com, or ComplaintsBoard.com to name the most popular complaints sites. You can also report a business to the Attorney General of the state where you and they are doing business or the FCC, depending on the kind of business they operate. There are more places than this, but this is a good starter list.

My next step is to alert the offenders by email that they should use their main keywords to see how close my postings have ended up to their website in a Google search. They should also read my blog posts and my next step plans. The difference between my taking this situation publicly in my blogs vs. in RipOffReport.com or others is that I can take these blog postings down if the situation is resolved. However, if I complain on any of these named complaint sites, their names will be permanently associated with these negative postings with no hope of the complaints going away. The only way they can hope to improve their reputation after an onslaught from these complaints would be to hire someone like TAO Consultants to repair their reputation.  Not the smartest decision for them to make I would imagine given they are trying to build and expand their business in their industry.

I am not someone who enjoys strife, conflict or negativity. My daily intentions are to do no harm and to help businesses growth profitably and expand so they can be a positive and professional influence in their industry. My experience with these doctors has not been satisfying from a professional perspective and their refusal to act honorably leaves me little choice but to go public.

I have a motto by which I live:

You can push me a long way; just don’t push me past way.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

• When did ignoring a bill for $7,600 for services performed become the proper way to do business?
• Since we were hired to manage their online reputation - which is non-existent in their industry (they can only be found by their company name), do they think I don’t know the other side of the reputation management business; that is, creating a negative reputation?
• Do they think I’ll ignore this non-payment behavior - or might I stop this game of trying to get their attention and move straight to revealing their identity?
• How long do they think I might wait before I do that?

From the standpoint of professionalism and good business relations, this situation is disturbing and from an ethical viewpoint, I am not in business to do damage to anyone. But what do they think my next move will be?

So, again, I do invite comments.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

The real shame of it is that they have a good product. Women would definitely benefit from their product. But if the very women they could help knew what disreputable actions they have taken against the people who were hired to expand their online presence and who they really are, I think that the voting power of women might sink them. Or maybe that is just a wish and a hope.

So apparently they don’t think I am able to render the reverse side of reputation management. That is, tactics for a reputation that you can save is the same as for the reputation you destroy. The question for them would be:  will she do that to us?

Stay tuned.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

This issue was originally posted for the sake of exploring online communication, reputation management, and the ethics of business. When you read the comments, you see that all are well-thought out, professionally presented and all points are valuable and viable.

What am I going to do?  I’m going to get the attention of those people who have made this decision to act outside of what I think is the image they actually wish to project.  I want also for anyone who thinks that doing business in a manner that is without conscience or positive purpose runs the risk of doing extreme damage to themselves, their online reputation and their stakeholders.

Could I post to RipOffReport.com or ComplaintBoard.com? Absolutely.  And this is one of the ways that consumers reach out to be heard.  Once your first negative report goes online, you as the target of negativity become quite aware that there are many more responsible ways of handling a dispute. Thinking you are right is simply not enough. As I’ve said before, “Unlike gravity, what goes up online never comes down.”

Take care out there, business people.  While I do not necessarily believe that customers are always right — I do believe that your interaction should be satisfying or any dissatisfaction or problem should be settled to avoid the negative potential from a dissatisfied customer who knows how to type w.w.w.r.i.p.o.f.f.r.e.p.o.r.t.c.o.m Unlike what you might have heard, just any publicity is not good — only that publicity that delivers your message as you wish to be seen is good.  All other publicity can have a far-reaching and unexpected effect in this virtual world of the Internet.

Stay tuned.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

First, we created a blog, www.morrisvswestfield.com, with the complaint and the facts of the case presented online. Once everything was in place, a press release was sent out for worldwide release. Within minutes, the story began showing up everywhere. Additional support for the release was offered through Twitter postings and retweets.

If you wish to follow this as a case study, it is the perfect example of how a well-managed reputation management campaign can get your message out to the right audience.

Chesa

Apparently not.  After one month into this one-year project, I billed them for the first month’s work and continued working.  Oh, by the way, I never work this way — billing in arrears.  As any consultant will tell you, you need advance payment to begin your project because work done as a service can’t be recalled for lack of payment.  But I softened on these guys — they have a good product. I know I could build their brand recognition and increase their sales using my strategies.  And after so many conversations, I also thought I was dealing with an honorable company.  Not to mention that I was working with my partner who was doing other work for them when he referred me to them.

Well, I billed mid-November 2009 and here it is the first of February and not a dime has come my way.  I have talked to them, emailed them and offered to accept payments. Nothing.

What is their reason for not paying?  Well, it seems a little false, but they said they didn’t see any results from my work after one month.  Anyone who know anything about SEO, ORM and the Internet knows that immediate results are a pipe dream especially for a start-up company with a relatively new product.  I was in the first month of a 12-month project building the foundation for the year.  Since sales were down from the month of October, they seemed to be looking for any excuse at all to simply not pay.

Two Courts

I have two options:  the Court of Law or the Court of Public Opinion.  Given the cost of a lawsuit, you can imagine that I am pondering the Court of Public Opinion. My dilemma is that it is my job to help my clients manage their online reputation.  I help repair a negative online reputation; I help build a non-existent online reputation (like this client); or I help pave the way for future problem solving by creating a strong online presence in a troublesome industry.

I am simply not interested in damaging anyone’s reputation online.

Likewise, TAO Consultants has been in business for more than 27 years, I am not used to being taken advantage of and my own reputation in my area of expertise is impeccable. I have earned my reputation with successful results for my clients. Ignoring this lack of payment puts me into a frame of reference I am simply not used to.

So let me ask for comments. What would you do? Let it go or go over to the dark side by going public with this client’s name and web address?

I leave it to you.

Chesa Keane

Two companies that have experienced reputation problems in 2009 are Trader Joe’s and Sigg.  Trader Joe’s was ranked 17th out of 20 grocery store chains and the worst among national chains in sustainable seafood practices because of its lack of publicly available purchasing policies.  Around the same time, Sigg, a water bottle brand popular among environmentally-conscious consumers, revealed that its bottle linings contained bispenol-A, a hormone-disrupting chemical.  Worse, the CEO had to admit publicly that he had known about it long before the public revelation.

These two companies had a slight advantage in managing these crises because of their well-established brands and good environmental track records prior to these incidents.  However, without strong branding, a company faced with environmental issues can be in jeopardy of irreparable damage before the problems are corrected.

Authors Stephen Linaweaver and Brad Bate suggest that there are three steps that any company should take to manage crisis:

• Know what you know - and what you need to find out. Environmental issues are often complicated and proactive research to determine a corporation’s vulnerability can shorten the time of response in the face of crisis.
• Acknowledge the event, and put it in context. Responding to an event quickly in a manner that recognizes the big picture rather than focusing too closely on specifics can place the proper emphasis on the issue without dwelling on it.
• Engage in dialogue. Environmental issues create an opportunity to communicate with the accusing organizations because their acknowledged purpose is to bring about change, not simply attack the “bad guys.”  Developing a positive relationship with activist environmental organizations can open the doors to both sides sharing what they know, believe and want, leading to a positive resolution.

For the full articles, read more…

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com

First a disclaimer:  I spent 95% of my time working on my clients SEO needs — blogging, social media, article publication, etc. — and not enough time on my own web presence.  But that also lets me show you clearly how my activity, little as it is, impacts my web traffic.

The Eye of SEO Focus (www.focusingtools.com)
This blog was newly launched in late February 2009 with the first posting on February 6, 2009, followed by two other postings on February 19, 2009 and March 10, 2009.  Of course, I will post more frequently, but given this sparse posting on The Eye of SEO Focus, the results are very clear in these graphs:

February Postings for FocusingTools.com

March postings for FocusingTools.com

If you go to FocusingTools.com, you will see that the postings are sparse, 2/6/09, 2/19/09 and 3/10/09.  But for each of those postings, there is a clear response in traffic.

Internet/Computer Consulting (www.TAOConsultants.com)
Now let’s look at the other new blog, www.TAOConsultants.com.  Again, sparse postings:  January 20, 2009, March 10, 2009 and March 20, 2009.

January 2009 blog postings for TAOConsultants.com

March 2009 blog postings for TAOConsultants.com

Again, sparse postings for TAOConsultants.com on 1/20/09, 3/10/09 and 3/20/09.  But the  results from these limited postings could not be more clear.

The message is obvious:  post and you will gain traffic.  I am actually glad I didn’t have more time for postings in the past few months because I now have clear data results from the limited postings I was able to make.  It also encourages me to post more frequently — like tonight.

This is one of the most important strategies we use at TAO Consultants.  We create multiple blogs and post frequently and our clients see strong results.  As long as they present a clear Call-to-Action on their landing pages, they see increased conversions from the traffic we create with blog blasts.  Try it.  You’ll be amazed.

Chesa
www.computergoddess.com