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ARTICLE SUMMARY: In this article I suggest reasons why business leaders, marketers and PR professionals should appreciate not fear bloggers.

Earlier this week I attended the first meeting of the Irish Internet Association Social Media Working Group.

As I have written about many times, Irish businesses have been slow to adopt social media for a variety of reasons and that was evident in the conversation that took place at the Social Media Working Group meeting.

The Social Media Working Group has a mix of participants from organisations looking to develop social media programmes as part of their marketing and communications strategies, through to web developers who are helping their clients with the technical elements of their web strategy and social media experts in Irish education.

One of the themes in the conversation was the reticence of connecting with bloggers – in fact almost a fear of the prominent bloggers in the Irish community which frankly I think is a shame. Irish bloggers are not mischievous leprechauns.

I recommended to the Social Media Working Group that through the development of the white papers planned in the forthcoming months, some of those Irish bloggers and those active in the Irish Twittersphere will be great people to connect with as they will be able to add valuable insights and suggestions for the content of the white papers.

Yes some organisations have come unstuck as they don’t know how to build relationships with influencial bloggers and podcasters and instead pitch irrelevant stories to them.

As communicators, marketers and business leaders do you like to be pitched to or spammed with irrelevant messages? I’m guessing not and that’s the case for bloggers too.

Behind every blog is a real person. Yes you may find one or two who are very outspoken and challenging to get to know – but don’t you find that the same with people that you work with?

What I’ve come to learn about the Irish blogosphere and the global blogosphere is that most bloggers have positive intent and if they write a review that suggests your product is less than perfect they are doing so with the hope that they are not just using their blogs to vent frustration:

• other people will find the review of assistance
• your company will listen, take note and make changes which will only benefit your bottom line and reputation and your customers and consumers in that they receive better services and products.

One of the objections I consistently hear from companies who are considering starting a business blog is the amount of time that they think that blogging will take – and to some extent they are correct. Yes to write an engaging and useful blog post or article takes time not only in writing but also research time for cntent and relvant links and resources to add to the article.

What many business leaders fail to recognise is that if a blogger takes the time to write a review about your business, they have invested time in word of mouth marketing of your business.

Many organisations invest in extensive customer surveys. Some organisations even look to assess their Net Promoter score.

And many more organisations do nothing. They don’t seek feedback from their customers and clients and wonder why they do not get repeat business or referrals.

Yes, asking for feedback can be challenging and it’s likely that we will hear things about our business, our people or even our products and services that we don’t want to hear.

So here is my proposition - business leaders should appreciate bloggers.

Take for example the case of  Deborah Hadley, an experienced private caterer who on her blog writes restaurant reviews.

She pays for the meals herself and if any part of a meal is received gratis or if she has any connection to the chef or other staff, she fully discloses this.

Deborah publishes her reviews on her blog and at the online review site, LouderVoice. She states on her blog:

My reviews reflect my honest opinion of the experience in question.  Should you have any questions about a particular review, or if you are connected with the restaurant in question, please feel free to contact me.  If you are concerned about a negative review, please note I am always open to an invitation to give it a second chance, at which point I would alter my review, if necessary.  However you should be open to the fact that my opinion might not change.  You are always welcome to comment on the review in question, which will become a part of the review and be read by anyone who comes across it.

Deborah’s opinion is actively sought out – for example she receives questions from others on Twitter about her recommendations about restaurants across Ireland. She has become a trusted source – like asking a friend where to go to for dinner or where to take the children to entertain them on a wet Dublin afternoon.

So if you were a restaurant owner and found that you received a poor review on Deborah’s blog, Tast.ie, what would you do?

Absolutely you could follow Deborah’s guidelines and post a comment on her blog or invite her back to your restaurant. 

But would you welcome and act on the feedback?

All too often, customers are not often prepared to voice their complaints in shops, hotels or restaurants.

And they have also come to realise that if they do complete a comments card it’s likely no action will be taken and they certainly won’t receive a follow up letter or phone call. I know that from personal experience having left an extensive review at a famous Irish hotel, Ashford Castle where I received poor customer service and some 90 days later I still have not had a note of acknowledgement from the hotel general manager or customer service representative. 

Contrast that to the visit I made to a Dublin based  endodontist who called me 24 hours after receiving treatment to check I was OK and had no problems.

When customers receive poor service, they often go home begrudging the money they spent in your shop, restaurant or hotel and then share their experience with their friends advising them not to visit the hotel or restaurant.

Conversations like this happen all the time – it’s called negative word of mouth marketing as your customers are far from your brand champions.

The blogosphere, online communities and social network sites now allow those same conversations to take place online – in other words ‘word of mouse marketing’.

So if you received a poor review from a blogger, it’s an opportunity to learn more about the experience your customer, consumer or even patient received and then you can take action. You didn’t even have the expense of implementing a customer survey.

Savvy businesses are monitoring the blogsphere and the web for comments and conversations about the services their customers and consumers have experienced. There are even organisations who now have dedicated resources within their customer service team to monitor the conversation online and respond directly to solve the issues.

So here’s my final thought for business leaders, marketing managers, and PR firms in Ireland – don’t fear Irish bloggers. Get to know them.

Monitor what they are saying online about you, your company, your people, your products and your brand.

Evaluate the feedback and then decide what action you can take that will ensure that you create a WOW customer experience.

You can be sure that if you do that, you’ll enjoy not only positive word of mouth but also positive ‘word of mouse’ marketing results.

And if you get a great review from a blogger – nurture that relationship well. They may be influential within their community and remember that when people complete an online reference check in Google about your company, service or product, an endorsement from a raving fan or brand ambassador is far more effective than a banner ad in changing the behaviour of potential clients, customers and patients.

What concerns do you have about connecting with bloggers?

What positive results have you enjoyed from bloggers writing positive reviews about your products, services or people?