Can Big Business Run The Small Guy Over Still?

It used to be that big business set the rules and the little guy had no say. Times have changed and the everyday Joe has a voice that cannot be denied.

Looking at all the protests on Wall Street and throughout the world, it appears that the average person has found a voice in the masses. No longer can big business push the little guy down when he has a voice and shares that voice with others.

When it comes to business and customer service, it is getting the same way. Social media is enabling customers to talk and gather around a cause. As a business, if you offer poor customer service and try to push your customers down, it’s not going to work anymore.

Blogs are appearing online with comments on products and services. It is not longer possible for big or small businesses to hide. If they stink at customer service and treat their customers badly, people will find out about it.

One good blog post can generate a lot of bad press for a business that cannot be ignored. It is now more important to offer good customer service from the very start. After all, do you want praise and referrals or complains and customers going out the back door? Do it right the first time. The alternative ties up a lot of energy and effort to fix the mess in the first place.

So how do you know if you have a problem? You can ask RIM. The social media highways were full of comments everywhere. So much so, that RIM was finally pushed into compensating their customers. It would have been better if they had gone willingly in the first place. Now I like RIM, but I do not affect policy for RIM. They are on their own in this one. How they come out of their mess is how they respond to their customers; many have already walked out the back door.

RIM found out the hard way that they cannot offer poor service and leave it at that. They needed to make things right for their customers. After all, are they valued customers or not? Apple and Android would love to have these customers switch camp.

So in your business, mind your customers well and treat them so good that they are praising and referring you. This really goes a long way on the Internet. Just saying.