This is a guest post from Andy Sernovitz — CEO of WordofMouth.org and SocialMedia.org and New York Times bestselling author of “Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking.” See the original post this is adapted from and more like it on his blog.
I mentioned that I had a great experience using Uber to get around DC. Within days, people started sending me negative articles about what an awful company they are.
True or not doesn’t matter here: A company that earns bad word of mouth (especially one that provides a great service) is in trouble.
It takes consistent, deep-seated, bad will to make people hate your company. And it usually comes from deep-seated, bad attitudes within a company, and often from leadership.
The one truth about word of mouth is that the truth always rises to the surface. If you’re facing this kind of attack, it’s time to look within.
About Andy Sernovitz
Andy Sernovitz builds organizations that help people help each other. His company, GasPedal, builds peer-to-peer communities for people leading meaningful change at the world’s biggest companies, including SocialMedia.org and SocialMedia.org Health. He wrote the best-selling book Word of Mouth Marketing, which teaches you how to earn the respect and recommendation of your customers.
