Concerned about what your customers say about you online? Well, you should be. You probably think you have your bases covered by allowing product reviews and client testimonials through your website, but the truth is that the blogosphere can make (or break) you as a company if Google includes a customer's blog post in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Prominently positioned customer blog posts in the SERPs that either love you or hate you can be more powerful than product reviews for several reasons, the most obvious one being that many blogs act as word-of-mouth advertising when things go right, and when things go wrong.

While some bloggers may have a reputation for always pointing out things that are wrong with the world, make no mistake about it -- "acts of kindness" do get talked about, in a big way! You may have already overheard some of the positive buzz about Zappos, a fashion retailer of shoes and handbags, probably due in part to their free overnight shipping, very liberal return policy, and enthusiastic customer reviews. Here's a story you might not have heard about from a woman who wrote this blog post, "I Heart Zappos."

We all understand that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and Ms. LaMarr (the writer of the post) could be any one of us. In her post, she had described how she purchased some pairs of women's shoes for her ill mother. Unfortunately they didn't fit, and she didn't get around to returning them. Shortly afterward, her mom passed away and Ms. LaMarr still hadn't gotten around to mailing them. When Zappos didn't receive the shoes as they had expected, they sent Ms. LaMarr an email following up where she had replied explaining her situation and ended with, "I'd send the shoes as soon as I could." Not only did Zappos arrange for UPS to pick up the shoes, but they also sent a large floral arrangement with their condolences.

The result of Zappos kindness? The customer that they treated like gold also happened to be a blogger with readership. Words of this good deed are spreading around the web faster than the speed of a T-1 line, and her post is currently in position #12 in Google for "zappos," and in position #9 in Yahoo!

Still not a believer that blogs are powerful? One commenter to her post declared, "I am going to go buy something from them and refer them to this post as the reason for my purchase. If only more companies acted this human." What better way to build your reputation than to get back to basics and be nice to people?

On the flip side, some companies are earning their reputation as an unfeeling, corporate giant. I can't think of another industry that has more problems with that image than the airlines. Search Google for "spirit airlines" and the number #3 ranked result is a blog post headline that reads, "Do Not Fly Spirit Airlines." What started out as a complaint over a $5 fee attracted a blogstorm; not only were several other horror stories were relayed in the blog post's comments, but other posts like this one about the "Spirit Airlines Story" have attracted attention outside of the blogosphere in places like The Chicago Tribune, consumer complaint groups and more.

What was so bad that everyone is avoiding this inexpensive airline?

CEO Ben Baldanza reacted to a well-written customer complaint letter by saying "Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny." The customer got a hold of the comment because Baldanza hit the "Reply to All" button.

Instead of apologizing or trying to deal with the situation in a better manner, Spirit Airlines blew off its customers and people reacted. While they could have done something to resolve the issue, blogs don't seem to be important to them. Their company spokeswoman Alison Russell was quoted as saying, "We wouldn't respond to a blog post. She goes on to say: "This goes back to the larger question of the veracity of everything you read on Internet blogs. Our customer service is great."

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "De Nile is a river in Egypt?" How many travelers do you think are going to steer clear of Spirit Airlines after they read that damning post (in a #3 Google SERP position)?

The lesson here, folks, is that all of the clichйs you've heard about being kind to one another holds true -- even (or especially!) on the internet.

Source: news.com