- forwarded from PRBYTES - >Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 08:08:59 -0400 > From: Jim Rink <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: PR Update > >From: Holtz Communication + Technology >Subject: MEDIA RELATIONS AND CORPORATE PR UPDATE > >April 8, 1999 > ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> >In This Issue: > >o Forget Road Rage; Here Comes Web Rage >o An E-Press Release Service with a Twist >o Don't Stoop to Ticker Spam >o Boilerplate and Subscription Information ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> > >************************************* >FORGET ROAD RAGE; HERE COMES WEB RAGE >************************************* > >It used to be a novelty: Web sites crafted by consumers >who felt they could get satisfaction nowhere else. As >the Web becomes more ubiquitous, though, so do sites >dedicated to slamming companies that have rubbed >customers the wrong way. > >If you need convincing, take a spin over to Yahoo and >drill down through "Business and Economy" to "Consumer >Opinion." Here you'll find links to consumer sites >dedicated to complaining about everybody from >Bell Atlantic to Ford, from Radio Shack to United >Airlines, from Taco Bell to Procter & Gamble. And >these are only the sites that Yahoo has categorized >-- sites addressing consumer angst about more than >100 companies; undoubtedly, there are more that >Yahoo hasn't yet picked up on. > >According to a recent Washington Post article, these >sites have taken on a new dimension. Not only do the >site owners articulate their own gripes; they establish >guest books that allow visitors to add their own >experiences, lending credibility to the sites. The >article points to U-Hell, a site aimed at problems >encountered with U-Haul (which is one of the companies >not yet listed in the Yahoo consumer opinion >directory). The site's owner receives an additional >10 complaints each week, some of which are added >to the site; the rest aren't printable, according >to the Post article. > >But the most interesting comment in the article came >from Ken Herz, a spokesman from Chase Manhattan Bank, >the target of a site launched by a 23-year-old New >Yorker named Scott Harrison. The site currently >boasts about 200 complaints in its guest book. You >might think a company with the might of Chase >Manhattan would send the lawyers to shut down such >a site. Instead, according to Herz, the bank >monitors the site for legitimate complaints they >can address. > >Exactly right! Complaints are a company's most >important feedback, and addressing them is the best >way to improve customer service and enhance >competitiveness. A complaint site -- particularly >one that allows visitors to contribute -- can become >your organization's best source of input on how >to improve service. The best way to put an attack >site out of business is to give them nothing to >complain about! > >Of course, you may find yourself the target of an >activist attack, such as that under which Nutrasweet >has labored for years. There is nothing Nutrasweet >can do to discourage the anti-asperthame activists, >so Nutrasweet does the next best thing: Uses its >Web site to prominently present information in >response to the attacks. (After all, where will >people go for information once they have read the >activist claims? To the company's own site, of >course!) > >Even a Nike spokesperson quoted in the article noted >that the company made changes to its policies because >it was the right thing to do, "but our actions have >clearly been accelerated because of the World Wide >Web," which was used to spread the word of a boycott. > >Is your company or client under attack on the Web? >Don't jerk your knee in response. Use the information >to send positive messages to the audiences that matter. ____________________________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join The NEW Web Consultants Association FORUMS and CHAT: Register Today at: http://just4u.com/forums/ Web Consultants Web Site : http://just4u.com/webconsultants Give the Gift of Life This Year... Just4U Stop Smoking Support forum - helping smokers for over three years-tell a friend: http://just4u.com/forums/ To get 500 Banner Ads for FREE go to http://www.linkbuddies.com/start.go?id=111261 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
