Google Alerts can help you with your customer service and feedback

If you're running a business, you should have it listed in all the local directories for Google, Yahoo, and Bing. That way when people are searching locally for what you do, they'll be able to find your business quickly. These listings also give customers the opportunity to provide feedback on your business. If it's positive feedback, that's great! In an ideal world, we'd all like to think we can make everyone happy. Since that isn't the case, what do you do when someone gives your business a poor rating and posts it up on the web for everyone to see?

First, you have to know about the negative feedback to do something about it. The best way to find out what people are saying about your business is to set up an alert in Google. It's very simple to create a Google Alert. Just set up a Google account, and then create an alert for your business name at http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en. Whenever anyone posts anything new on your business (including you), you'll receive an email with the url of the posting.

Okay, now let's assume someone posted some negative feedback on your business. Luckily, since you set up the Google Alert, you're able to respond quickly to the person, instead of letting the review negatively influence others. To rectify the situation, create a comment on the negative post and include your contact information. Ask them to call you directly and let them know you want to correct the situation.

Many times it's a matter of miscommunication that caused the negative perception of your customer service. If you deal with the issue quickly, you'll be able to turn that unhappy customer into a raving fan. Who knows? A few weeks later, you may get another Google Alert in your e-mail where he or she has written a follow-up post about your great customer service!