MaineBusiness.com

It's not a stretch to imagine that unsatisfied customers will tell everyone they know about their problem with your business. And the Internet has made word of mouth even more important.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook let us tell all our "friends" how upset we are with a particular business. And review sites allow every customer to become a reviewer.

For better or worse, your reputation can become well known on the Internet. So you need to keep an eye out for what people are saying about you. Marketing Pilgrim has an incredible list of tools to notify you when you're the subject of a blog, tweet or online review.

What I like about the list is that the tools can be used to keep an eye on your competition. For example, use the classifieds search engine Oodle.com to look for job openings in your industry. That will let you know when your competition is hiring.

While I'm on the subject, Nicki Hicks brings up a good point in her The Maine SEO Blog. She takes on the issue of writing reviews of your own business. Why not create an alias and wax poetic about how good you are? It's dishonest, and it will come back to haunt you. These aliases tend to get exposed. Then you look sleazy.

But Nicki brings up the idea that you can do it if you're transparent and honest. That way people know you're praising your business. What's the harm there? I think people will automatically discount the post, and you gain nothing. I'm not against a little bit of shameless self promotion. But offer some information. Write about what you offer. Get the reader interested in finding out more.

It's a new phenomenon. And it's going to take some attention to make sure your reputation is in good shape.