You never know who is talking about you... Facebook, Twitter, websites, review websites, blogs - there are many many places for people to simmply talk nowadays. Have you any idea who is talking about you right now and what they are saying about you?

If your answer to that question is "No" - then perhaps you need to find out. Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries showed that recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising (April 2009)

If you think about it, it does make sense. No company advertising or company website is going to tell you how bad they are, how poor their delivery was, how their customer service was rude and unhelpful. But, people online love to tell you all about their bad experiences, And here's the good news, people online also love to tell you when their experience with your compnay has been positive - not just when it has been negative!

If a customer is looking a new LCD TV, they will probably begin their search for the right TV by learning what they can about the different types of TVs - plasma, LCD etc. Once they know that their search will become a little more specific like "Sony Bravia 42 inch LCD" - this shows they obviously want that particular TV but now want ot know what people think of that Sony TV and who is th best person (or website) to buy it from.

At some point, they wil begin to review the actual retailer - how was their service, how was delivery, if it had to be returned did anyone have problems among other things. Getting the sale or not getting the sale can sometimes ome down to your online reputation.

At Grow Sales Online, we know that recommendations from requests put out on Facebook and Twitter has got us business and we also know that requests on Facebook and Twitter for something like, "Anyone know a good hotel in Belfast?", "anyone know a good graphic designer?", "could someone pick up a parcel in Belfast for me?" have all had positive outcomes through other people recommending the hotel, graphic designer or picking up the parcel!

The online customer can be a very powerful ally in your battle to gain sales - but first you have to find out what they are saying about you! Grow Sales can help you manage your reputation online - get in touch for your FREE initial online reputation review.