A friend of mine, Mark Sanborn, wrote a great book called the Fred Factor where he talks about people who are extraordinary at their job. The Dorchester Hotel had a bellman named Carlos who was just a wonderful guy who went above and beyond to make my experience at the hotel a good one. At the end of my stay, we said goodbye and I told him how much I appreciated the exceptional service that he provided. What he did next put the biggest smile on my face because its the exact advice I give to every business owner I come across. He handed me a card with a website address and asked if I would be kind enough to go the Hotel Website and provide a review about my new friend Carlos. And I did.

It’s absolutely critical that we give people who are happy with our products and services the opportunity to share their experience on the web. People pay more attention to customer reviews then any other source of information on the web and so we must pay attention to what is being said about our brand on our website as well as other popular review sites such as Google Local Business, Yelp, and Urban Spoon.

Now I’m sure the Dorchester Hotel has its share of good and bad reviews. But thanks to a very smart employee, they can add one more positive one to the list. Take some advice from my friend Carlos and give your happy customers an easy way to tell their story to the online world.