Common today: A customer cannot buy a vehicle without an acceptable credit score.

Common tomorrow: A dealer cannot sell a vehicle without an acceptable reputation score. 

It’s quite a switch-a-roo, right?

If we are to believe Michael Fertik, author of The Reputation Economy, our online reputations are powerful and "becoming more valuable than money or power." He says that before long, a reputation score could determine whether or not potential customers visit our sites–online or off.

Don’t believe it? Here’s a case in point: San Francisco-based Airbnb was contacted in November by a traveller who wanted accommodations in Germany. Turns out, according to The Guardian, her existence couldn’t be verified because she didn’t have enough Facebook friends. The consequence? She was denied a room.

It seems that having no online presence might eventually become as damaging—if not more—as having a negative online presence. And this makes sense, right? Would you feel more comfortable selling a car to someone with zero credit or bad credit? A no-credit person can get a co-signer, but unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a co-signer for social presence. 

Here’s a non-secret: People are social creatures, and the digital environment is social. Therefore, there’s no sense in working to avoid or manipulate online reviews. Our best bet is to always respond to what makes our stakeholders happy, unhappy or indifferent, and accommodate them when we should. Good reviews will follow. And then, if a reputation score is devised and used as readily as a credit score, we’ll be prepared.

That’s about it for now, except for a few parting words: Establish a Net Promoter Score if you’ve been moved by this post, and measure it regularly. It’s enlightening and can help with your relationship-building ROI. Do you currently have a vendor for this? If so, I’d love to hear your opinions.

Common today: A customer cannot buy a vehicle without an acceptable credit score.

Common tomorrow: A dealer cannot sell a vehicle without an acceptable reputation score. 

It’s quite a switch-a-roo, right?

If we are to believe Michael Fertik, author of The Reputation Economy, our online reputations are powerful and "becoming more valuable than money or power." He says that before long, a reputation score could determine whether or not potential customers visit our sites–online or off.

Don’t believe it? Here’s a case in point: San Francisco-based Airbnb was contacted in November by a traveller who wanted accommodations in Germany. Turns out, according to The Guardian, her existence couldn’t be verified because she didn’t have enough Facebook friends. The consequence? She was denied a room.

It seems that having no online presence might eventually become as damaging—if not more—as having a negative online presence. And this makes sense, right? Would you feel more comfortable selling a car to someone with zero credit or bad credit? A no-credit person can get a co-signer, but unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a co-signer for social presence. 

Here’s a non-secret: People are social creatures, and the digital environment is social. Therefore, there’s no sense in working to avoid or manipulate online reviews. Our best bet is to always respond to what makes our stakeholders happy, unhappy or indifferent, and accommodate them when we should. Good reviews will follow. And then, if a reputation score is devised and used as readily as a credit score, we’ll be prepared.

That’s about it for now, except for a few parting words: Establish a Net Promoter Score if you’ve been moved by this post, and measure it regularly. It’s enlightening and can help with your relationship-building ROI. Do you currently have a vendor for this? If so, I’d love to hear your opinions.