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On facebook the other day, a friend posted this:
The reactions, including mine, were interesting. Everyone who replied felt that layoffs should be based on performance, not on personal feelings. And they should.
But…(there it is…that but)…
Here in the real world, things do not work that way. Companies base all kinds of decisions on relationships and personal feelings rather than on merit.
A couple months ago, I wrote about a company with an unsecure shopping cart on their site. Their web designer did one of the BIGGEST no no’s known to web designers. He knowingly left an unsecure shopping cart up on the site. When I notified the company, I explained to them (through the referenced post) why their unsecure shopping cart was a dangerous thing and why they needed to fix it. Now, the owner went to my site and KNOWS that I build websites. He knows that I obviously know what I’m doing. Did he fire his incompetent web designer and hire me? NO!! Why is that? Because he had a prior RELATIONSHIP with his web designer. Even though this person or company could have cost him his business if the credit card companies caught wind that he was taking card numbers over a non secure website, he still kept the web designer and had them fix the problem. Now I see that the same company is on facebook. Again, they have some nitwit advising them. Here is what their wall looks like:
If you look, they have all of their posts coming from HootSuite. They NEVER EVEN VISIT THE FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!!! You can’t interact with customers that way. Poor Elke has been waiting since Sunday (it’s now Wednesday) for an answer. Sure, she can visit the site and get her answers, however, this post from her proves that she found them on facebook and wants to interact with them on facebook. However, someone told them to just put up a facebook account and spam the facebook wall with great things about themselves. (I think they need to take my Internet Marketing Using Social Spaces – 4 Week Course)
I notified another person who has a website that there were many dead links on the home page of her site. This person is a guest speaker at a huge month long online conference that I am attending. She is supposed to be an expert. However, her poor website was not a reflection of her professionalism. Obviously, her current web designer wasn’t doing his job. When I brought this to her attention, did she hire me and get rid of the web designer who didn’t do his job? NO…because she has a prior relationship with the web designer who doesn’t do his job. She did have him redesign the site.
I could post many, many stories just like this, but I think you get the picture. If you create great relationships with people, you can screw up quite a bit and they will probably keep you around. But…if you DON’T have those relationships…you aren’t going to be around very long if you do manage to get your foot in the door. It works that way in the corporate world as well as in the real world. Employees and self employed people come upon these same hurdles. It’s all in how you maneuver past them.
If you are trying to do business online, consider taking my Internet Marketing Using Social Spaces – 4 Week Course and learn how to use social spaces to create those relationships and build your business.
