It used to be that consumers shared opinions about products and services at the water cooler or over the backyard fence. While their word-of-mouth was (and is) valuable, the reach they could achieve in the “old days” was minimal. Today that’s not the case. Although there is still plenty of old-fashioned word-of-mouth taking place in break rooms and backyards around the country, the power of technology has amped up the ability to spread messages—for good and ill! Marketers need to be taking steps to address both sides of this issue. (more…)