A while back I got sick, and of course I didn’t think about it. I get sick at LEAST once a year. Well this sickness progressed and got worse, and then it suddenly got better and I felt just fine… then I got a rash. Being the internet addicted nerd I am, I went to Web MD and self diagnosed myself with scarlet fever. I remember thinking “didn’t that go the way of small pox, polio, and fashionable white bonnets?” When I awoke the next day it was worse, much worse. The rash had spread to my face, neck, torso and both arms. So I decided to consult a professional.

The nurse took my vitals, the doctors looked inside my top most orifices, gave me a good look over and then announced. “You have scarlet fever”. Wow. I was right, and I was scared.

I didn’t know what to do, but thankfully I talked to the professional (this case a doctor) and he prescribed some meds and suggested I take it easy for a few days. I obviously got over it, but it was strange being confronted with my own “worst case scenario”.

Now ask yourself this, what’s your business’s scarlet fever, your worst case scenario? What PR, marketing, customer service, and sales disasters can you foresee happening? What can you do to prevent it? What technology can you use to help keep it from happening.

Companies like Motrin, Nestle, and Dominoes have already come face to face with theirs and lived to tell the tale. They took a beating, lost customers, their stock dropped, their brand name surfaced negative posts on Google’s first page long after it was over, and it didn’t need to happen. The big shame is that they could have been prevented by just utilizing simple social media tools to monitor conversations and mentions of their brand.

I’m not saying that social media will always be the answer, but it’s something to think about. ORM (online reputation management) iss something to keep in mind and to be weary of as it’s quickly becoming a necessity. Think about it for a second.

Do you know what’s being said about you, your company, your products, and your employees? Do you know how you’re being perceived online? Is there anything that you can do right now to find that information and if negative make things better? Any areas where you could improve?

Are you scared now? Are you nervous, or even better curious? You should be. Is your brain churning and is it running around checking your mental catalog of problems both potential and real? It should be.

There are hundreds of tools out there and it’s difficult to know exactly where to start. It’s a lot of work finding out where your customers are at online and listening to conversations and monitoring your brand. That’s why there are people like myself who eat, breath, live, and study this stuff.

Social media consultants and agencies that have logged the time studying, and conversing with like minded people and think about new ways to utilize the vast sea of tools labeled as social media. In this case they are the professionals who can help with your companies worst case scenario.

Everyday the amount of internet users is growing. Social networks and communication methods are expanding, new blogs are springing up, and people are exchanging more and more ideas. It’s the time to engage your customers in new ways and discover the benefits of social media for yourself.

The purpose of this post is not to be a sales pitch for me and my services. The purpose is to say that this is something you need to be aware of, and that now is not the time to go to sleep thinking it won’t happen to you just to wake up with scarlet fever.

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