What Is a Rumor Worth?

Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through The Grapevine


Ooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew
About you're plans to make me blue
With some other guy that you knew before.
Between the two of us guys
You know I love you more.
It took me by surprise I must say,
When I found out yesterday.
Don't you know that...


I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.


I know that a man ain't supposed to cry,
But these tears I can't hold inside.
Losin' you would end my life you see,
Cause you mean that much to me.
You could have told me yourself
That you love someone else.
Instead...


I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.


People say believe half of what you see,
Son, and none of what you hear.
I can't help bein' confused
If it's true please tell me dear?
Do you plan to let me go
For the other guy you loved before?
Don't you know...


I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.


As a rational human being we need to have an understanding of the social and business world around us. Add that to the combustible world of Social Media and Social Media Marketing and you as a business owner and or marketer face an ambiguous blanked threat from situations that you have no, yes NO control over. People say things. Post things, regardless of their validly or not and away they go. . . flying at the speed of light across the world wide web!


Good or bad rumors affect you and your business. So what, if anything can you do?


1) Strengthen your key influencers. Keep them close, safe and informed. What is said from a close friend or family member has or weight than that of an unknown person to push the good or help you to down play the bad


2) Immediacy of influencer action. Rumors more often than not take hold in your close knot groups and neighborhoods. Keep your home base safe and informed.

3) The number of sources. The more people in a given network who believe in a rumor the more likely that someone else is going to believe it.


Using these 3 components of the Rumor Mill, we can start to see how a rumor can spread based on varying motivations for spreading it. Good or bad, people talk and repost.


So what can you do?


First: develop a trust with your clients, friends and followers. The more you are trusted the more you can squelch negative rumors and push forward positive ones. So how do you get trust? Try keeping your word, giving regular communication and keep yourself going in one stead direction. Be who you are and you should have no problem with this.


Second: If you keep a regular channel of information flowing you are more likely than not to limit any uncertainty and anxiety over rumors that are circling around you.


Third: Keep an ear to the wind. Use search alerts that search for your name being circulated online. Google yourself, you and your company, a couple of times a day. Be proactive


Forth: Be fast on your feet. Quickly confirm good rumors or squish bad rumors and steal the thunder of those who would benefit from people in your Social World hearing it.


Fifth: Always be ready to rebut and dispute a false rumor. That is where a so called neutral third party friend or follower comes in handy as your Lone Ranger or White Knight.


Larson Notes & Satire: Was Marvin talking about his girlfriend or his customer? If you can hear about a customer looking to take their work to a different company before they do or before they really get into active conversation with the other company you stand a much better chance of righting the wrong of what happened. It makes no difference if the wrong was real or perceived. To the customer it is real and that is what counts Take me and AT&T. Hint hint. I spend a lot of money to Ma Bell. They should be licking my boots. Funny how they don’t seem to care after they have my yearly contract under their belt. Enter new phone system and internet provider. A new communication company here in the Land Of Larson? Well I can’t say yes and I can’t say no, but …. If I could save you up to 66% on your communication bill would you be interested?


Ok see how that happens?


This is going to be a very fun year in the Land Of Larson. The tip of the iceberg has only started to hit the ship! If you are my competition I would start to be worried. The kid is on his game and moving in the right direction with new products and services? I was looking at getting into Video E-Mails.

Another rumor? I wonder. Did I or didn't I?


Remember our 3 new programs for 2011
1st is our Virtual Sales Manager Program
2nd our Sales Function Outsourcing Program
3rd our Virtual Business Consulting Program


Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
howard@larsonassociates.ws
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P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.


P.P.S. Take the Larson Challenge to double your sales this year and get listed on our web site @ http://www.larsonassociates.ws/Larson_Challenge . Email us your company name and web address to get listed. Make this year your best ever!