There are certain media partners that just continue to deliver for me year after year. These companies are truly partners. They think the way we think, talk the way we talk, anticipate what we want done and then do it with flawless execution. Their team and my team have spent so much time together over the phone, conversing via email and talking face to face that they are part of our working "family." We're lucky enough to have a handful of partners we consider family.
With this said, how do you typically react when someone repeatedly verbally bashes your family? Does it make you want to jump into their arms? Of course not!
As an example, I have the "family" relationship I described with our SEO/SEM firm. They exceeded the performance of any other firm before them by 30 percent out of the gate and have only improved over time. We've been working with them for the past couple of years, and they not only smoke every goal we set for them, but they are all people that I would love to have as next door neighbors.
The problem is that one individual at another SEO/SEM firm routinely verbally rips apart our firm every single time we see each other, and others at his company take the same approach. I thought I had made it clear the first time this happened how much we love the work that our current firm has done for us, but the verbal abuse still continues. This is someone I've spoken with for years, and I respect his contribution to the industry, but others who overhear his abuse are clearly turned off.
Even if this individual had the best product or service around, he's permanently damaged his ability to earn my business. In addition, none of the people that work with me are likely to want to do business him at any point in their careers. Would you want to do business with this person given this scenario?
In an instant, an otherwise talented individual wiped out a segment of his audience by forgetting that focusing on your own strengths and talents will always outweigh criticizing a company's respected and solid-performing business partner.