Is too much emphasis being placed on the "Like" button?

Who doesn’t want to be liked? We spend a vast majority of our life trying to get people to approve of us. Companies are no different.

In an attempt to connect with their customers and potential customers, more and more organizations are venturing into the social network realm, creating Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and tweeting to their audience. Many companies almost beg you to “Like” them. For example, it seems almost every restaurant and store I’ve been to lately has asked me to engage with them in some social way.

There is no doubt that social networks are great for getting closer to your customers and building a better brand. But my concern is that there might be too much focus on currying the favor of those likely to click the “Like” button and not enough on the consumers whose experiences would lead to a lusty pounding on the proverbial “Dislike” button.

No one disputes the power of having a group of your happiest customers at the ready for marketing and marketing research purposes. But what about those dissatisfied customers? Are companies inadvertently forgetting them? I realize the equivalent of a “Dislike” button is out of the question but, short of that, shouldn’t companies show the same enthusiasm and willingness to hear the bad news as they do the good?