Got Reviews? - Online Marketing Ideas

Here in the Midwest, it doesn't seem like it, but summer IS coming and summer means more people are traveling and exploring new vacation spots with their families. This also means that small businesses need to focus on their online marketing ideas to attract those summer vacationers.

Picture how the typical family decides how and where to spend their vacation monies.

We've been driving for hours and we are all getting hungry...

• "Hey Hon, we are coming up on Eau Claire. Look up what they have for Mexican restaurants."

The dutiful spouse opens up his smart phone and...

• "Looks like we've got Azul, Cancun... OH LOOK! Tacos Juanita is a 4.5 star one! Let me look at what the reviews have to say..."

Now, I've been to Eau Claire and all three of those restaurants are great places to eat. So how can the other restaurants compete when Tacos Juanita has 29 reviews and a 4.5 star rating that jumps off the screen at the customer?

They, like every restaurant, hotel, and business that hopes to attract tourists need to have reviews and solid star ratings. When consumers have choices, why wouldn't they opt for the business everyone is talking about and everyone recommends?

There are many strategies for generating reviews, but the most important one is to ASK! People love to be asked for their opinions and they love to talk about the places they love. So, what are you waiting for? Start asking your customers to write reviews today!

Ann Pearson is the CEO of Impressions Review Managing, LLC - a company committed to empowering business to manage their online reputations. For more information about the services IRM offers, visit www.impressionsrm.com or email Ann at impressionsrm@gmail.com.

Online Marketing Mahem - Handling Negative Reviews

Word-of-mouth advertising used to be something that you had no control over. People would say what people would say. If it was positive, sometimes people would come in and tell you someone recommended they use your business, but if it was negative, you might never know that it even happened.

Now, business owners have an opportunity to use virtual word-of-mouth advertising to their benefit. Review websites have given consumers a place to voice when they are happy with a business or product and when they are dissatisfied. Getting that pat on the back is always great, but should you do anything when the feedback is not so good?

YES, you should and here are just a few reasons why:

1. Retaining a client is much less expensive than attracting a new one.
2. Up-sales and repeat customers are two of the most common reasons for business growth.
3. Prospective customers are using review websites to decide if they should trust you or your product - good customer service is important for others to see.
4. Critical feedback can give you the information you need to grow and offer better services - engaging in the conversation will give you valuable insights.
5. The conversation will take place with or without you - your choice is whether or not you want to have a hand in steering the conversation to your favor. 

Every business will have its ups and downs and a negative review is sure to come along. Here are some basic do's and don'ts when handling a negative review:

DO

• Reach out to the customer and try to mend bridges - try a simple reply to the negative post that says something to the effect of, "I am SO sorry that this happened to you! I would like to gather some more information about what took place so we can make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else - would you be willing to give me a call?" Leave the business phone number and your extension, or let your staff know that the call may be coming through and they should send it through to you right away. Even if the person does not call, everyone else reading along will see that you are trying to work out a solution and that kind of customer service elicits trust.
• Find something for which to apologize. Even if you feel you have no fault in the situation, saying that you are sorry can deflate the anger and tension your customer is feeling. You can always find something to apologize for like: "I'm sorry you left here upset," "I'm sorry that we didn't meet your needs," or "I'm sorry we were not able to correct the situation to your satisfaction."
• Own up if you made a mistake. Most customers know that sometimes things just don't go like we want them to and they are much more willing to mend bridges when they feel you are being honest and taking responsibility.

DON'T

• Take it personally. You pour your life into your business and it is very easy to feel like it is a slap in the face when someone writes a negative review. Take some time and get away from the situation before you respond.
• Post anything publicly that sounds angry, defensive, or accusatory. A good rule is to take what you plan to post publicly and hand it off to someone you trust who is not emotionally involved in the situation. Let him or her give you feedback on how the post sounds and make corrections before you post your reply online. 
• Despair. Everyone gets a negative review once in awhile. Take the feedback, make any changes to your practices that you need to, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and do your best to provide quality services and products and you will find positives coming in again.

About 75-80% of the reviews online are positive reviews, so while business owners get worried about acknowledging that some clients may be unhappy, most customers are pleased and enjoy sharing their insights about their favorite places. Engage in the conversations with those positive reviewers too and watch how their recommendations spread the great news about what you are doing!

Ann Pearson is the CEO of Impressions Review Managing, LLC - a company committed to empowering businesses to manage their online reputations. For more information about the services IRM offers, visit www.impressionsrm.com or email Ann at impressionsrm@gmail.com.

Yahoo and Yelp - Promoting Your Business?

It is no secret that promoting your business through maintaining a strong online reputation and having a lot of positive content on the web is the best way to provide valuable information for prospective customers. Having solid star-ratings on the major review websites is one important piece of this process and the top search engines and review websites jockey to be the leading provider of quality information for consumers.

WSJ Article Photo: "Floor refinisher Dan Tringale
says nearly 50 reviews of his business have
disappeared since Yahoo made its Yelp deal.
'It's a slap in the face.' M. Scott Brauer"

While Google remains king of the search engines and thereby has the biggest impact with the reviews and star-ratings it lists, Yelp is growing and expanding its reach in the online reputation realm by making new deals with the other search engines, Yahoo and Bing. However, Yelp's methods are making many businesses "yelp" in frustration.

As this Wall Street Journal article notes, many businesses were aware that Yelp was joining forces with Yahoo so that Yelp reviews would be seen on Yahoo Local, but many were not aware that this would mean all of their previously posted Yahoo Local reviews would disappear!

For businesses that had few or negative reviews on Yahoo, this may have been a benefit, but some business owners had hundreds of reviews on Yahoo representing years of their reputation and often displaying the kind of quality customer service we all seek to provide, all gone and replaced with only the filtered reviews Yelp displays.

Yelp has come under fire for its filtering system in the past as many businesses feel that their positive reviews were filtered out while the negative reviews seem to have been given a more prominent place on their Yelp page. Others have reported that they were aggressively pursued by Yelp's advertising branch and felt that whether they chose to advertise with Yelp would make a difference in whether positive reviews would continue to be filtered - a claim that Yelp firmly denies.

Whether Yelp's move benefited or negatively impacted your business, it emphasizes the need to have reviews on a wide variety of review websites so your customers will be able to find a well-rounded base of consumer reviews from which to draw as they make their purchasing decisions. With Easter just around the corner, perhaps we should think of it as not having all of our review eggs in one basket.

Ann Pearson is the CEO of Impressions Review Managing, LLC - a company committed to empowering businesses to manage their online reputations. For more information about the services IRM offers, visit www.impressionsrm.com or email Ann at impressionsrm@gmail.com.