Web Marketing - Aren't Negative Reviews Great?!

Web marketing wouldn't be complete without addressing negative reviews...

Fortunately, most people are too polite to say what they think directly to your face, but if they are unhappy with your business, you can rest assured that they ARE saying it...somewhere. 

The best part about having negative reviews is that you will be completely aware that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. You can't fix something if you don't know it's broken!

Of course sometimes what happened to cause the upset was nothing more than a series of misunderstandings or unusual mishaps. Do your best to smooth things over with the client and assure him or her that such things do not typically happen and you will work hard to make sure their experience is a positive one. After all, it's much less expensive to keep an existing customer than it is to attract a new one. 

Sometimes the reviewer is not clear in his or her review and you won't know if what they are saying is accurate or what events caused them to feel the way they do, but most of the review websites will allow you to interact with reviewers, so take the time to find out!

Replying to a negative review can be as simple as saying, "I am so sorry that you had a negative experience with us! I'd like the chance to make this right with you - would you be willing to give me a call at (555)-555-1212?" The most important thing to keep in mind is that what you write will be seen by any and everyone researching your business - BE NICE in what you post. 

Let your customers know that you paying attention to and really care about the feedback they are giving. Negative reviews can give you the power to make wise business improvement decisions - give reviews a significant portion of your web marketing attention.

#webmarketing #onlinemarketing #negativereview

www.impressionsrm.com 

Online Marketing - The Road to Great Reviews

Web marketing is critical for your business, so you created an excellent website with all the bells and whistles. You made sure it has the information your clients need, and that it is aesthetically pleasing, has web-friendly content, and it works on mobile devices. However, if your business doesn't have solid reviews and a great star-rating, consumers will choose a competitor who does and they will never see the great website you created. You really need to have a strong online reputation, high star-ratings, and solid reviews.

Thankfully, there are many strategies for having great reviews to encourage people to check out your website and ultimately, walk through the doors of your business. The infographic below will get you started - check out our website for more help and support!

Impressions Review Managing empowers businesses to manage their online reputations through supportive services, staff development training, and customized programming. Visit www.impressionsrm.com for more information or contact our team at impressionsrm@gmail.com to enhance your web marketing today!

#onlinemarketing #webmarketing #onlinereputation

Online Marketing - Swimming Through Online Reviews

Online marketing for summertime tourist season has begun in earnest! As tourists pass through your location and use their smart phones to Google the best place to eat, sleep, and play, be sure your online reputation makes your business...swim to the top of their list!

Online reviews determine whether potential clients will walk through your doors. When you have a solid star-rating and the supportive words of your top clients, consumers are willing to trust your services and try your products. For more information on online review managing and how IRM can help with your online marketing, visit www.impressionsrm.com.

#onlinemarketing #onlinereviews #webmarketing #impressionsrm

Online Marketing - Why Should You Track Your Reviews?

Tracking reviews is an important component of online marketing. Knowing what your customers are saying gives you insight into why they are (or are not) visiting your business, what they are looking for in products and services, and what you can do to improve your business.

As you read through your online reviews, here are some things to note:

• Positive comments - What are people saying they appreciate about your business and how can you use that to attract and/or keep more customers? For example, do they notice how friendly and helpful your staff are? Let your workers know that people notice and encourage them to keep it up!
• Wouldn't it be nice if... - Are people expressing anything they wish you had? More flexibility in hours? Additional services? More variety?
• Negative comments - Do you notice any trends? It's normal to have a couple of negative reviews that represent people who had an unusual experience, but if you see multiple negative reviews all saying the same thing - e.g. the receptionist was rude, the help was unfriendly, the secretary was snippy - then you have a bigger issue and need to address it. 

Knowing your reviews is a great was to know your customers' wants, needs, and concerns so you can cater your business (and your online marketing) to match!

Impressions Review Managing, LLC is a company committed to empowering businesses to manage their online reputations. For more information visit www.impressionsrm.com or email Ann at impressionsrm@gmail.com.

Promoting Your Business with Free Positive Web Content

Promoting your business online does not have to be expensive. When people search for your business online, in addition to your website, you want all sorts of positive web content and great reviews to pop up. There are many free ways you can promote your business through generating positive web content:

1. Online reviews - Ask your top clients to write reviews for your business on the top websites like Google+, Yelp, Yahoo, Foursquare, and any others specific to your business type (see some of my other blog posts for a more comprehensive list). Generating 4-5 new reviews every month will increase your search engine optimization and keep the online word-of-mouth advertising going. 
2. Blogging - Choose an area of your business about which you are passionate or surrounding a topic about which your clients frequently have questions and start writing. The search engines LOVE new web content. Writing a blog article 2-3 times per month will increase your web presence, address questions of your clients, and establish you as an expert in your field. Write on a blog website related to your business field or start a blog on any of the free websites - be sure to link your blog to your business website and give the link to your website each time you blog.
3. Informational videos - Think about DIY videos you could produce about your field that would help your consumers. Again thinking back to questions you are frequently asked can be helpful here in choosing a topic. Create a YouTube channel under your business' name and upload your videos. When people search your business' name, your YouTube channel will be in the search results.
4. Social media - Create and be active on one or more of the social media websites. Facebook and Google+ are great places to post pictures of your business and events or participation in community service projects. Consider Twitter for short news notes or Pinterest for pictorial advertising. 
5. Industry specific forums - Many online conversations are taking place in a wide variety of industries. Look for and participate in one that is related to your business. You can network with others through these forums, stay current on trends, and post information that can link back to you and your business.

Many other online advertising options are available. You don't need to do all of them, but you should find a couple that you can do regularly to continue to promote your business with positive web content. 

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.

Promoting Your Business - Offline to Online

We talk a lot about promoting your business through interacting with clients in online reviews, but your connection with your community is a great starting place for building your online marketing.

It is likely that you and/or your employees participate in various forms of community service. From acting in community theater to donating blood, running in 5Ks or even marathons benefiting charity, being an active and contributing member of your community is the norm for responsible citizens. 

Prospective customers like to see that the business they are supporting gives back to the community. For example, our family regularly opts for our locally owned grocery store over chain stores because we see the owner in the community, helping the 4-H club, contributing to youth and participating in the community events. Walmart is cheaper, but I never go there because the locally owned store is the one I want to support.

We see this preferential treatment of businesses regularly as people become aware of all the things the business owner and his/her employees do in the community and it leads to a healthy online reputation too. 

Using my grocery store again as an example, the weekly shopping trip is not all that exciting and while I may not think to write a review for the store because they had superb eggs that week, I do notice every time they show up as a community sponsor and contributor and THAT made me take the time to write them a stellar review online. I talk them up both on and offline and new community members will hear it all around - shopping local keeps our community strong.

It's good people helping out and making a difference right where they live. What do you do in your community? You are building your reputation and you can make a bet that it will end up online too!

Local Online Advertising: The New Phone Book

Advertising used to begin with a phone book ad. Your local online advertising plan still seeks to let people know who you are, your services, products, and the quality of your company and staff, but now that information needs to come up on the person’s computer or smart phone to reach prospective customers.

Hopefully you already have a web-friendly written, original content website with your business' basic information. Beyond your website, there are many things you can do to increase your online marketing. 

Your business' information is already online on many different websites, but how do you go about making sure your information is correct, your star rating is good, and your reviews encourage new clients to come through your business’ doors? The good news is, it’s not an expensive process and, if you are moderately tech savvy, you should be able to complete the process with minimal difficulty.

1. Start by looking at your business page on each of the major review websites (see the list on the infographic) especially paying attention to the sites that are also major search engines. Go through the process of claiming your business on each of the websites so that you can update the information and password protect it so that no-one else will accidentally upload inaccurate information. Most of these websites allow you to claim your business' page for no charge.
2.  Once you have claimed and password protected each of your pages on these sites, check each site for new reviews regularly. When you receive a new review, reply to the reviewer whenever possible – a nice, personalized thank you when it is a positive review and a request that the customer contact you by phone when it is a negative review. This shows your customer service and personal connection with your customers.
3.   Start asking customers to write reviews for you. The decision-making of today's consumer is based on reading the reviews your customers have written. Encourage your top customers and your happy clients to share their experiences online. This word-of-mouth advertising is an exceptionally powerful piece of your online marketing plan.

There are many time-saving strategies and tools to assist businesses in this process – feel free to check the other articles in this blog or on my website for more help with your local online advertising!

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.