How to Manage Your Business Online Reputation and Protect Your Bottom Line December 1, 2010
Marchex Marchex is a call advertising and small business marketing company. Our mission is to unlock local commerce globally by helping advertisers reach customers wherever they may be in mobile, offline and online channels, including on our own local and category websites. Every day, our products support tens of thousands of advertisers and partners, ranging from global enterprises to local businesses. 2
Why Online Presence and Reputation Management Matters 3
The Digital Landscape Has Changed Seven years ago: No Yelp, no Yahoo Local, no Google Maps Very few consumer reviews Blogs emerging Social media beginning Minimal consumer influence Traditional Word of Mouth (few) Today: Local search (>20% of all web searches) 4.5 hours/month spent on Facebook* Online consumer reviews and social media dialogue Consumers are in control Digital Word of Mouth (thousands) *Nielsen 4
Word of Mouth On Steroids - #1 trusted form of advertising: recommendations from people known* - 84% of consumers say online customer reviews influence their decision to purchase products or services** - Word of Mouth online means exposure to thousands - Customers are your new marketing department *Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey **Consumer Research Corporation 5
The Challenge: Presence and Reputation Management Do you know where and how your business appears online? - Consumer Reviews: Yelp, Citysearch, Google, TripAdvisor, Angie s List, Zagat. - Mentions: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, articles. - Listings: Yellow Pages, Google. How do you manage all this? 6
Online Presence and Reputation Management Best Practices 7
Marchex Reputation Management - Small Business Approved Research: Product design Product testing Interviews Round tables Surveys 8
The Basics 1. Gain visibility online Take advantage of listing opportunities on search engines, review sites, directories, and social media. Enhance your presence in search engine results. 2. Monitor what people are saying Gather feedback to improve your business. Learn from your competition. Prevent negative word of mouth from spreading. 3. Encourage your customers Dealing with negative reviews. Asking your customers for reviews. Use Facebook to win new business and keep your loyal customers engaged. 9
A Referral Gets You In the Consideration Set Do you know of any great jewelers? Yes, check out Swissa Jewelers. 10
Going Beyond Your Website Will Help You Close the Deal Website Own Your Identity Ensure your information is accurate and consistent Add pictures Post coupons Add descriptions of products & services Highlight customer satisfaction 11
Identify Listing Opportunities Specific to Your Business Look for opportunities to expand your listing profile on category-specific sites. Why? Your competition is likely there. 12
Monitoring What People Are Saying 1. Manual methods: Perform vanity searches on Google and Bing sign up for keyword alerts. Check popular review sites like Yelp and Citysearch in addition to category-specific sites (e.g. HeathGrades for doctors). Sign up for alerts. Subscribe to local community blogs and message boards. Perform vanity search on Twitter. 2. Take advantage of Reputation Management products that can save you time. 3. Keep an eye on what people are saying about your competition. 13
Reputation Management Product Example See how you stack up against the competition. Know when you get a new review, mention, or listing opp. Monitor your business mentions on blogs, Twitter, news sites, etc. Track and analyze your business reviews (Yelp, Citysearch, Zagat ) Track and identify opportunities to list your business 14
Dealing With Negative Reviews We ve linked a slowdown in business to a string of bad reviews. - Bed & Breakfast Owner 15
Negative Reviews: Things to Keep in Mind 1. Learn from your critics and keep an eye on trends Determine if aspects of your business are causing negative reviews (i.e., a new employee, poor service, quality). 2. Turn a negative into a positive Responding to negative reviews will show prospective customers that you care. 3. Make sure your satisfied customers are represented on popular review sites Don t let the minority of your customers define your business online. 16
The Do s and Don ts of Responding to Negative Reviews Do Be positive and professional show you care. Don t Take reviews personally. Acknowledge the facts. Bribe the reviewer to remove or change their review. Use your name and title. Be defensive or critical of the reviewer. Invite the customer to give your business another chance. Fake positive reviews. 17
What NOT to Do Review Response Example Your review is completely false and insulting. We have been in business for ten years and have many satisfied customers. If you give us another try, we ll give you a free meal if you remove this review. - Joe s Pizza I feel the [review] website is very strange. It always takes off the good reviews and keeps the bad reviews of our restaurant. Actually we have a very lovely restaurant. People are nice and the food is tasty. If they continue to do this I am going to take our restaurant off their website. - Restaurant Owner 18
What TO Do Review Response Example Thank you for your recent visit. We re sorry you didn t enjoy your meal and you had to wait so long. We take great pride in our pizza and customer satisfaction. We are looking at adding an additional cook during our busy days to ensure this doesn t happen again. If you ever decide to try us again, please let me know. Best, Joe Riley, Owner Joe@joespizza.com 19
Make Sure Your Satisfied Customers Are Represented Online We tell our loyal customers to write reviews for us online rather than sending us thank you or holiday cards. Auto Repair Service Owner 20
Engage Your Customers On Facebook Facebook provides a great forum for staying in touch with customers and winning new business. Highlight upcoming events Offer specials or discounts Share information with customers who have common interests Have customers promote your business to their network of friends and family 21
Summary 3 Key Takeaways 1. Be visible. 2. Hear the conversation. 3. Engage and mobilize your customers. 22
Q&A Ryan Fritzky: rfritzky@marchex.com Brooks McMahon: bmcmahon@marchex.com Free help: www.marchex.com/repmanagement More info: www.marchex.com/smallbusiness 23