Welcome to Part 5 of How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure, a 5 part series that details how you can create a buzz-worthy business.

Last week, we discussed how to utilize social media to get great digital word of mouth.

Today, we’ll show you how engaging in online reviews can help show your business in its best light!

Build Trust With Reviews

Reviews about your business can be the key to new customers selecting your services over a competitor. Check to see what sites you could potentially be reviewed on.  Yelp, Google Reviews, Yahoo, Amazon, Ebay, Angie’s List, etc.

If you aren’t currently listed, ask a regular customer to get you started. Of course, it is not okay to offer payment to a reviewer! But asking someone you know who is already a patron, and likely has good things to say, is an easy and positive way to get reviews going. It usually only takes a few minutes of someone’s time. And once you are listed and easy to find, other reviewers you don’t know will jump on board.

Stay active on social media outlets like Facebook. Occasionally remind your followers that you are available for review on different sites. If someone makes a great comment about your business, respond quickly with a big thank you. And be sure to save their quote for use later on your website or for a status update.

Don’t Be Afraid

It is easy to be leery of opening your company up for reviews. You might be thinking “What if someone has a negative comment? What if they point out a shortcoming that I don’t want to broadcast to the whole world?”

But something to keep in mind is no business can serve all their customers perfectly and to each individual’s standards 100% of the time.

Look at a negative comment as an opportunity to engage with your customers – Both the negative reviewer and potential customers reading the dialogue online.

Respond to negative comments as quickly as you can.

Don’t ignore the comments even if you don’t understand how they could have happened or if the specifics are inaccurate. You can save face simply by being polite and apologizing for any inconvenience.

Showing yourself as a business that is engaged in the community, online and off, gives validity to your brand. This exchange that happens in public makes trusting your company easier for a new customer Continue reading “How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure – Part 5: Build Trust With Reviews” »

Welcome to Part 4 of How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure, a 5 part series that details how you can create a buzz-worthy business.

Last week, we talked about how to reach out to your community to build trust and get your business noticed.

Today, we’ll discuss how utilizing social media is your online word of mouth jackpot!

Social Media = Electronic Word Of Mouth

If you haven’t noticed, social media means far more than baby pictures and cat videos. It is time to dust off your username and password. Not only should your company have an online presence on social media, it should stay current and active.

Sites like Facebook and Twitter exist to keep people connected, and when people are connected, they talk about things – surprise! Sure, some of those things are baby pictures and cat videos, but when logging in they also talk about where they are going, what they are buying and why.

For this reason, social media can be even more potent that traditional word of mouth because one click on a photo can lead a potential customer right to you. That doesn’t happen in person so take advantage!

Make Your Online Presence Known

You can decide how simple or complex your website needs to be. And you should select which social media platforms to utilize. Because honestly, you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. If you can’t spare the time to maintain both a Youtube channel and a Twitter account then don’t.

Just make sure that you get involved somewhere and make it work for your shop.

Make sure you have your business’s info page complete. Keep the phone and email listing up-to-date. Be sure to have a relevant profile picture like your company logo, a nice headshot or a photo of your products or storefront. No kids, no cats. Save that for your personal page.

Then work to get likes, followers and subscribers. Seek out friends, family, and regulars to get things started. Be sure to ask customers in the store to “like” your shop to get all updates on sales and promotions. Don’t forget to post signs in your store letting customers know where they can find you online.

Stay Current. Stay Hot.

Nothing looks worse to a customer visiting your website or profile page than seeing that nothing has changed for months! A lot happens at your business everyday so show it. Add photographs of your store and your products so new visitors can get a sense of what shopping with you is like. When you get a cool new product in, post about it & share a photo.

Learn about #hashtags and use them! Ask fun questions in your status updates and respond to the answers. There are so many ways to stay engaged. Figure out what works for you and do it often.

All of this activity does take time. But if you spend just a little time each day, every other day, even once a week that is better than nothing for months at a time. There is much that can be accomplished by Continue reading “How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure – Part 4: Social Media” »

Welcome to Part 3 of How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure, a 5 part series that details how you can create a buzz-worthy business.

To start the series we introduced a company that utilizes word of mouth advertising. Last week, we discussed why it is important to find your business’s niche to offer your customers something no one else has.

Today, we’ll talk about reaching out to your community to make an impression worth talking about.

Reach Out To The Community

The best way to get people to recommend your business is to make them remember you! Smart branding, clever ads, and big sales help but nothing beats the one-on-one approach with a local customer.

This is one way to make sure you stick fast in the minds of your customers is draw them into your shop for an enjoyable reason. Offer your community a moment of beauty, art or leisure. This in turn becomes an opportunity to let your customers get to know you, the business owner, as well as your key employees.

You are the face of your business and customers will remember meeting you way more than your shop logo.

What Works?

Take a look at our example company, Arclight Theater. They partner with the vibrant film community in Los Angeles and have constantly changing art galleries that feature movie props and artwork from current films. These are open to the public and encourage movie-goers as well as the causal passerby to take a look and ask questions.

Reach out to your community in a way that makes sense for your business.

How To Start

Do you have room to offer a gallery wall for local artists? Can you give a one-day workshop demonstration?

Consider hosting a one-day open house event. Play some music, offer some simple refreshments like lemon water and cookies or nuts and walk around talking to people. Seasonal events can bring you even more foot traffic so think about what holiday coming up would lend itself to a cool reason for your store to get friendly.

Don’t be tempted to act purely as a salesman in this situation just because new customers are in your shop. Answer any questions, sure, but this event is about meeting people face to face as a member of the community.

Just a short “Hello. Thanks for coming to visit us!” makes customers comfortable and can make an impression they will remember.

Next week, we’ll discuss how to increase your online word of mouth exposure by taking advantage of social media!

Read How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure – Part 1: What’s The Buzz?
Read How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure – Part 2: Find Your Niche!

Thanks for checking out Part 2 of How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure, a 5 part series that details how you can create a buzz-worthy business.

Last week, we introduced a Los Angeles based company that only uses word of mouth advertising to build a successful business in a highly competitive city.  This week we’ll break down what they are doing right and how you can apply these important concepts to your business to get customers to refer others straight to your door.

Find Your Niche!

While this is common advice in basic business planning, in order to to make your business speak to people, you might need to consider what your shop offers to the public as well as what your competitors’ offer.

Customers always have options, even if that option is just to shop online. So if your products are incredible, but your shop takes a lackluster approach to selling it, you might need to revisit your business plan.

It takes a break from the norm to make an impression on someone that in turn leads to them recommending your business. Offer something that one else else does!

How One Company Found A Sweet Spot

Going back to our example company, Arclight decided that watching movies in sub-par theaters with boring ads before the show, lame snacks, and tons of disruptions was not the way they wanted to run their theater.

So their property features unique “black box” theaters with state of the art sound and projection. They choose not to sell advertising space before the main feature and only show 5 minutes of movie trailers before each film. Most chain theaters have 20 minutes of advertising before the previews even start!

Arclight’s concession stand, the actual money-maker of every theater, offers more than huge sodas and popcorn. They have gourmet hot dogs with unique toppings, real butter for the popcorn, premium ice cream bars, and fresh caramel corn that is made every day in-house!

Ushers are trained to not allow seating after 5 minutes into a showtime so an audience isn’t inconvenienced with latecomers. Try getting that type of service at your local theater.

By creating a high standard of quality, this company fulfilled a niche that was missing in the most film-centric city on the planet.  Whatever special touch you can add to your business is completely up to you, the owner, but that difference is crucial in setting you apart.

Start Examining Your Marketing Strengths

Think about what your business does best. Is there a way to expand on your existing structure that might get you noticed? Finding a good niche can be challenging so start small and be consistent. Always offer that product or service so your customers, new and old, can rely on it.

Is there a line of popular products that aren’t currently offered in your area? Stock up! What about a year-round personalized wrapping service? Walking out of a shop with a pretty wrapped package makes it a fun and memorable gift shopping experience.

Ask yourself where are other shops falling short and how can you pick up the slack. This will lead you to getting noticed.

In Retail Marketing – No Apologies Necessary

If you are offering the best of the best, don’t apologize for the high ticket price. Remember there will be customers that complain about prices no matter what. You should be focusing on a quality and service standard you strongly believe in. Prepare yourself and your employees with a list of easy to understand reasons as to why your prices are set.  If you are the best, you should charge for it.

Of course freebies never hurt and people love to feel like they got something for nothing. Even if that something is very small. (Arclight offered free parking with validation which in downtown LA is a huge deal) Can you offer free samples of gourmet foods, coffee, or tea? Big perks for regulars? Continue reading “How To Get Word Of Mouth Exposure – Part 2: Find Your Niche!” »