Word-of-mouth marketing has changed completely for the small, local business. In the past, if someone had a bad experience, it may only reach a few of their friends.  In today’s world, with the ease of online review sites, social media, and blogging, a poor customer experience can reach hundreds or even thousands of people.  This revolution has caught many owners off guard and they are scrambling to figure out how to manage and improve their online reputation.  Many are hoping that Yelp will fail and online reviews will go away, but with Yelp’s recent influx of $100 million in capital, they are going to double in size.  Furthermore, AT&T will be launching a new review site, buzz.com.  Customer content is exploding even more as the penetration of mobile devices makes it very easy to rave or rant at the moment it happens.  Customers are posting about their experience before they even get the check!    Here’s a great example: Continue reading “How can a small business profit from customer reviews? – Review Monitoring” »

If you are a local business and don’t have any online reviews or even just a few, you’re putting your business and your online reputation at tremendous risk.  Just 1 bad review could instantly start driving business away.  Today’s consumers are all turning to local online reviews as a vital piece of the decision making process on who to call or what store to visit. Therefore, here is a list of the top 10 ways that you can generate new reviews.  To be successful, you need to initiate a review campaign company/store wide and get all your employees behind it. Continue reading “Top 10 ways to get (and profit from) online customer reviews” »