Word of mouth is great, but the internet has proven to be greater. Information travels instantly and word of mouth has taken on a new face in terms of online reviews. There is no doubt that having an online presence and maintaining that presence is by far your best marketing tool.
Customers are voicing their opinion about your business and businesses like yours. There are many different factors that go into why a customer will leave feedback. This poses the question, what do you need to know to keep your business strong within your industry?
Here are 5 tips that will help strengthen your small business besides word of mouth:
- Good Ole Customer Service
Providing quality customer service to your customers is vital. Matter of fact, it is necessary and should be the main focus of your team. Your customers value their experiences with your business, so nurturing those experiences each time will give you loyalty and repeat business. Your customers will voice their opinion via feedback, so make sure you respond to online reviews – both good and bad to promote positive word of mouth. 
Position Your Company
This tip can get hazy if customers don’t know who you are and what you do. Be sure to define what your business provides and give your customers at least 5 reasons why they would be a fool not to choose your product or service. This persuasive format will guarantee your small business will gain positioning in your industry through word of mouth.- Give Problems Priority
If a customer provides a good review, thank them. If a customer provides a poor review, immediately try to fix it and leave feedback that proves that your company has tried to fix it. Your potential customers are reading those reviews as well as the comments by your company so be sure to convey a positive reply, no matter if the feedback is negative or positive. A customer may be put off by a negative review but react positively by the response your company leaves and share through word of mouth. Take every opportunity to show the positive side of your company and impress potential customers. - Build Your Online Presence
Do not neglect your social media opportunities. Research has shown that Millennials will turn to social media before trusting advertisements on television or radio. Interact, post, follow, engage your customers. Ask for likes and questions that can provoke your customers to give their insights into your company. This is a great tool to conduct your own internal research on what your social media followers are saying about your product or service. - Targeted SEO Plan
Since we are in the digital age, making sure your business website and business presence is optimized to its fullest. We’ve discussed SEO practices in our previous blog posts, however this tip reinforces the need for an SEO plan. Target your keywords and make sure that each page is optimized for the keyword without having the content sound repetitive. Note: Google will penalize you for “keyword stuffing” so be aware of how you craft your content.
Your business, for most of us that are business owners, is like your baby. You nurture it to grow and succeed so it is vital that you have a pulse on what feedback is being given about your company. There are over 600+ review sites out there, are you scouring those sites looking for comments about your small business? Make your life easier by checking out ReviewInc — the ONLY Online Reputation Management Software company that monitors over 600+ review sites, so you don’t miss a review that could potentially hurt your online business reputation. Call ReviewInc now for a FREE Online Business Reputation Report and find out where you rank among your competitors.
