Scrappy Marketing Solutions:
Judy’s Book, Inc, the free online community for sharing local opinions, offers 5 tips for small businesses looking to manage their reputation online:
1. Find out where your business is listed - Did you know that you don’t actually have to have a web site to be online? Judy’s Book and other sites gather and post information about every business in the U.S. whether those businesses have a web site or not. It recommends that small business owners search for their business by name and find out where it appears.
2. Make sure all of your contact information is correct - Review the listing information these sites have for your business and make sure that the address, phone number and other contact information is complete and accurate. Judy’s Book allows small business owners to update their contact information at any time.
3. Add Your Own Content - The more content you add to your listing, the more likely it is to appear when consumers are searching for local businesses like yours. Judy’s Book allows businesses to add a sales description to their listing for free.
4. Include Current Offers - Now that customers can find you online, motivate them to try your product or service by offering deals or coupons. Judy’s Book allows registered local merchants to publish their latest coupons and offers for free.
5. Read and Respond to Customer Reviews - Judy’s Book features real reviews written by people who have had a personal experience with a local business or service. Find out what people are saying about your business. Take the time to respond to both positive and negative reviews and use it as an opportunity to further engage with new and existing customers. (Judy’s Book will notify you by email when new reviews are posted, and also lets you publish a one-time response to any customer review for free).
According to the Wharton School of Management’s 2006 Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study, customers that have had a bad experience with a business are 5 times more likely to tell friends, families or colleagues what happened instead of telling the business directly. Overall, if 100 people have a bad experience, a retailer stands to lose between 32 and 36 current or potential customers.
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