Respond to Negative Reviews

One reason you should read and respond to reviews is to learn from mistakes. As you listen to the people buying your product or service, you may see things that need to be changed in your business or your product to prevent future unsatisfied customers.

You could also turn an unsatisfied customer into a loyal one, for life.  45% of people say they are more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews. They see that you care about their experience with your product or service. Answering and taking responsibility also tells them that if something goes wrong, you will make it right.

Improve your SEO

Responding to reviews, both good and bad, will help you serve your customers well and improve your SEO. Google even says so!  They also recommend encouraging customers to leave feedback by creating a link to where they can write a review. All review platforms can help your SEO, and responses only help you to build trust.

How should you respond to a negative review?

Use the 3 Ps. Be:

•         Prompt
•         Polite
•         Professional

Never argue with the customer. It won’t help you to regain their business and will put other customers off when they read about it online. Instead, thank the customer for taking the time to review your business. Acknowledge the issue and offer to work out a solution offline. Once you have solved the problem, you can write a brief comment online to share how you handled it.

Don’t copy/paste your response. A canned response to everyone can be tempting to do to save time, but it is crucial to personalize your message. Your clientele will respect the personal touch and deserve it. Also, if your message is canned, your audience will smell it from a mile away. No one likes insincerity.

What About Fake Negative Reviews?

These are sometimes posted by “trolls.” The poster could be a stranger, a competitor, or even someone you know who is trying to cause trouble for you. If someone has written a misleading, false review, you can request the website to remove it. The process for this will be different from one site to the next, so you will have to ask the site administrator for some guidance if you can’t find it in the help section.

Why not ask for all the negative reviews to be removed?

Legitimate reviews should be left up and responded to constructively. It is how you build relationships with customers. Also, a few negative reviews amidst many four, and 5-star reviews add authenticity to your brand. Have you ever seen a product with no bad reviews? It seems unreal and can cause people to question whether the positive reviews are even legitimate.

Instead, always offer to make it right.

Making things right might mean replacing the item, giving their money back, or working out another resolution appropriate to the situation.

Your response isn’t just for the reviewer. It’s for everyone who reads the review. If you resolve the issue well, and the customer is happy, you can even ask them to write a testimonial to share online.

How to know if you receive a negative review

Iceberg Web Design’s Reputation Management Services can notify you in real-time of the reviews you receive across 150+ review sites. You can use this to respond to both positive and negative reviews. Find out more about how our reputation management services can lift your business to the next level. Contact us to learn how we can help you. We are web developers that answer the phone.

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In today’s world, where 77% of Americans own a smartphone as well as 76% of people in 18 developed countries, it just makes sense that the race to reach consumers would lead online. For any business serious about expanding their reach, they must have an online presence, which includes being active on social media.

Nonetheless, not all social media platforms work well with every business, and not choosing the right one can even do more harm than good. So, here are a few things to keep in mind for some of the most popular social media platforms to help in determining which one will be the right fit for your business.

Facebook

Facebook is, by far, is the largest social media outlet with 2.23 billion monthly active users. With that many people, it can easily be the ideal place to grab the interest of customers, spread your branding, and the overall messaging of your company. It also has a large variety of advertising options such as event ads, lead generation forms, video ads, Instagram-specific ads, and more, which allows for a range in budgeting when creating marketing materials.

However, its greatest benefit is also its biggest obstacle. Since there are many people on Facebook, it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Facebook does provide efficient data and the ability to target your ideal customer. But, unless you have a pretty hefty marketing budget behind your content, it’s difficult to gain any real traction with new customers.

For smaller businesses that don’t have a large media budget, it might be better to utilize smaller social media outlets to reach new customers, although Facebook is excellent for keeping up with existing consumers.

YouTube

The next largest social media outlet behind Facebook is YouTube, with 1.9 billion monthly active users. If you are not familiar with YouTube, it is a video sharing platform. Not only is it the largest video sharing site on the web, but it is 2nd behind Google in internet searches.

Of course, the best thing about YouTube is that it revolves around videos. Videos are a more effective delivery system in terms of content because they’re easier for people to digest, remember, and connect with as opposed to reading text. When you include this with YouTube’s sharing-friendly interface, videos can not only more easily reach customers but even go viral.

The downside is that some services, as opposed to products, don’t always lend themselves to videos. For example, if you are a website design company or freelancer, you will have to pull out your creative thinking cap to repeatedly create engaging content that ties back into promoting your business.

Also, any kind of video won’t do. You need to create short, high-quality, interesting videos to capture the easily distracted attention span of viewers. Anything less than high-quality can even reflect negatively on your business. However, if you can overcome these hurdles, investing in a YouTube channel would be beneficial.

Instagram

Another prominent social media outlet behind a few messaging apps like WhatsApp is Instagram. Instagram has a monthly active user count of 1 billion. It is different from Facebook and YouTube in that it is purely a video and photo-sharing site that can only be updated by a mobile device.

As explained with YouTube, visuals are always better when it comes to capturing the attention of viewers. Creating visuals can sometimes be much faster and easier than writing content, although you do need a mixture of both.

The challenge of utilizing Instagram is the demand to create a mixture of high-quality videos and photos, which again is easier for businesses that are selling physical products instead of services. Those businesses that face a bit of a challenge with videos can have an even harder time with photos. Videos allow for movement, explanations, and demonstrations, pictures don’t. And unless you have a highly visual business, Instagram might be more of a challenge than its worth.

Also, Instagram’s demographics are much different from Facebook and YouTube’s. While Facebook and YouTube appeal to a wide range of audiences, Instagram is primarily used by people between the ages of 18-29. So, if that’s not your target audience, Instagram may not be a good fit for your business.

Twitter

Twitter, which is further down the list in terms of popularity, has over 335 monthly active users. It is more similar to Facebook in terms of the platform, except it’s known more as a source for real-time information on a plethora of categories (which helps you narrow down your audience), and there is character cap on posts/tweets.

However, like Facebook, they allow a variety of ad options from pushing a promoted tweet to posting images and videos, which again allows for flexibility with content creation.

The drawback is that because it is real-time, users expect quick responses, which means constant monitoring of your Twitter account. Also, because there is a continuous stream of real-time information, your ad or content can easily be missed.

This faster pace may even prove to be difficult when it comes to growing your customer base even with paid ads, which is one of the highest costs among social media sites. Like Facebook, unless you have a flexible budget for ads, you can struggle to see any real results.

If you’d prefer a slower pace and demand for social media on your time, Twitter is likely not the best option for your business.

Need Help?

There are many other social media platforms not mentioned here that may be worth exploring for your business, such as Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and even the WhatsApp business app. All of them allow you to set up an account for free, but maintaining a presence on them requires a commitment of time, a steady stream of fresh ideas, and a media budget.

Many business owners simply don’t have the time to research sites, let alone decide which ones would be the most lucrative for them. If you could use the help of trusted professionals to take this “new age” extra work off your hands, contact us today. We can help you build your social media presence, improve your SEO, and handle your paid digital advertising.

The post Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business? appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Although getting getting testimonials from customers can be a challenge, there are some simple things you can do to increase the quality reviews you recieve. In addition to our tips for receiving reviews, we’ve also put together this list of five different ways to ask for reviews. Since every customer and project is unique, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. Having multiple avenues to collect reviews will maximize the comments you recieve about your business.

Ask in person at your project close out meeting

When a long-term project is completed, do you meet in person with the customer to officially hand over the reigns? Make it a point to thank them for their business and ask them for any feedback on working with you. Have a tablet with you where they can type a review right there.

Send a hand-written thank you note

At Iceberg Web Design, we love swag! We put our penguin on anything that stands still long enough. After ever project we send a thank you package with hand written note, along with penguin keychains, can coozies, or pizza cutters. The package also includes a card asking for a public review online and providing a direct link to our reviews page on our website.

Create an email campaign

An email that includes a link for creating a review is definitely one of the easiest methods for your customers, since they can simply click on a link and immediately be directed to the right place. You can set up an email campaign in any of the popular email marketing platforms to contact your customers, thank them for their business and ask for a review.

Add a link to your email signature

Another simple method for asking for reviews is to include a link to leave a review at the bottom of your email signature. This will be in front of your customers every time you correspond with them, reminding them how much you value their feedback.

Include a review link on your website

If your website includes a page that highlights positive testimonials, you can easily add a link to the page for customers to write a review.

Creating a Link to Your Google Review Page

Most people find a Google My Business page by searching a business name on Google. In order to make sure people are reviewing the right business listing, you should provide them with a unique link that includes your Place ID number. First, find your place id number, then use the following format: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>.

One thing to keep in mind is that your customers will need a Google Account in order to leave a review. Fortunately, though, most people already have a Google Account and this isn’t usually a hinderance.

Need Help?

Contact Iceberg Web Design at 612-440-8762 for more information or to create your own custom review funnel.

The post Five Ways to Ask for a Google Review appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

One important aspect is to have a high number of authentic positive reviews about your company.  

Ask your recent satisfied customers for some feedback. Let them know that reviews are vital to the health of your business.

We have some simple tips to help you get the best reviews from your customers!

Ask In Person

There’s no better way to ask for, and get, reviews than to do it in person. The person-to-person request is incredibly effective, particularly if the requester has spent a lot of time with the customer. We’ve found that asking in person can garner you some great reviews.  Some business even have a tablet or computer at their locations where clients can review them on the spot. Although a more aggressive tactic, it has proven successful if the request is made tactfully.

Strike When the Iron is Hot

As soon as a customer is satisfied or a project is completed contact them and request a review.  Ensuring you have a system in place that gives clients a convenient way to share their review with you and across social media platforms is key.  The system can be as simple as an email with a link to a social platform review page and as elaborate as a system that tracks and responds based on the reviews rating.  We can help you get the correct system in place that helps you grow your review base and manage you reviews. Don’t let your competition get a leg up on you with their reputation.

Reply to Customers That Have Left a Review

By acknowledging the time your customers took to tell others about their experience is a good way to show you care.  This makes your current and future customers feel really good about doing business with you. If you do receive a bad review make sure to reach out immediately to mitigate the damage.  Not sure how to handle bad review? We have answers, learn more about how a bad review can help your business. 

How To Get People to Read Your Reviews?

The more places potential clients can find your reviews the better.  We encourage you to have reviews on your social media pages, Google My Business, and your website. This can help you increase sales, build brand recognition, and help new prospective clients know what to expect when working with you.  Many times your reviews can speak to the core values that your company maintains. Rise above your competition by advertising the real positive experiences your customers have had doing business with you.

Remember to thank the people that have taken the time out of their day to leave a review!

To learn more about how Iceberg Web Design can help you increase and manage your reviews email [email protected]

The post Tips For Receiving Quality Online Reviews appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Many businesses face the same struggle with their marketing.  How do I generate a high number of qualified phone calls?  This post focuses on some best practices to increase qualified phone calls to sales and customer service representatives.

Make it easy for your visitors to find your digits

May seem pretty obvious, but many websites make it difficult to find your companies phone number.   We recommend having the phone number at the top, bottom, and contact drop down of your website.  Another good technique is to have the phone number listed below a well-written call to action on the home page or squeeze page.

Make it a click to call

Another common mistake is simply listing your business number on your website.  Take it a step further and make it a hyperlink.  This way if your potential customer wants to call all they have to do is click the number on their mobile device.  Make it easy and remove as many barriers as you can for your customers.

Business directories generate too

Don’t overlook your business directories like Facebook, Google My Business, Bing Places for Business and any pertinent directory that generates good exposure.   Make sure the correct phone number is listed on these profiles and they match up.  Adding a location?  Having a unique phone number for that location is essential to generating local business as many customers want to work with businesses in their community.

Maximize opportunities by collecting phone numbers after hours

Most business aren’t answering calls 24/7, but are getting calls afterhours.  Make sure you are letting your customers know that you will get back to them in a timely manner.  A good voice message can also give them a warm fuzzy feeling that your staff will be taking care of them during regular business hours.  Giving good information and following through with what you say will let them know you are a well-oiled machine that cares about customer service.  Letting these opportunities slip through cracks only opens the door to your competition.

Engaging content gives your visitors the information they need to take action

It is very important not to skimp on the quality of content on your website, particularly the home page.  Potential customers are searching for the product or service that fits them.  Keeping this in mind make sure that your content is simple and gets to the point of why your business is the right fit for them.  This coupled with a strong or tempting Call-to-Action is a good formula to generate calls of interest.

Don’t forget to stay in touch after the sale

It’s no secret that a customer that has already bought your goods or services is likely to make another purchase.  Listing your number on thank you pages, newsletters, and email drip campaigns is another way to make it easy for your customers to be repeat buyers.  It is just as important if to nurture your current client base as it is to generate new customers.

Track your progress!

It is nearly impossible to know what marketing avenues are working and what are not unless you know where the calls are coming from.  There is a myriad of ways that people will find your phone number and making sure that you are tracking all your campaigns will help you decide where to invest and where not to.  Whether you opt to use a full-service company software like dialog tech or opt to set up your tracking numbers it is important that good systems are in place to track incoming calls.  Inbound calls lead to business and not knowing where they are coming from can lead to an inefficient marketing budget.

The post Optimizing Your Website to Convert Your Visitors Into Qualified Phone Calls appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

• 92% of consumers read reviews online.
• A growing number of consumers form their opinion of a company after reading just 1-3 reviews (40% in 2016 up from 29% in 2014).

Unfortunately, even if you do everything to prevent a bad review one may still come along.  Don’t worry, bad reviews allow you an opportunity show your amazing customer service skills.  Some issues may be better solved off-line but for those that can be solved online here are some basic do’s and don’ts.

What Not To Do

Don’t ignore it.  Most customers will leave a bad review based on how they were made to feel, not the actual product or service they bought.  Ignoring them will only allow those feelings to grow.

Don’t get defensive. This could cause a battle to ensue or worse the customer may stop engaging in conversation at all, leaving you with nothing but that bad review and a nasty reply for all your potential customers to see.

What To Do

Do try to show your company in a positive light.  This may be something as simple as saying, “I wanted to reach out to you when I saw your review because it is not a typical experience our customers have with (insert issue).  I want to make sure this is not something that is happening to any of our other customers.  Can you tell me a little more about your experience?”

Do listen to what they are saying, and take the time to let them vent.  You will be able to get all the details while they do this which will allow you more possibilities for correcting the issue.

Do apologize for the incident/issue.  Swallow your pride and apologize for the issue in the most genuine manner.

Do thank them. Thank them for bringing the problem to your attention so that you could fix it.

If all goes well the negative review may become a showcase of your great customer service.

BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2016

https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/

The post How Bad Reviews Can Help Your Business appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

What is my online reputation?

Your online reputation is exactly what it sounds like. It is made up of all the things people say about your business online and includes reviews, comments, pictures and posts. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation ₍₁₎. It is important that you are not only aware of these online reviews, but also highlighting the positive reviews and actively working to mitigate the negative ones.

Do you currently have a process for collecting reviews from your customers? What do you do with the reviews you receive? How do you highlight positive reviews? Do you respond quickly to negative reviews? If you can’t readily answer these questions, it’s time to invest in an online reputation management strategy. Here are Iceberg’s tips

Online Reputation Management Do’s and Don’ts

Do

• Ask for feedback. Give people a channel to talk openly and honestly about your products and services.
• React quickly and politely. A prompt reply saying you have heard their concern and are working on a resolution is better than a late reply with more information.
• Be transparent. Allow customers to publicly see how you respond to negative reviews.
• Learn from your criticisms. They can be an opportunity to improve your product or message.

Don’t

• Pretend people aren’t talking about your company. They are.
• Hide or ignore negative feedback.
• Respond defensively or aggressively. Even if you think your customer’s comments are unwarranted or out of line, fighting fire with fire is never a good strategy.

Reputation Management Tools

If you have a Google My Business profile set up, users can rate and review your business on Google and your ranking and reviews will show in the search results when your business is searched online. This a great choice for many businesses just getting started with reputation management, but there are also more advanced reputation management tools available that can streamline the process of collecting and responding to reviews.

As part of our SEO package, you get access to a Reputation Management Dashboard that automates this process for you and provides essential insight. You will also receive a monthly reputation management report that analyzes everything that your customers are saying about you online – all in one place!

Our case studies show a tremendous difference after implementing this service.  Call Shane at 763-350-8762 to schedule your free consultation and get started!

₍₁₎ Local Consumer Review Survey, 2014

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