A common mistake of many businesses is the assumption that online and offline marketing are separate. You must remember that many of your customers exist in both worlds at the same time. The more that you can think comprehensively, you will find that you can use each to drive traffic to the other. Online reputation management companies like ours do just that. We leveraged online and offline marketing to drive up rankings and promote a strong online reputation.
We have done many articles discussing ways to drive up your online reputation, how to nurture your relationship with your customers, and overall how to recognize the value of online reviews. Whether you are building your business or are a long-time player, online reviews play a significant role in your overall reputation.
When it comes to online reputation, both written and verbal recommendations are powerful assets both on and off the internet. You need to be asking yourself how you can better use your online reviews to maximize your offline marketing. The truth is, we still have people that do not like to use the internet. Therefore, they will not be looking at review sites. Your goal is to squeeze every last drop out of the reviews you get to extend your reach on the pool of available customers.
Throughout this blog, we are going to share several ways that you can do just that. Take a look at the list below and find out how to best use these ideas to expand your brand and boost your online reputation.
Print Media and Online Reviews
Getting online reviews is a compelling way to market your business for the sole reason that customers feel these are more reliable claims. If a company were to make the same claims, customers would assume a certain level of bias, and rightfully so. Online reviews, on the other hand, are viewed by customers as an independent review of a product or service.
It is essential to acquire reviews whenever and wherever you can. This includes printed publications. If you notice a review of your company in the op/ed section of your newspaper, take full advantage of that. There are many tools that you can use to move this from a printed version into a digital version that you can proudly display. Some suggestions of places that you could put this are on your website or any social media that you have. It doesn’t even have to be professionally uploaded. Merely taking a picture with your camera and displaying it on your website will be enough. Of course, the more professional you make it, the better your customers will receive it.
News Media/PR Outreach and Online Reviews
If you have grown as a company more substantial than a Mom and Pop shop, you likely have done a few things right. Additionally, you probably have a press kit in your bag of tricks. Take full advantage of this! Take a handful of your reviews from your online sites and draft up a press release. Keep this number to less than three, as you will want to focus on other things when drafting this up.
The point of doing this is to get the reporters interested in a human-interest story. The goal when picking out reviews is to locate reviews describing when your company was there for the customer in their time of need.
Recently, we read a story that involved a big box store coming to the aid of one of their clients. It seems that a customer was out all night looking for medicine for her infant. She looked all over town and could not find a store open. She happened upon this store, that was supposed to be closed for renovations, and the door was slightly ajar. She went in and was able to convince the employees to sell her the medicine. This story would have stayed between the customer and the store had they not issued a press release about the help they provided the customer. While it may be self-serving for them to do this, it does show that this store thinks more about customers than they do about their bottom-line.
Online Reviews on Commercial Signage
If your business has a physical location (i.e., restaurants or retail outlets), consider selecting a handful of reviews that you have received online. Use these reviews and display them proudly in your signage around your business. This can be either in a permanent display case (one that you can change reviews from time to time) or temporary signage that you put in the window. Make sure that you add they are real customer reviews and the place that they can be located on the internet.
Don’t be afraid to put reviews up that discuss specific products. After all, this is the words of the customer, and it may draw more popularity for a brand or item that you are trying to push. Don’t hold back, this is your business, and you need t make it look the best you can.
Respond to Your Online Reviews
This may seem as if it has no relation to both worlds but trust us, it does. Many times, when someone is posting a review, they were at your business with someone else. Even if they were not in your place of business, they were aware of your customer’s interaction with you. Likely they will ask your customer later how their day went. If they had a good experience in your store, they would tell them. If they had a bad experience, they would tell them that too. They may even share with their friends or family members that they wrote a review online about the experience they had. When you take the time to respond, they will tell their family and friends about that as well.
We always get excited when we receive a notification that someone has responded to our review. We automatically tell everyone we know about what was said. So, take the time and go the extra mile. Your response will be well received by many. When customers are happy, they tell people about your store.
Conclusion
We hope that the above blog was helpful to you. If you can leverage any of it to make your online reputation better, then we have done our job. If you should need a more detailed explanation on any of the above content, do not hesitate to drop us a line. We will be more than happy to assist you.