Category: Tips

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How to Get Customer Reviews

How to Get Customer Reviews

Third-party validation, in the form of customer reviews, can carry a persuasive power that advertising and marketing simply cannot match. According to the marketing site HubSpot, 52 percent of surveyed consumers say positive reviews make them more likely to consider a business (as compared to 28 percent who consider only location and price).

Obtaining customer reviews can be part of your overall web marketing strategy. Fortunately, the reach of the Internet opens up lots of opportunity to connect with your customers.

Engaging Customers for Reviews

Ask nicely. There’s nothing wrong with contacting your best customers and simply asking them to write their impression of your business. Ask them to describe their success stories, or detail how a problem got solved, with the help of your business. But by the same token…

Don’t overdo it. Aggressively soliciting for reviews compromises your credibility and can even make you look a little desperate.

Interview them. Some customers may hesitate to submit reviews or testimonials because they’re not confident in their writing ability. If you suspect this, ask if you may interview your customer. Ask him to speak off the cuff while you take the notes. Then, after the customer has approved the text, you may edit it into a review.

Post some reviews yourself. Not reviews of your own company, of course — but you can review related businesses. Identifying yourself as a business owner yourself can position you as an engaged member of the community and remind people about your company.

Hold a contest. You don’t want to offer free services or other giveaways for reviews– that suggests compensation in exchange for endorsement, which is unethical. But you can create a grand prize drawing for all customers and prospects, with no strings attached. The more happy customers and prospects you generate, the better the chances for customer reviews later.

Thank them. In any interactive forum, whether Facebook comments or a website’s testimonial page, include your own responses and thanks for reviews — even the less-than-glowing ones.

Response Tactics and Media

Go to video.  If you have the time and resources, a short video to post on YouTube, Vimeo or your own site adds sound, movement and engagement to the typical customer testimonial. You can…

Create a call to action. An usual CTA — “Tell us what you think” or “Let’s hear your story” can inspire web visitors to create a review or testimonial. You can include your CTA on blog entries or in your social media pages to accompany relevant articles.

Open up your social media pages to comments.  Facebook comments, Twitter tweets and LinkedIn recommendations can all work in your company’s favor.

Use email or e-newsletters. A well-designed HTML email or e-newsletter can be as attractive as a banner ad. Select a “customer of the month” and interview him or her. The customer will be flattered, and you may net some fine testimonial verbiage.

Add a “testimonial” sub page to your website. Once you have collected a handful of usable reviews, display them in a dedicated sub page. Visitors who read them may be prompted to add their own reviews. Make it easy for them to do so with a link to a submission page.

Dealing with Negative Reviews

Whether they’re on Yelp or through your own Facebook page, negative reviews are one of the risks of opening your website and social media to public comment.  When such reviews appear, it’s your opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

First, assess the content of the review. Is it tied to customer service, or a product issue? Or is it something beyond your control, such as a weather event that delayed a delivery? Ask your sales reps or service people about the validity of negative reviews. If you recognize a legitimate problem (and not just a “troll”), you can use respond in kind.

Thank the customer for her feedback. Acknowledge her dissatisfaction and, as appropriate, describe the steps you’ll take to rectify the problem.

After all, even a dissatisfied customer isn’t necessarily a lost one. Even a very angry customer may remain a loyal one after you show that you care about his satisfaction. And doing so in a public forum gives other customers and visitors confidence that they can expect the same considerations.

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How Can You Compete Against Amazon in 2020?

Yes, when it comes to ecommerce, Amazon is the proverbial elephant in the room. Ignoring the online giant isn’t going to make it disappear, so the only business you have control over is your own. Do you wave the white flag or dig in and fight?

The good news is that, with a little creativity and skillful marketing, you can successfully compete against Amazon. Incorporate these valuable tips to reinvigorate your digital storefront and your ecommerce fulfillment services will be running on all cylinders in 2020.

1. Refine Your Focus

Amazon’s blessing and curse is that it wants to be all things to all people. As a small- or mid-sized online business, you have the flexibility to find your company’s specific niche and learn that segment inside and out. Once you’re established as an authority, you’ll become the go-to source for your product offering.

2. Leverage Content Marketing and Social Media

Amazon is a faceless behemoth and they do nothing to counteract that image. Use content marketing and social media to personalize your company and forge a connection with customers. Start a blog, share interesting stories and articles, run a contest, post pictures and videos. Be sure to track results and fine-tune your strategy based on what’s working and what isn’t.

3. Optimize Customer Experience

Can you even remember the last time Amazon made any changes to their website? Product pages are busy, clunky and boring, regardless of the device. A sleek, streamlined, user-friendly interface that’s consistent across all platforms and devices goes a long way toward making your company stand out. By the way, if you haven’t optimized for mobile traffic yet, what are you waiting for?

4. Don’t Fall Into the Price Trap

Some retailers make the mistake of lowering prices as a knee-jerk response to competition. Almost no one has the same economies of scale found at Amazon, so slashing prices is a losing proposition. Memberships, limited-quantity items and customization are just a few ways you can make shopping your storefront feel exclusive, which is a more effective way of differentiating yourself.

5. Offer Rewards and Loyalty Programs

Did you know that, until Apple Pay finally edged it out in late 2019, Starbucks had the most widely-used mobile payment app? Part of the reason is because users earn points toward free Starbucks food and beverages. Programs that offer discount codes, special offers and similar perks to frequent shoppers or members are a reliable way to build loyalty and encourage repeat sales.

6. Create a Subscription Service

According to a study by top management consulting firm Bain & Company in conjunction with Harvard Business School, just a five percent increase in customer retention can boost profits anywhere from 25 to 95 percent. A subscription service is easy to implement and brings in steady revenue while reducing costs. As a bonus, repeat customers are more likely to make referrals.

7. Provide Top-Level Shipping and Delivery

Thanks to Amazon Prime, online shoppers expect prompt, free shipping and convenient delivery. While it may not be feasible for you to offer 100 percent free shipping, you should provide at least some type of option, such as free delivery for a minimum total purchase. Tracking details and a no-fuss return policy should also be included in your shipping and delivery program.

Medallion: Ecommerce Fulfillment Services for Today and the Future

Are you looking for ecommerce fulfillment services that will grow along with your business? Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics offers a full range of services that are flexible enough to scale according to your needs.

Contact us to learn more, including information about our Amazon replenishment warehousing service. We now have a warehouse in Boston, Massachusetts in addition to our Los Angeles, California location to serve your need for fast delivery nationwide.

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Harness the Power of Inbound Marketing to Attract Customers to Your Website

Mobile trends aren't like other web trends – because while other trends come and go, mobile is apparently here to stay. So if your business has not yet gone mobile, it's almost as if you have no online presence at all. That's because consumers, clients and everyday users are switching from the big personal computer (PC) monitors to the small screens of convenient smartphones and the versatile tablets – and the numbers bear that out. • By the end of 2012, reported Forbes, mobile devices were poised to outsell personal computers by a 2:1 margin • International Data Corp researchers expect the number of consumers accessing the Internet through PCs to drop from 240 million in 2012 to 225 million by 2016. • Even the more portable laptop computer is not immune: tablets will outsell laptop computers by a 6:1 margin by 2017, according to market researcher NPD. • Over the past two years, notes Google, smartphone adoption in the United States grew from 36 percent to 61 percent. Mobile technology is even overtaking radio and television for entertainment. And the reason for this evolution is not hard to determine: smartphones and tablets accommodate today's on-the-go lifestyle. With Wi-Fi connections and data plans fueling usage, it's now possible to access the Internet virtually anywhere. The Mobile Trends Noted by Google Include These Arresting Statistics: • 94 percent of smartphone users search for location information; • 48 percent called a store; and • 85 percent of mobile search-triggered calls to stores happened within 5 hours of the initial search The biggest names in search engines have acknowledged mobile trends. Google and Bing, for example, "will index mobile content in a different manner than regular search," says e2ideas. "Search engines will serve up mobile optimized websites first over non-mobile sites when a mobile user does a search on a smartphone." No Longer a Novelty – Mobile Optimized Websites Are a Necessity This development is especially important when considering usage on Google, the undisputed leader in search engines. Today, websites that lack a mobile responsive design are going to be at a disadvantage in Google search results – and if your site doesn't make the first page of Google search results, it might as well not exist at all. The good news is that mobile searches are still relatively new – so "people who are first to market have a significant advantage," as e2ideas notes. Retailers are using mobile to their advantage – installing QR codes on shelves to encourage device-holders to scan and find information on the product; creating apps that link to special offers or deals accessed by phone or tablet; and creating virtual coupons good for on-the-spot discounts. Making Mobile Work for Your Own Customers The mobile web has altered the way your business gets discovered and accessed. While a robust, client-focused website is still a must-have, the way that site is designed and programmed for mobile use will make all the difference to your customers. The conventional PC optimized website, optimized for up to a 19-inch viewing screen, are too complicated for mobile use. The image- and text-heavy pages of a PC website are often slow to load on a smartphone, and once all the data transfers to a 4-inch screen, objects look cluttered and hard to navigate. Google reports these very interesting comments from a recent survey: • 57 percent of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site; and • 40 percent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience Catching the Wave with Mobile Trends Creating a mobile presence from your traditional website presents some challenges. You need to take a step back and view your business and its message the way your customers would. What do they want to know most at the moment they pull out their smartphone? Are they just getting acquainted with your business, or are they ready to consider a purchase? Knowing your customers' buying habits are key to designing a mobile presence that they'll enjoy using. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of mobile sites, you typically have several options, but many businesses find the most success with these three choices: • A responsive design website changes the way it looks and navigates depending on the device. For instance, it will hide some content on a tiny smartphone, but show it on a larger tablet. • A native mobile app developed specifically for a device and is downloaded from app stores like iTunes and Google Play. • Using a DudaMobile automatically created mobile website done with the click of a mouse and a fast installation of a small snippet of code. Getting the Word Out Once you have taken your business mobile, let your customers in on the good news. Use your Facebook, Twitter or other social pages to announce the change; send email to your customers and prospects, and reach out to trade organizations and industry publications to get users interested in your site.

There’s a new kid on the marketing team and he’s not only changing the rules, he’s playing a whole new ball game. Inbound marketing is leveling the playing field, allowing small-scale entrepreneurs and start-ups to go toe-to-toe with the big leagues and score. Fast, fun and cheap, inbound marketing is an entrepreneur’s marketing dream. Learn to harness the power of inbound marketing and you can quickly move your company from farm team to major league.

Still a rookie in the marketing world, inbound marketing currently accounts for just 10% of most marketing budgets with outbound marketing chewing up the 80% lion’s share of available advertising dollars. Over the next year or two, however, marketing gurus expect that ratio to be turned upside down. The exponential expansion of Facebook (500 million active users and counting) as a primary communication venue and the growing proliferation of mobile communication via smartphones (90% of Americans have cell phone contracts and 60% use smartphones) is driving the shift from traditional outbound to internet-focused inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, white papers, eBooks, forums, webinars, RSS feeds — is internet based and search engine driven. Unlike outbound marketing — newspaper and magazine advertisements, television and radio ads, cold calls, direct mail campaigns, email spam, trade shows — that reaches out to consumers, casting a wide net in the hopes of snaring a few paying customers; inbound marketing uses search engine optimization techniques (SEO) to target and pre-qualify consumers who are actually interested in purchasing your product and pulls these potential customers in, directing them to your website.

A successful inbound marketing program is three pronged:

  • Informative and useful content is created and published on your website in the form of website content, blogs, white papers, video clips, forums, webinars, etc.;
  • Search engine optimization (SEO) is utilized to increase the ranking of your content with popular search engines, making it easier for consumers to find; and
  • Social media is used to spread your content to potential customers.

Not only has inbound marketing proven to be more effective in connecting to interested customers and producing useful targeted leads, it’s cost-effective. There is no charge to launch a Facebook page or use Twitter.

According to a Hubspot survey of 231 marketing professionals, the cost of an outbound lead is $332, whereas the cost of an inbound lead is only $134, a 60% reduction. Inbound marketing also has a longer shelf life that outbound marketing efforts. Media ads are only effective during the week or month of publication or airing, pay-per-click ads are effective only as long as you continue to pour money into them; but blogs, white papers and videos live on the internet forever and can be recycled via social media again and again, maximizing your marketing investment.

An added bonus is that inbound marketing removes the interruption onus that burdens outbound marketing. Where outbound marketing interrupts consumers by pushing its message, uninvited, into their lives; inbound marketing attracts interested consumers motivated to embrace its message — and your product.

In effect, inbound marketing shifts control of brand message distribution from your business to consumers. While it can be difficult to relinquish that control, business owners who embrace inbound marketing will find the benefits to be considerable.

Each time your brand is mentioned, recommended, shared or linked to on a social networking site such as Facebook, it carries the personal endorsement of the individual who is passing it along, increasing your marketing impact and, because of the personal connection, making your product even more enticing to the people on that individual’s friend list. Inbound marketing expands the reach and impact of every marketing dollar you invest. Don’t be left in the dust; join the inbound marketing team today.

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Mobile Marketing is Key for 2020

How to Get Customer Reviews

In 2010, no less an authority than Steve Jobs declared, “Mobile device search hasn’t happened. Search is not where it’s at.”

Moral #1: Even the biggest gurus sometime miss the mark.

Moral #2: What a difference three years makes.

Mobile Does Matters

When it comes to marketing, web browsing and searching are here to stay — but search tactics are evolving. Though desktop or laptop computers are the traditional vehicles for starting a web search, they’re no longer the only game in town.

In fact, people on the go are increasingly leaving their desktops to gather dust while they reach for their smartphones and tablets to do everything from stream music to read email — and, of course, search the web with mobile advertising.

• Emarketer.com tells us that while desktops still are the first choice in searches, their lead is shrinking fast.

• Just last June, more than 27% of all U.S. web traffic originated from smartphones or tablets, 20% of that from phones alone.

• Google, the first name in search engines, expects to see more mobile than desktop searches from its users in 2013, and it’s safe to extrapolate that increased usage in the years to come.

So If You’re Not Mobile… You’re Stuck in Neutral

The vast majority of websites are designed, developed and optimized for the desktop or laptop screen. Even if your site enjoys high Google search rankings, you may be missing out on visitors and leads if your site is not optimized for mobile. Adapting your online marketing to the radically different size and shape of smartphones or tablets isn’t just a matter of posting the site to the device.

To implement true mobile advertising, you must provide users with a mobile-optimized site — one that’s easy to see on a small screen, and contains the functionality (like enlarging buttons or images) that help them navigate easily and understand your message.

In many cases, this means rethinking your homepage and landing pages to include only the most relevant and action-oriented content. Mobile users simply won’t tolerate anything less than real engagement and ease of use.

Enhance Your Connections — Free!

Google wants to help you create the ideal mobile site to help you land the best search result rankings and visits possible. They launched AdWords Enhanced Campaigns, which focus heavily on mobile development, encouraging all Google-using customers to integrate a smartphone/tablet-friendly site. By partnering with DudaMobile, Google offers you a free mobile website for one year, with unlimited email and phone support.

It’s a Win-Win-Win Situation
Mobile advertising is both the present and the future of your online marketing — and now you have an opportunity to test the waters risk-free. It’s a win-win-win situation for your business, your customers and even for Google.

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Panda, Penguin… How to Insulate Your Website from Google’s Zoo

Figuring Out What You Need

Pandas and penguins – so cute, so non threatening. Well, until now.

As the nicknames of Google’s new algorithms, Panda and Penguin have become powerful predators of the Internet, targeting websites for specific infractions. The purpose of these functions is to protect users from lower-quality; keyword-stuffed, ad-jammed, spammy search results.

  • Panda targets specific section or an entire site, rather than individual web pages.
  • Penguin focuses on the date of a web page as criteria for its quality control.

When Panda or Penguin identifies content that it considers keyword-stuffed, auto-generated, or linking to pay-per-click sites that add no value, Google takes action by flagging that site’s account.

And it isn’t just the fly-by-night or the fringe dwellers under the gun; according to Search Engine Watch, “Google penalized JC Penney, Forbes and Overstock.com for ‘shady’ linking practices.”

However, for all the benefits Google’s new algorithms purport to bring to the average user, nearly any content creator – you, for instance – may be caught in their grips. If either Panda or Penguin identifies your site as lower quality, it could jeopardize your ranking in the results.

Avoid Becoming Panda’s Prey

Fortunately, you can take steps to produce content that even a Panda or Penguin will love. First, follow a “don’t” list that includes three key tactics:

1. Don’t overdo the keywords. If you’ve ever been subjected to a blog with several instances of an awkward phrase like, “print shop services Bakersfield CA,” you know you’re looking at SEO-stuffed content. Some bloggers stuff keywords deliberately; others inadvertently; but to Panda, the outcome is the same. Keep the text geared toward the reader, not the search engine.

2. Don’t write similar articles on the same topic. Panda hates this, and is quick to identify look alike pages as inauthentic. Avoid the copy/paste and the repetitive phrasing. You can work a theme from page to page, of course – but strive to give every web page, every blog and every other piece of content a sense of uniqueness.

3. Don’t load up on ads and links. When Panda made its debut in 2011, one of the first things site owners noticed was that organic-oriented news sites and social networks climbed in the rankings, while ad- and link-heavy sites dropped. Included among the offenders are “doorway pages” that use keyword-stuffing to direct users to a single destination with no additional value; reciprocal links that arbitrarily connect one site to another with no value-added purpose; and sneaky hidden text of keywords that the eye can’t see but that search engines can.

Play Nice with the Google Zoo

As Google itself puts it, “One of the most important steps in improving your site’s ranking in Google search results is to ensure that it contains plenty of rich information that includes relevant keywords, used appropriately, that indicate the subject matter of your content.”
So to keep Panda and Penguin at bay, your “to do” list is at least as long as your “to don’t” list. It includes:

1. Offering transparency. A user should know immediately what your business is all about. Keep everything accessible, from your About Us, to your Terms of Service, to your copyright. By practicing such due diligence, you maintain a credible, authoritative image – one that could help distinguish you from competitors as well as satisfy Panda and Penguin.

2. Building content consistently. Blogs, e-newsletters, video, blog posts – you have plenty of quality choices when it comes to posting content. When you create a well-themed set of content that uses SEO wisely, you increase your online presence and provide your visitors with a valid reason to proceed to your landing page.

3. Providing meaningful content that’s pertinent to your clients.  Remember that today’s consumers search the Internet for answers, not ads. Clients and prospects are not interested in blogs about your new location, or links to coupons. They’re more likely to respond to industry-specific information that offers real value: a blog on how free shipping affects holiday purchases, for instance; or a report on the risks and advantages of using social media as test-marketing strategy.

Set Up Your Site for Success

Google’s new algorithms have thrown many marketers for a loop – but you don’t have to be one of them. By practicing basic SEO etiquette, you need not fear Panda or Penguin. And at that same time, you may notice enhanced web traffic and more qualified leads resulting from your credible content.