So its about 7am New Years Eve 2018, and all are still nestled in their cozy beds in my home. The coffee pot is brewing in my kitchen making that loud bubbling noise as it is letting me know it is almost cycled so I can pour my first cup. As I was doing some reading and thinking about where we are at as a business community and what some of my goals were for 2019, I realized that there are still many businesses who haven’t taken control of their online identities. One of my goals this past year was to try and help businesses in my community get online by putting on free seminars that provided value. I wanted to teach them the very basic principals of managing a website, google listing, and social media. With this article, I will attempt again to reiterate some of those same points and why they are extremely crucial to small business in 2019. Not only are you facing pressure from your competition, but now more than ever consumers are ready to let you know how your business is performing with something called reviews. These days customer service isn’t enough for consumers. You need to be providing experience and doing your best to awe every single customer, client, or audience you have with an outstanding business performance. Here is the problem: if your business isn’t online then the situation gets dismal as your reputation will be tarnished by bad reviews. it gets worse. You may not even get a chance to wow these customers because they like most people have turned to reviews for advice on whether or not to give your business a chance. If you’re a 1 star, 2 star, or 3 star review on Google or Facebook, I think you have a really problem. I know you must be saying, “but I have a great business and I love my customers.” I’m sure most businesses are great businesses. They do their best to provide the best quality products and services as well as excellent customer service. This is basic 20th century business etiquette, but to quote Gary Vaynerchuk, “technology doesn’t care about your business!” Either you adapt to the rapid changing technologies of business or you will not survive. It is as simple as that.
I have been an advocate for small business to take control of their online reviews by reaching out to their advocates and install a culture of asking for good reviews by customers who have had a great experience with their products or services. The simple solution to this is after every transaction made in your store or online, simply ask for a positive review on these platforms by customers you feel are your best advocates. This may even include some of your existing clients. During my time in the car business, we would walk up to a client who had just purchased a car with a tablet in hand and ask if they had a gmail account and facebook. This was a great time as the customer was in a state of euphoria because they were about to drive off in a machine that on average would be with them for the next 3 years. As soon as they replied yes, we would hand the tablet over, ask them to log in and leave a review. It was a basic process that left us prepared for negative reviews that were sure to follow. I tell every business owner I know that they are going to get bad reviews. The best companies in the world aren’t safe and are subject to bad reviews so small business isn’t either and having your advocates provide reviews in advance of bad ones is a good plan of action.
As Google has maintained their dominance as the world’s number 1 search engine, this is where all of your customers are going to search for your business including your competition. As they punch in the keys and hit enter, a few things will happen thanks to Google’s algorithm. Your business will show up in the form of a listing among others with a certain amount of stars along with your contact information with options to map your way to the different locations around town related to that search. The second that might happen is your business listing may show up on the right side of the search query with all of your information ranging from phone number to pictures and reviews. Lastly, nothing at all. Depending on the amount of time you have spent on your Google business listing, this is an important fact as 90% of all searches related to business begin on that initial search. Inaccurate information may also follow these searches in the form of wrong addresses and phone numbers for your business which can be costly giving your competitors the edge. Making the experience of finding your business should come with ease not challenge and this is where you must take ownership of your business listing.
It starts with Google My Business, a simple yet very effective tool for small businesses that Google has offered as level playing field for any business who wishes to be found. It is completely free and takes a few minutes to set up. The process requires that you have a gmail account and can be completed simply by logging in and following the prompts. The process will then have Google mail you a post card with a code at which point you receive at your place of business. This is how Google verifies that your business does in fact exist and how you will verify to Google that you are the owner. With code in hand simply enter into a prompt Google has sent you by email or in your Google My Business account to verify. Once verified, you will have access to several tools that allow you to add photos, video, update business information such as phone number and store hours, as well as instant messaging for mobile users. More importantly, this will also give you access to your business’s reviews. You are able to respond to these reviews in a polite and professional manner as well as address any issues facing your business that may have come up through customer feedback. Another recommendation is to download the Google My Business app to your mobile and allow notifications to keep you up to date with reviews and messages that come through. Finally, it is also a great way to give real time updates on your business to those in the search process and you can even begin running Google Ads campaigns to start generating leads and phone calls for your business.
There are so many different tools available to businesses, in my opinion Google My Business is still one of the most effective. As algorithms through all these different platforms are changing to get more market share, GMB has remained constant. As you begin another year of business, make Google My Business and your online reputation a priority to remain a force in business as an asset for existing and future customers to learn more about your business and possibly generate more income through long lasting positive reviews or what they called word of mouth in the 20th century.
I’d love your feedback, please drop a comment below or feel free to reach out to me through DM. If your business needs some guidance, connect with growlaredo.com we would love to work with you.
– KASH
