A Yellow Pages telephone phone book was delivered to my front porch recently, and as I brought it into the house I stared at it in bewilderment. A phone book? I asked myself. Who even uses these anymore? Every business I need to look up is on the internet.
According to the latest research, I’m not alone. A Small Business Search Marketing Survey recently conducted by American Express OPEN revealed that 66% of consumers turn to the internet to find local businesses. Moreover, just over 75% of those who rely on the internet reported that they read online reviews of businesses regularly or occasionally, and that positive reviews make them more likely to trust that business more.
Social Media: Why You Should Respond to Negative Comments
Posted on January 9, 2012 by Amber Wallace in PR, Small Business, Social Media
You’ve worked hard to grow your business and your reputation, and someone has just started complaining about you via one of the many social media channels available.
Unfortunately, there are endless examples to draw from. In fact, they follow a formula, and you can fill in the blanks (like MadLibs… brings me back!):
(name) is on (website), and (he/she) is unhappy because (reason).
For example:
Joe is on Twitter, and he is unhappy with the flowers he ordered for his girlfriend’s birthday because they were late. He’s using those 140 characters to explain that the bouquet was note only late, but also dried out, and overall a major disappointment. And he’s naming names. In fact, soon he’ll be blaming all of his relationship problems on this one bad bouquet.
Problem is, you’re the florist. So…