I would like to touch base on something that is near and dear to my hear, reviews. As a small business owner word of mouth is crucial to any business more than any paid advertisement. Many small business do not have a multimillion dollar budget to spend on marketing. So, getting some positive advertisement is worth its weight in gold.
I know myself, I will offer what I call a Social Media Discount. Meaning I will perform a shoot at a reduced cost, if the client is willing to write a review of his or her experience with my service. Sites like Yelp, Google Business, and even Facebook Business help these business, but can’t work effectively, if customers are unwilling to participate. Here are some explanations, I have come across for not writing a review:
Difficult – Not sure how to post a reviews, I have even written documentation step by step on how to post a review with screen shots. It can’t get any simpler. (**Note: I recommend writing a review in MS Word and just pasting it to the various social media sites.**)
Headache – Take some aspirin. Matter of fact, take two and call me in the morning.
I Forgot – I try to send weekly reminders to the client, in hopes they will sit down for a moment and write a review.
Not sure what to write – Take a look at other client reviews to get started and translate it into your own words.
Time consuming – It’s not a letter of recommendation for a former colleague, it should be no longer than 2 or 3 sentences.
A lot of us small business owners depend on reviews to bring new clients in. Let’s face it, a potential client will go to his or her friend first and then on-line testimonials second. If there are none, they move down the search page. We, as business owners try to offer our customer the best service we can, in hopes that they will in turn write a positive review. And let’s face it, not every review clears the secret Yelp Review algorithm.
I hope I have not bored you too much. I had a lot of fun writing this one like all of my blogs. I trust I have given you some valuable tips to think about, before planning your next shoot. It’s not all bad, just be clear and informative, it will save you a lot of headaches. Remember nothing is set in stone and there is not a perfect formula, so go out and have some fun.
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