How to Get More Customer Reviews Just by Asking for Them

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Your business can’t have an effective online presence if it doesn’t have any customer reviews.
Why? Because when people are hiring a new business, they want to be sure they’re making the right choice. Reading about other people’s experiences helps them decide which business will best align with their needs. They’ll be able to see which companies are pleasant to work with, which ones are punctual, which ones deliver good results, and so on.
In fact, a 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey by BrightLocal reports 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends! And 74% say positive reviews make them trust a business more.
It’s one thing for your business to appear prominently all over Google Maps and local search results. It’s another thing for your business to actually grab customers’ attention and get them to hire you. Customer reviews help close this gap.
In short, if you want your business to stand out and appeal to local consumers—essentially making all of your online marketing efforts worthwhile—then you need to get more customer reviews for them to read.
The best way to get more customer reviews? Just ask for them! Keep reading to discover how.

How to Get More Customer Reviews Just by Asking for Them

Ask and You Shall Receive

Did you know? According to BrightLocal’s 2016 survey, 7 out of 10 people will leave a review for a business if they’re asked to. This is a super promising sign that you’ll be able to get the customer reviews you need, as long as you’re proactive.
When trying to get more customer reviews, keep these three tips in mind:

Ask customers directly.
Make leaving a review foolproof.
Act quickly before customers forget.

There are a lot of specific tactics you can use to ensure better responses from your past customers. Read “Make Your Presence Known: Get More Customer Reviews Online” for further suggestions!

How to Get More Customer Reviews in Five Easy Steps

First, identify your best customers—the ones who loyally come back to you, and the ones who you’re confident will give you a good review. These people are more likely to help you out.
Next, contact these select customers by phone or e-mail and ask them directly if they would please take a few minutes to leave you a review online. Tell them your preferred platforms. Google Maps, Facebook, and Yelp are best. This should give you an initial boost in your number of customer reviews.
Then, develop a plan for future customers so you can start getting a continuous flow of reviews. Add an on-page feedback tool to your website (available through Prospect Genius). This way, customers can write a review in one place and the tool can disseminate the review to other platforms.
In the future, ask customers at the very beginning of your service, before you’ve even started the job. Say, “If you’re happy with our work once we’re finished, please consider leaving us a review on Google.” This will plant the seed in their minds early on.
Finally, remind customers again as soon as the job is complete. Attach links to follow-up e-mails, mention it in follow-up phone calls, and even add it to the bottom of your invoices. Customers are more likely to leave you a review while the experience is still fresh in their minds.

If this sounds like too much work on your end, you may want to look into a service like Customer Lobby. An automated service that follows up with previous customers on your behalf, Customer Lobby can do all the legwork for you. Prospect Genius refrains from officially endorsing specific products and services; however, we can say we’ve had good experiences using Customer Lobby ourselves.

Get More Customer Reviews Now!

As we’ve explained previously, having a large number of customer reviews can potentially save your business. Not only is it good for your online reputation, but it’s also helpful for improving your local search performance.
So if you’ve already invested in any type of online advertising, it only makes sense to strengthen it and give it the best chance possible to succeed. By following our advice, you’ll be able to get more customer reviews online and increase your business’s appeal.
If you have any questions or need a little guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Are You in Good Shape for Online Marketing in 2017?

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Start 2017 off the right way!
One easy way to set yourself up for a great year of online marketing in 2017 is to make sure all your online info is up to date. We’re talking directory listings, Google Maps, Angie’s List… Basically, wherever your business is listed on the Internet. Having consistent, accurate information about your business across the web is a fundamental component of your overall web presence. Double-checking that all your details are correct is worth the effort if it means you have a solid foundation for the rest of the year. So get to it!
And if you need more convincing, keep reading.

What Happens If Your Info Isn’t Updated?

Keeping outdated information online is terrible for your business on two fronts.

1. Customers Get Confused:

If prospective customers don’t have the right details about your business, they’re likely to get confused and move on to another company for their needs. For example, if you recently changed your phone number and didn’t update it on all of your listings, a prospective customer might come across the wrong one and be unable to contact you. That’s money down the drain.

2. Search Engines Penalize You:

Search engines like Google want to present the most accurate, up-to-date information to their users. That’s how they keep users coming back, after all. To this end, they continuously cross-check information from different sources across the web to verify everything is correct. If they detect a discrepancy in your online data, they’ll flag your listing for potentially incorrect information. And if there are enough discrepancies, your listing may be suspended, which means you won’t appear in search results. If this happens, your business’s web presence will plummet.

As you can see, neglecting to update your information is a surefire way to run your efforts into the ground. If you want to establish a solid foundation for your online marketing in 2017, you need to start with up-to-date information.

How Can You Tell If Your Info Is Up to Date?

If you’ve been good about keeping track of all the places your business is listed, then you may be able to double-check your online information yourself. These are some sites to start with, but this is by no means an exhaustive list:

Google Maps
Bing Local
Yelp
Manta
Better Business Bureau
Angie’s List
Citysearch

You can also do a Google search for your business name and location and dig through the search results. This will help you track down any other listings you might have forgotten or weren’t aware of. The whole process of finding your listings and verifying the information could take less than an hour or up to several hours—it all depends on how quickly you can find your directory listings.
However, there’s another option: Let Prospect Genius run a WebFax® report for you. We’ll conduct a comprehensive audit of all your online listings and find any errors that exist. Then, with our CleanSlate™ program, we can make the necessary corrections so you can spend your time and energy elsewhere.

What Kind of Information Needs to Be Updated?

Customers and search engines alike are looking for generally the same information. If any of these details have changed, update your listings accordingly:

Phone number
Street address
Company name
E-mail address
Website URL
Business category
Service offerings

Alternatively, if you’re a Prospect Genius client, let us know about your real-life changes and we’ll make the corrections online for you. It’s better if all of the updates come from one place. Not only does that ensure consistency, but it also satisfies Google’s preference for listing management to come from a single IP address.
Now that you know what’s at stake and what you need to do, updating your online information should be a no-brainer. So kick off your online marketing in 2017 the right way by making sure your web presence is in good shape for the year to come!

How to Keep the Holidays From Ruining Your Online Marketing

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

It’s no secret that most of us stretch our budgets a little thin over the holiday season. With parties to host and gifts to buy, money disappears quickly. And for many small business owners, the slightly blurred line between personal and business finances means the holidays can impact some of your company’s operations—like online marketing.
If you’re feeling the squeeze of the holidays on your small business’s budget, it’s fine to tighten your belt—but don’t let it affect your online marketing. Canceling your marketing campaign temporarily or skipping a payment may reduce your expenses in the short term, but did you know there can be seriously negative consequences? The fallout will outlast the holiday season and your savings may turn into losses.
How can that be? Keep reading to find out.

Canceling Your Campaign Sets You Back for Months

Canceling an SEO-based campaign, even just for a month, can jeopardize your future profits. To explain how, we’ll use the way Prospect Genius works as an example.
When a client cancels their campaign with us, it’s our policy to immediately take down their website, pull down their listings, and halt all lead generation services. (Most advertisers have a similar cancellation policy.) Your business will stop receiving traffic and leads right away. So canceling your campaign for the holidays will likely cause you to stop getting new customers for at least a month, or however long it takes for you to restart your campaign.
There’s more. Now, whenever you decide to restart your online marketing, you’ll have to wait another few months for your web presence to ramp up again. Why? Because SEO is not something you can drop and pick up where you left off. As soon as you stop SEO, everything goes back to zero.
As Prospect Genius clients may recall, there’s typically a 90-day buildup period after you start a new campaign. This ramp-up window is unavoidable, regardless of how many times you’ve started and stopped your online marketing. So after all is said and done, you lose several months of business even though you only canceled for one month.

Skipping a Payment Is Hard to Bounce Back From

Another thing that some business owners do is let their marketing payments slide for a month. They think it’s the harmless alternative to canceling entirely. While it’s true that making a late payment is better than canceling, it’s far from harmless. For example, when you miss a payment with Prospect Genius, your account is partially disabled until payment is received, causing a dramatic decrease in leads received.
But the real kicker comes later: After delaying one payment, most business owners find it difficult to get back on track with their monthly billing cycle. This is because they now only have a couple of weeks, instead of a full month, to save up for the next payment. Often, this begins an unfortunate pattern of falling behind that’s difficult to stop.

What Can You Do?

We aren’t trying to scare you. We understand there are peaks and valleys in every fiscal year and that the holidays can be especially trying. If money is tight, here are some things you can do that won’t hurt you in the long run:

If you’re doing AdWords or any other PPC campaign, pause it. While you can’t turn SEO off and on again easily, PPC can be started and stopped with ease.
Budget wisely. Plan out all of your income and expenses for the month to see how much money you’ll realistically have for gifts, decorations, food, and, yes, marketing costs.
Pay in advance. If you think there’s a chance you’ll overspend on holiday goods and not have enough money at the end of the month to pay your bill, be safe and pay your bill ahead of time—before your money runs out.

Remember: You’ve invested a lot in your online marketing. Don’t let your web presence come crashing down by canceling your campaign or not paying your bills. You might save a monthly payment, but it will cost you much more down the road.
Questions or concerns? Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

The Next Generation of Small Business Website Design Is Here!

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Your website is the cornerstone of your online presence. So why not invest a little more in your small business website? You deserve a top-of-the-line website that can shoulder your online marketing needs for years and years to come.

Introducing: CoreSites™

A top-of-the-line website is exactly what Prospect Genius will bring you with our brand-new platform. We listened to our clients and developed a second-generation platform that gives small business owners exactly what they’re looking for in a website:

Complete ownership for the future
Updated, modern appearance with more room for customization
A unique URL that may contain your business name

We named our new websites CoreSites because they’re effective and central to your whole marketing strategy.
If having control of your site and its content is particularly important to you, or you’re seeking a site that’s flashy and attention-grabbing, then you’ll be interested in upgrading to a CoreSite. Keep reading to learn more!

Total Ownership of Your Small Business Website

Prospect Genius’s new platform allows you to invest in your business’s long-term success. We provide you with a fully functional site and unique, written content you can keep forever. If you’re going to pay for a website, it should at least be one you can keep, right?
(Already have a website? Bring your own and have us revamp it for you! More on that below.)

How Does It Work?

You give us as much information as you can about your company.
We create a personalized website for your business based on your services, background, and desired appearance.
You can finance the website over a period of 12 months (or choose to purchase it outright).
Once it’s paid for, it’s yours to keep!

Small businesses used to have to forego owning a beautiful, fully functional website due to budget constraints. However, with Prospect Genius’s new platform and financing options, we make owning a good-looking, customized website much more affordable for small businesses.

Modern Appearance Customized Just for You

You want your website to reflect you. With our new platform, that’s exactly what you’ll get. With an all-new selection of layouts and features that provide practically endless customization possibilities, we have something for everyone.

How Does It Work?

We’ll ask you about what you want out of your site and show you sample layouts.
We’ll build your small business website, adding flourishes and features to give it a one-of-a-kind look.
After it’s built, we’ll give you a chance to review it and request specific changes, if necessary.

We do what we can to ensure you get the small business website of your dreams.

Your Very Own, Custom URL

Since your website is a vital part of your branding and overall web presence, it makes sense to want your business name right there in the URL. When you use our new platform, you can enjoy a custom URL that is easy to remember and promotes your business.

How Does It Work?

Instead of a generic URL like “appliancerepair-texas.biz,” you can use your actual business name (e.g., “bobsappliancerepair.com”).
If you already own a custom URL, you can just bring it with you.
You’re free to take your URL with you if and when you leave.

A custom URL is the extra touch you need to make your website truly your own.

Option to Bring Your Own Site

Good news! If you already have a small business website, you can still use our platform to get unique content, boost your SEO, and increase your traffic. The process of adding content is seamless for websites powered by WordPress, but virtually anyone with a website can take advantage of our professional content writing services.

Brand-New Platform, Same Great Service

Whether you’re a happy Prospect Genius client looking for an upgrade, a first-time buyer wanting to make a smart investment, or a veteran small business owner needing to get serious about online marketing, our new platform has the right solution for you.
Best of all, our platform is the only thing that’s changed. We still have the same commitment to upholding our professional integrity and serving our clients with their best interests at heart. Ultimately, this new platform exists because we wanted to make life better for the small business owners who inspire us every day.
Call to chat with us about your new small business website today!

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