Slide 1: ==== ==== What business doesn't need a higher star rating by Google, Yelp or the other rating sites? Now you will improve your rating significantly or your money back. seositesonline.com/online-offline-seo-services/reputation-management/ ==== ====
The Internet is about 15 years old in its current mainstream user form - starting with the early browsers like Netscape and early Internet Explorers. That opened up a window for businesses to get online and into the consciousness of online users through search engine and directory sites like Yahoo!, Infoseek, Alta Vista in the early years - to Google and YouTube in its present day format. Many businesses today still do not have a presence online - either being listed in Google geographically, or have a website. A lot of businesses still operate on the notion that their customer base is local and that local advertising through newspapers, Yellow Pages or word of mouth is the only way to promote their business. While those forms of marketing have a role to play - their role is increasingly subjugated by the emergence of search engines online. This is because prospects and potential customers are increasingly searching online first - to locate businesses. They then look for basic product or service information online about these businesses. They then look to see what other people online are saying about these businesses. Often these opinions are gathered on special sites like Yelp, Urbanspoon, or social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Businesses need to understand that opinions from friends and family or customer reviews are a powerful shaper of a prospect's decision to engage and make contact with a business. They are increasingly more powerful than a business sales pitch. It is what I call the social validation element where prospects seek confirmation or affirmation of a business' reputability before buying themselves. In many ways, its the same mindset that prospective employers use by contacting references of a potential employee candidate. We all want to make sure that we are making sound investment decisions and those motivations are very powerful and are being played out online in the aforementioned sites. Therefore, it is no longer sufficient for a business to rely on sales pitching through newspaper ads, TV ads or other sales copy type advertising. People are no longer satisfied to buy based solely on sales copy. The whole "buyer beware" mindset is pervasive and prospects do a lot of research online before making the initial engagement step. Therefore businesses need to be present in the online space and go beyond traditional forms of advertising - to draw in prospects. Businesses not only need a web presence in the form of a business website that provides complete product or service information as well as business contact information - they also now need to be present in online forums to have access to what customers and prospects are saying about them. More than that, they need to be part of the conversation by replying to comments and reviews, engaging in follow up measures if customer experiences were negative, and play an
Slide 2: overall active part in building their brand online. This is the new business reality of the 21st century and specifically of the new 2010s decade. Hopefully this article has helped businesses understand the importance of being present online and active engagement with prospects.
Victor Wee writes about the exciting world of internet brand management and marketing. His company operates in the Vancouver Online Marketing and Richmond Online Marketing space and the business website is http://www.mainstreetpresence.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vic_H_Wee
==== ==== What business doesn't need a higher star rating by Google, Yelp or the other rating sites? Now you will improve your rating significantly or your money back. seositesonline.com/online-offline-seo-services/reputation-management/ ==== ====
