Many times, local companies have greater knowledge of the needs of the particular region or city that they work in, or because the service is so localized, a nationwide company can’t compete (plumbing, construction repair, pizza delivery, etc…)

The local results can be instrumental in acquiring a new customer. The reviews can help a potential customer decide which company to call. However, many local businesses don’t take the time to either claim their listing or ask the customer to write a review. It ends up that the local business might be listed in a directory but have only a couple of reviews (and possibly a negative one or two) and if they haven’t claimed their listing, they are losing out on the opportunity to enhance their listing to better show value for their product or service.

Besides local companies claiming their listing on Google Places, Yelp, most businesses don’t bother asking their customer for a review.

When is the Best Time to Ask a Customer to Write a Review of Your Local Business?

Right after the services or products are provided is the best time to ask your customer to write a review for your business. Most of the time the customer is extremely satisfied that you’ve been able to solve their problem and they will be most likely to write a review of your company.

The one thing you must do is ask for a review. Give the customer a business card or a sheet of paper with the links to your local listings. Ask politely if they would write an honest review of their experience working with you.

This only takes a couple of moments out of your time and it can make a huge difference in how many potential customers contact you in the future. If you are getting a couple of reviews a month, it won’t take long before you have a significant amount of customer reviews and testimonials about your business on the Internet. Over time, you may have more reviews than any of your competitors in your area and this can make your business shine.

I’ve personally seen a client of mine start generating around 10 reviews a month. A year and a half latter, they now have twice as many reviews for their company than the other top four put together. They are receiving more calls today because they have such a portfolio of honest reviews that others are able to make a sound judgement that this is the best company to do business with in the area.

Don’t Spam the Reviews

Too many businesses try to spam their listings with fake reviews. These are easily identified and customers are sophisticated enough to spot a fake review. This is a waste of time, money, and energy.

Getting reviews constantly, over time, is the best way to marketing your business in local directories!

One of the ways we built stronger relationships with our clients is by sending them a card and gift for Christmas.

My favorite gift is Turkey Joints from Nora’s Candy Shop, an incredibly delicious chocolate candy that anyone is sure to enjoy!

Sending a gift to all of your clients reminds them how much you value their business.

No, you don’t have to send them candy, a simple Christmas or Holiday card will be just fine. Or it can be any little gift that shows your appreciation. But who doesn’t like to let go a little bit of sugar during the holidays?!

*Yes, if you’re a current client of ours you should be receiving your Turkey Joints in the next week or two (if we don’t eat them all up!)

If you’ve been in the retail industry long enough, you know how valuable coupons can be in bringing people into your store. You know that you can offer coupons for high margin products or products that your trying to get off your shelf to make run for the newest and greatest products for the next year. You’re also hoping that while the buyer is there, they’ll also buy other products that will increase your gross sales.

Using the same philosophy, you can use coupons for your online e-store as well. They are called many different things…coupon code, promo code, discount code, but they’re all the same thing…a discount on the purchase price of an item your selling.

Many marketers have used coupon codes to track different marketing campaigns from newspapers, radio, TV and newsletters. Using coupon codes on your website are easy to track by campaign as you set up a new code for each promotion.

Submitting Coupon to Coupon Directories

One of the best ways for a new retail site to get their name out in front of a lot of people is to submit their coupon code to the coupon code websites on the Internet. There are many to choose from:

Coupon Snapshot
RetailMeNot
The Mommy Insider

And a host of others as well as niche coupon directories that you can submit your coupon too.

There are many reasons why consumers use coupons, but the reason you’ll want to use coupons for your business is to get more people to your website and getting them to purchase your products.

Submitting a coupon to these coupon directories can help do just that!

Most businesses want to highlight their accomplishments, who they are, and all the bells and whistles that their products and services have to offer all on their homepage.

Yet time after time, heat mapping and click data from tracking software show that website visitors, or to put it in a better way, potential customers want to be able to easily access the information they came to seek on your website.

Too often, the management of a company doesn’t understand why a web designer or online marketing consultant tells them they need to change the layout of the homepage or internal pages so website visitors can get to where they’re going faster!

Nobody likes to be told that their website is ugly…but sometimes it just is…it’s the cold hard truth.

Having this data makes it a lot easier for a business owner to overcome their own objections when the stats are right their in their face.

This is one of the biggest obstacles to creating more conversions on a website. Simply rearranging a couple of elements on a web page can make a tremendous difference in conversions. I’ve seen conversion rates increase 75%-100% by just making a couple small changes.

If your website is struggling to convert well or you’re looking to increase your conversion rate, try heatmapping or click data from vendors such as CrazyEgg.com or ClickDensity.com. We’ve used both here for different clients with great success.

The Internet is constantly changing and the methods that worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow. There are best practices that any good online marketing firm will use when conducting an online marketing engagement for a client, but the methods that they incorporate will change over time as search engine algorithms evolve and the methods become more complex.

This is why it’s important to have an ongoing strategy in your online marketing plan. Whether you have an in-house marketing guru or you hire a firm to complete your online marketing goals, make sure you’ve had conversations around your ongoing online marketing strategy and it aligns with your company’s goals and objectives.