Business Website Advice

Negative comments warrant a quick- as in within 24 hours. Your genuine well written response will be a huge step toward combating any down side and can even earn you more respect and more business.

Use the public management response tool right there on Trip Advisor. Your reply will show up below the criticism. 

In my previous post I recommended private thanks to positive comments, no public replies on TA.

However, if you have something pointed out that sounds like a criticism -  be Johnny on the spot within 24 hours.

It can be daunting but get it right and you can bring in more business. People cheer those who try to do well. You must not sound arrogant or canned - same ol response to everyone. Don’t smack of  the insincere ‘Have a nice day’ category.  

Write a management response which:

1. expresses authentic appreciation for their comments as a way for you to improve - an ongoing priority of yours
2. expresses authentic regret
3. is written preferrably the people responsible and tells the way(s) in which the problem will be remedied
4. promise to welcome them back for an improved experience

Keywords above - sound sincere, genuine and authentic.  Why? To be believed. 

Since we were 5 years old we could tell when Johnny was fakin it, and we learnt to hold a grudge.  I’m sorry has to sound real.

Rewarded for trying. Even more business. Tell use specific steps that really show us you are thinking about it, what steps you are taking and how long it might take. 

When I read how you have responded to a situation that might not even be an area of concern to me, you will win my vote of trust.  I hear the message that if something comes up while I’m your guest, you will treat me well and do what you can to see things right.  I’m ready to book with you!

We don’t expect you to be perfect…just reasonable and customer focused.

Congratulations to all of you responding quickly and authentically. It’s not easy.

Please share your experience of venturing into the uncomfortable area of dealing with complaints.

I recommend no public response to positive comments on Trip Advisor re your accommodation, but yes do email your private appreciative thank you . 

Don’t tread on their space. It’s not the culture of their prime users. Why not write a management response on TA? It’s about how travellers use Trip Advisor - in the first place it is for them, user to user, not for marketing your business.  BTW you maybe encouraged  to respond to every comment, but I question the motive.

Leave good things be.  That was my response to an accommodation owner who asked my advice.  She had received several well written, detailed, thoughtful Trip Advisor comments and wondered if the TA ‘management reply’ was an appropriate response.  I told her write a private thank you, stay out of TA for positive comments.

Be seen as trustworthy, not a marketer. Because it is perceived as a highly trustworthy travellers’ site - a user to user advice forum  - Trip Advisor gets very heavy use. International and domestic US and UK travellers check in with TA before making their final arrangements with whomever that might be. I didn’t once in the US, got burnt, came home and wrote about the bad experience with believing over-hyped website content.

Before travellers buy, they usually consult TA for what ‘other people like me’ think about the place before parting with a deposit etc, because they’ve been burnt too often by the hype of one-eyed websites or their lies of omision.  

DO NOT RISK SOUNDING LIKE A HYPE MACHINE yourself, thus, unless you got A+ in writing thank you’s as a kid, leave good enough alone on the public forum. Send a private thank you to show your genuine appreciation for their positive report including a warm welcome back.

Sound authentic, genuine and human.  That should be easy, I’d bed that’s in part why they wrote you a good report.

Monitor daily.  Whether you encourage comments on your website, Finda in NZ, any other directory or Trip Advisor besure to monitor daily.  Yes daily.

Negative comments - they require a quick public response. If you do them well they can even bring you business.  See my next post.

Every business owner wants customers to leave glowing online reviews with the highest ranking possible.  What could be wrong with that?  It’s common knowledge that online buyers and travellers move from looker status to buyer/booker status from the nudge of positive reviews.  We want as many as we can get, right? Yes, but… 

Here’s a short case study for all business owners about being proactive and aware of your ranking status with your sector’s major online marketing directories. Read the rest of this entry »

The Monday following the US Thanksgiving holiday, last Thursday of November, was coined Cyber Monday in 2005. Does it roll onto NZ shores?

Every year online retailers note a significant jump in online sales on that Monday. After the 4 day weekend, people return to their workplace broadband and go shopping online. Watch out you productivity experts - that Monday is nigh.

Do we have a comparable Cyber Monday here in NZ? Do my local e-tailer readers with customers from the US feel the cyber Monday wave come this way?

Cyber Monday isn’t the biggest day for online sales, that happens sometime between 5 - 15 December.

Would my local retail readers please comment.

BTW cynics say cyber Monday is actually the industry fanning the fires…smoldering as they may be this year.

I’ve invited my overseas friends and family to be in to win 2 of the 15 pairs of free flights to NZ. I told them food and bed would be my shout.  I hope they’re lucky and come visit our awesome country.

Tourism New Zealand and Prime Minister John Key came up with The Great Kiwi Invite campaign to add a spark to tourism. He asks us kiwis to invite our friends and family to visit.  Scoop wrote all about it on launch day 31.7.09. I’m better late than never.  Good luck.

Suggestion:  business owners invite your overseas clients. The video is a positive, clever glimpse at good kiwi promotion.

Consultants and trainers, start your own online school. Deliver your own educational and training material online.  Moodle, open source software, is used around the world and has no license fees.  It couldn’t be easier. Read the rest of this entry »

I was horrified (may that is too strong, perhaps dismayed) to find out how many small business owners are breaking the law.  Besides being a law breaker you run the risk of irking potential customers.

Rather, work to get that gold studded opt-in subscribers list.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pitiful customer service can cancel out even the best website efforts. Recent first hand experience drives home the point.  Keep the customer happy with the basics. Be prompt, polite, willing to help, cop no pouty attitudes. Read the rest of this entry »

Increased numbers of Kiwi travellers are staying home for their holidays. Here are some tips to tempt them your way.

Think newsletter or a dedicated page on your tourism website.

Perhaps you form a tourism marketing alliance with a couple other providers. Read the rest of this entry »

Use your website traffic report to make informed decisions on lots of website matters.  In general, using just a few stats, you can save money and even earn more.  Here’s how. Read the rest of this entry »