Retailing: From A to Z

Getting Great Online Customer Reviews

Posted on February 5, 2018 by bermanevansretail

For the huge number of firms using digital media, getting great online customer reviews is a must. And this post addresses that topic.

These prior posts relate to today’s topic:

Background: Getting Great Online Customer Reviews

Before we present tips for getting great customer reviews, consider these observations from Alison Coleman, writing for Forbes:

“Winning rave online reviews from customers for your products or services is one of the best feel good factors of running your business. But no matter how high their standards of service or quality of products, firms soon discover the downside of the online consumer review phenomenon — customers saying bad things about their business. When you get a bad review, whether from a customer with a legitimate gripe, or a serial nitpicker, you must be prepared to deal with it. Ignoring it isn’t an option. Because that looks as though you don’t care and it can escalate into a bigger problem. But dealing with negative reviews in a positive way not only minimizes the impact of unflattering comments, it can also help you win new business.”

Click the image to read more from Coleman.

A five-star business/Photo credit: Shutterstock

Tips for Getting Great Online Customer Reviews

Now we ready are ready for some tips to generate positive reviews.

So, consider these observations from Ajay Prasad, writing for Business to Community:

“In this new interconnected world, word-of-mouth buzz matters more than ever before. And that’s why you need to convince your customers write software reviews. Consider these stats. 74 percent of consumers say they consider word-of-mouth buzz before making a purchase decision, according to Ogilvy. Also, 84 percent of consumers say they trust recommendations of family, colleagues, and friends, according to Nielsen. In addition, 88 percent of people say they trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they do those from personal contacts, according to BrightLocal.”

Here are five tips from Prasad:

Keep it simple. Thus, make sure to use a platform that makes it easy for users to leave reviews on your site.
Put review options in prominent positions. Integrate customer feedback into your site’s content.
Build credibility. As we know, bad reviews can hurt. But you shouldn’t discriminate against them. Why? Because leaving them on the site builds trust and credibility.
Don’t overlook video. At present, 55 percent of people watch online videos every day. Therefore, don’t overlook video when it comes to convincing customers to write online reviews.
Encourage site visitors. For example, let visitors know that anyone who writes an online review will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win some sort of prize. But be careful not to give the impression that you are trying to buy positive reviews.

To read more from Prasad, including four other tips, click the image.

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged Business 2 Community, customer expectations, customer reviews, online ratings, social media | Leave a comment

2018 Super Bowl LII Fun Facts

Posted on February 4, 2018 by bermanevansretail

In a couple of days, we will write about the impact of Super Bowl LII advertising. But as we begin Super Bowl Sunday, lets look at 2018 Super Bowl LII fun facts . 🙂

Are you ready for some football? And a lot of advertising? [The Super Bowl of Advertising.] As we asked last year, Rating the Super Bowl Ads: What’s YOUR Take? We ask the same question for 2018’s game.

What’s the big deal about the Super Bowl for marketers? Consider these observations from Mitchell Carey, writing for Diligant:

“Despite the recent exodus of many viewers from broadcast TV. On Sunday, February 4th it’ll be hard to find someone who doesn’t plan to tune in to Super Bowl LII on NBC at 6:30 PM EST. And whether you’re a religious football follower or a fair-weather fan, a cable subscriber or a cord-cutter. You’ll probably check in to make sure that your preferred team stays ahead. Or to catch a glimpse of some of the most engaging ads of the year. Reining in an average of 111.3 million viewers last year, Super Bowl LI was the fifth most-watched TV broadcast in history.”

2018 Super Bowl LII Fun Facts

Since this game-day post takes a light-hearted view of SB LII, we offer the following information and infographics.

Want to be immersed in trivia? If yes, take a look at “Super Bowl 2018 preview: The 52 things you need to know about Patriots vs. Eagles” from CBS Sports. One of the 52 things = “The temperature in Minneapolis is forecast to be around 6 degrees Sunday, but the game will be played indoors.”

Now, on to some entertaining infographics.

To begin, this one is from Niall McCarthy for Forbes. The chart is by Statista.

Next are TWO infographics from Diligant — digital marketer’s playbook 1 and digital marketer’s playbook 2.

Digital Marketer’s Playbook 1

Digital Marketer’s Playbook 2

And look at this infographic from WalletHub.

Posted in Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged Diligant, facts, infographic, Statista, Super Bowl, trivia, WalletHub | Leave a comment

2018 Marketing Budget Free Templates

Posted on January 31, 2018 by bermanevansretail

With this post, we conclude our three-part series on the marketing budget. This topic merits the detailed coverage. First, we presented 2018 Marketing Budget Trends. Then, we covered 2018 Marketing Budget Strategies. And we conclude with our 2018 Marketing Budget Free Templates.

Before actually setting up a marketing budget, ask yourself several questions. And here is one example of such questions. It’s from the UK’s Marketing Centre:

Do you have a marketing plan?
Are you measuring the right things?
Do you have a way of monitoring and reporting success?
Understand the ROI of your marketing efforts over the last 12 months?
Do you have the requisite tools for marketing success?
Have you set aside budget for legislative changes?
Have you got the right marketing person to make the most of your budget?

2018 Marketing Budget Free Templates

Large companies typically have the resources to internally set up their marketing budgets. However, small firms are likely to need outside assistance. And fortunately, there are many professional resources available. Furthermore, there are quality FREE marketing budget templates available for download.

Here are several of these free templates. NOTE: Some do require a free login. Also, do a Google search to find other free templates.

HubSpot

MASTER Marketing Budget Template
Product Marketing Budget Template
Content Budget Template
Paid Advertising Budget Template
Public Relations Budget Template
Branding and Creative Budget Template
Website Redesign Budget Template
Event Budget Template

Click the image to sign up and download these templates.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet offers 12 free templates. No sign is required.

Simple Marketing Budget
Marketing Budget Plan
Event Budget
Quarterly Marketing Budget
Annual Marketing Budget
Channel Marketing Budget
Product Marketing Budget
Digital Marketing Budget
Content Marketing Budget
Social Media Marketing Budget
Website Budget
Public Relations Budget

Click the image to sign up and download these templates.

Fundera Ledger

Fundera Ledger offers these templates:

Capterra’s free small business budget template

15 templates on one page!

Annual business budget in Google Sheets

Microsoft Office template

Score

Score offers an Annual Marketing Budget Template. Click the image to access it.

Posted in Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged free templates, Fundera Ledger, HubSpot, marketing budget, Score, Smartsheet | Leave a comment

Retailing: From A to Z