The advertising of prescribed medicines including vaccines is generally banned in Australia. Nevertheless, there are still some exceptions like the use of authorised materials to support the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines nation-wide in Australia

As part of the Australian Government Department of Health, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulates the advertisement of therapeutic goods in Australia. That explains how vaccine providers and other parties can advertise and promote COVID-19 legally without possibly breaching the ban on advertisement of prescribed medicines.

Consultations are not subject to advertising requirements

Information discussed between a doctor, pharmacist or nurse and their patient during consultation or treatment is exempt from the advertising requirements for therapeutic goods including the ban on advertising prescribed medicines. For example, if a patient seeks advice from their doctors for which brand of vaccines they are going to receive, the doctors can advise the patients without potentially breaching the advertisement rules.

How to advertise COVID-19 vaccines lawfully

A range of government advertisement content can be used to provide information and promote COVID-19 vaccines to consumers, and to facilitate access to the vaccines. People who want to advertise the vaccines, including doctors and pharmacists, can add to the material to provide advice to consumers on when and where the vaccines can be accessed to.

Specifically, it is allowed to:

• use Australian Government produced materials to promote COVID-19 vaccines
• use materials produced by Australian state or territory governments to promote COVID-19 vaccines
• add factual information to government materials to assist the public in obtaining the vaccine such as:
  • the location of the COVID-19 vaccination service
  • times vaccines are administered or opening hours of the service provider
  • whether there is a need for an appointment to receive the vaccination and how to make one
• provide the factual information listed above, independently to government materials, to assist the public in obtaining the vaccine.

Government produced materials may be used in all communication channels including on websites, as flyers, in newsletters, in social media or emails, or as posters in the windows and on the walls at vaccine providers, clinics, pharmacies, and other businesses.

In using government materials to promote COVID-19 vaccines, advertisers must be careful not to add:

• the tradename and/or active ingredient of the specific vaccine
• statements or the implication that harmful effects will result from not receiving the vaccine
• statements or the implication that the vaccine offered is superior to other vaccines (e.g. a statement about the efficacy against a particular strain)
• incentives to encourage a consumer to obtain the service or vaccine
• any comparisons between vaccines (even if supported by evidence)

Advertisers must not:

• use self-developed advertising about COVID-19 vaccines

In regulating the advertising of therapeutic goods the TGA uses a range of compliance approaches from education and assisted compliance through to more serious compliance action such as issuing directions, fines or pursuing court action.

Factual and balanced information may not be advertising

Presenting factual and balanced information about the COVID-19 vaccines is unlikely to be considered as advertising or promotional, subject to the context in which the information is presented. Some examples of this include:

• a doctor providing their general view in relation to vaccination broadly (provided they do not promote individual vaccines – COVID-19 or otherwise)
• technical information relating to how the vaccines were developed and manufactured
• sharing scientific reports from reputable sources (like the World Health Organization) about vaccination
• re-tweeting or sharing valuable news-worthy information from reputable sources about the COVID-19 vaccines that would not have the effect of promoting the vaccines; or
• presenting comprehensive information that doesn’t emphasise the benefits over, for example, the risks and limitations.

As a general guideline, if the content persuades consumers, for example through the use of promotional terms or language, to seek out COVID-19 vaccines, then it would be considered advertising.

Further information

• The Australian Government materials on COVID-19 vaccines are available from:
  • the COVID-19 vaccine collection(link is external)
  • vaccination clinic resources(link is external)
• You should use the appropriate Australian Government or Australian state or territory government materials in the same way to promote influenza and other vaccines.
• If you have questions about the legal requirements regarding advertising of therapeutic goods including vaccines, please lodge an advertising enquiry online with the TGA.

Source: TGA

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Creating your Facebook Business Page

If you don’t already have a Facebook Business Page, this article covers all the things you need to set it up.

Please Note: Facebook is constantly updating their screens and therefore the screen layout and menu options might not match exactly. This blog article was written in Dec 2018 and all screenshots were correct on this date. The general process tends to remain the same. So even if the screen layout changes, you should still be able to use the article to create your Facebook page with the information below.

Prerequisites

Have a Personal Facebook Account

You need a personal Facebook Page to create a Facebook Business Page. You cannot create a Facebook Business Page without a personal account. If you don’t have a personal Facebook account, you will need to create one via www.facebook.com (it is FREE).

Facebook Photos

To start you will need 2 photos for your Facebook Business Page.

1. Facebook Profile Photo: This needs to be a square image with the recommended resolution of 360×360, 720×720, or 960×960 (measurement in pixels). 180×180 is the minimum size.
2. Facebook Cover Photo: This needs to be a rectangular image sized 828px x 315px.

Step 1: Creating a Facebook Business Page

1. Login to Facebook using your personal account
2. Click on the arrow on your Facebook toolbar (top right-hand corner of the page)

   

3. Then, click on the Create Page option
   

   Facebook – Select Create Group from the Dropdown

4. Select the option that suits you (most likely Business or Brand) and click Get Started.
   

   Select Facebook Page Type

5. Type your Business Name under the field Page Name.
   

   Create Group – Enter Business Details

6. In the category field, type a word or two that describes your business, then select the suggested category.
   

   Create Group – Enter Business Details

7. Additional details will appear for your business, complete as much information as possible, and click on Continue.

Step 2: Adding Pictures

Once you hit continue, you will be prompted to upload a Profile Picture and then a Cover Photo.

Choosing an appropriate Facebook Profile Photo

It is important to create a good visual impression. Make sure the photos you choose, align with your brand, are the correct size and formats, and are easily identifiable with your business.

Your Facebook Profile photo appears in:

1. The Facebook search results, next to your business name
2. Newsfeed of your followers
3. Posts on your page’s Timeline
4. Comments
5. Next to your cover photo (on your Facebook Business Page Timeline).

The recommended size is 360×360, 720×720, or 960×960 pixels, although you can get away with uploading an image 180×180 pixels.

Choosing an appropriate Cover Photo

The Facebook cover photo will be seen by people who visit your Facebook Business Page. This is very important for businesses where the customers will need to visit the place of business frequently i.e. Restaurant, Medical Practice, or Hotel/Motel. The image should capture the essence of your brand and convey your brand personality. It will display at 820 x 312 pixels on a desktop or 640 x 360 pixels on mobiles. The image uploaded is recommended to be 828 pixels wide and 315 tall.

Step 3: Your Facebook Business Page is online

Your page is online Ta-da!  At this point, you’ll be prompted to take a quick walk-through of a few features. Unless you’re already well aware of how Facebook Business Pages operate, we recommend clicking through the prompts, just so you know where everything is.

There are a few additional tweaks that you need to make for your industry i.e. Medical Practices shouldn’t really have reviews turned on, whereas Restaurants and Motel/Hotels really should.

Make sure you also:

• Add a short Description
• Create a username (might take a couple of days)
• Fill in the About section
• Get Verified
• Create your Call-To-Action button/ Link your Online Ordering/Appointment Booking Facebook App.
• Create your first post
• Play around with the Page Insights.

• If you would like us to create your Facebook Business Page with images and talk to you about strategies to get the most out of it, we can! We charge a one-time setup fee of $250.
  Feel free to browse through our blog posts, we have some great digital marketing content that should help you get started.

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Benefits of becoming a paperless office

Have you ever heard someone use the word paper to describe a fast process? No? This is because paper-based processes are slow, tedious, inefficient, and prone to errors. Becoming a paperless office (a work environment that chooses to not store or use paper) has a number of benefits.  If you haven’t considered becoming paperless here a few reasons for you to start.

Infographic – Benefits of a Paperless Office

Happier Staff

Employee engagement is serious for the success of your business. Tasks associated with paper-based processes such as data entry can be quite mundane. This can make staff feel like there is a lack of interesting work. As a result, they become less engaged and non-productive. Automating your processes allows for the opportunity to work on more challenging work. This may increase engagement which will result in happier staff.

Save the Trees

Did you know that the average worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper per year?  Thousands of acres in the forest are cut down every year to supply our need for paper.  This doesn’t include the water, oil, landfill, and air pollutants used and created to make the paper.  Reducing your paper usage in the office will have a direct impact on the environment.

10,000 sheets of paper are equal to 1 tree. 6 Trees can offset the carbon dioxide emission from an average car. Although this does not seem like a lot, a little effort from everyone can result in a big change.

Better Customer Service

By automating the mundane tasks. You free up employees to do more important, meaningful tasks. Your staff can focus on improving the customer experience resulting in more human interaction and better customer service.

Audit Trail

Storing data digitally allows you to track updates and see who has accessed data. This allows for more accountability and ensures that your business is compliant with the applicable government regulations.

Making things easier

When a document is in a digital form the data can be used to create reports. This can help with your forecasting. Even simple tasks such as searching through or forwarding data are much simpler and can be done with the click of a button. In fact, stats show that the average time spent to retrieve information from a searchable PDF is 2 seconds. Compare that to a paper based file which clocks in at 18 minutes.

Flexibility

Storing your data in the cloud, allows you to access from anywhere at any time. This means you can provide flexibility for employees who want to work from home. Allowing staff to work from home provides the opportunity to save on commercial real estate rent.

Security

Paper documents are susceptible to damage from water, fire, and other natural disasters. Backing up paper is unrealistic and any damage to the original document means that your data is lost.  It is also very easy for anyone to access paper documents. There is no way of determining whether your data was compromised. There is no way to see who last accessed the document or what changes they made.

Save Time & Money

Research shows that employees spend 6 weeks a year searching for documents. This is a huge amount of money to waste on labour. According to learn.ademero a paperless office saves:

• $3,230 a year on ink and toner
• $5,600 a year on energy
• $300 worth of commercial real estate for each filing cabinet
• $20 in labour for each document filed
• $120 in labour searching for each misfiled document

Setting up the systems to become a paperless office doesn’t have to be expensive. Our ready-to-go solutions can have you up and running very quickly. We can also create a customised solution if our ready-to-go solutions are not suitable. We make sure we get to know your business and the requirements before suggesting a solution to ensure that you get an ROI and the solution works for you, your staff, and your clients.

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When To Post On Social Media

The reach of your post is dependent on the level of activity of your audience at the time of posting. This means that posts that are published closer to the time that a user is actively using the system are more likely to be seen and hence liked, shared, re-tweeted, commented on, and actioned. So it is important to know when to post on social media.

When is the best time to post on social media?

The right time varies across different social media platforms. This is largely due to the types of people that are accessing the different platforms and what they are using them for. The best way to understand when to post content on your social media pages is to understand who your target audience is (i.e. who and where are they?) and what social media platform(s) they use.

The infographic below shows times where your posts are likely to get the most traction.

Infographic – Best Times to Post on Social Media

Facebook

Facebook is probably the most used platform at the moment. It has a large range of people and accessed consistency throughout the day. The data shows:

• Generally, the best time period to post is between 1 pm-4 pm.
• Primetime is 12 pm-1 pm on the weekends and 1 pm-4 pm on Thursday and Friday
• The worst time is before 8 am and after 9 pm

People are happier at the end of the working week, so make sure that your Friday posts are Upbeat and Funny. Users are more likely to like or share a post that is in line with their mood. Posting on Facebook at 3 PM gets the most amount of clicks whereas posting at 1 PM gets you the most amount of shares.

Twitter

Twitter is generally used during commutes (181% more likely). Hump day appears to be the best day to post on Twitter either at lunchtime or between 5-6 PM.

Business to Business companies have the most success during business hours. However, Business to Client Companies receive more interaction on the weekend.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is for professionals, so it makes sense that the platform is most commonly used during working hours. Before or After Work is the best time to make your posts.

• Monday and Friday are the worst days to post on LinkedIn as posts tend to have the lowest engagement.
• Tuesday to Thursday are the best days.
• Prime Time is 5 PM-6 PM

Instagram

Users tend to access Instagram during their off-hours.

• The best time to post on this site is between 8 AM-9 AM.
• Unlike the other platforms, 3 PM is the worst time to post on this platform.
• Videos posted at 9 PM get 34% more interaction
• The best Days to post are Monday and Thursday
• Sunday has the lowest engagement time, so avoid posting on this day.

Pinterest

This is a great example of where knowing your ideal client really helps. Pinterest has a very high number of female users. It is accessed during their downtime. So, 8 PM-11 PM is the best time to post on this platform. Saturday is the best day, although it is very dependent on the content you are posting about.

Conclusion

Timing is very important with social media. The above is a great starting point. However, it is important as with any marketing campaign to determine your target audience and understand your unique selling point.  Regular reviews are important to determine the effectiveness of your strategy. Make sure you take the time to understand how to use analytical tools available to determine the effectiveness of your campaigns. As always, our consultants are here to help if you need it.

Happy Posting xxx

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So you spent a bag of money creating a website a couple of years ago and now people are telling you don’t have a mobile-friendly website. Updating your website is probably not a priority right? It should be! Read on to find out why.

What is a Mobile-Friendly Website?

A mobile-friendly website is a website that can be viewed easily on a mobile device. The main requirements from google to be considered a mobile-friendly website is:

• Loads fast
• Able to read easily –
  • Without Pinching or Zooming
  • Easy to navigate
  • Without too much scrolling (especially horizontal)
• Does not use Flash

It is important to make your website meet all the above requirements to ensure all pages are visible on all devices.

Your website’s purpose in Digital Marketing

Your website should be the foundation for your digital marketing strategy. It is the place that you will direct your potential customer to ‘close the deal’. If a lead comes through a mobile phone and they get frustrated trying to use your site, then the chance of them buying your product is reduced significantly. As in real life, it is beneficial for the business to make it easy for a consumer to buy your product. On the internet, your website is essentially your storefront.

Popularity of mobile internet

Google has noted that in the US, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones.  77% of these searches are conducted when people are at home or at the office. This means that people prefer to use their phone over their desktop computers.

The world is changing and more people are searching for things on the go. When Vodafone announced in Oct 2016 that they would be providing NBN services by 2017, they also dropped the fact that 5.5 million customers using their network download approx 14,000 TB of data per month. Around the same time, it was released by Krugan that Vodafone currently has a 14.2% market share. According to our calculations, in Australia on average each person is using about 2.5GB of mobile data per month. If you convert that to website loads, it is about 2000 a month. This figure has been increasing every month.

SEO improvements

Although customer experience is important, the main reason most digital marketing companies will tell you to create a mobile-friendly website is that it improves your Google ranking. Google released in April 2015 that their Google search algorithm would take into consideration whether a website was mobile-friendly.  Users can also see in the search results whether a website is mobile-friendly or not, so users can pick and choose whether it is worth trying to open the website.

So, not having a mobile-friendly website could mean that your conversion rate may decrease AND you may receive fewer leads.

Cheaper alternative to a mobile app

When you visit websites of larger companies, you might notice that you are prompted to download or use their mobile app. Mobile applications are great! Users have the ability to connect to you with one click. You also have the opportunity to send notifications to their phones/ smart devices with the click of a button. Essentially a direct link to them. However, they do come with a larger price tag than a website.

Better user experience (more conversion, fewer click backs, less bounce rate)

People expect things will work and no one likes waiting. If your site takes too long to load, it is hard to read or navigate through (which is common with sites that aren’t mobile-friendly), then users get frustrated and leave your site (either by clicking the back button – click backs or by typing a new URL in the address bar – bouncing). You lose the opportunity to convert the lead to a customer.

Conclusion

It is important to make sure you have a mobile-friendly website.  It is something that should be provided without asking when you get your website done by a professional (even with websites that were created 5 years ago). However, there are still website companies today who create websites purely for desktop PCs. This is either to wow you with technology that cannot be viewed on mobile devices (like flash) or the company is unaware of the benefits of a mobile-friendly site. We all love to think that we got a bargain, but if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, don’t waste your money. It is better served in your own pocket.

Our websites as standard are mobile-friendly. We are also up to date with the current trends, so you won’t need to make major changes later. It also isn’t the only thing we do, we also have digital marketing consultants. So we can develop a full marketing strategy catered to your needs and budget.

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Unique Selling Point

USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point. It is the thing that differentiates a product or service from its competitors. Unique Selling Points tend to revolve around price, quality, or service. This is because these three things are what customers value.

Why do I need a USP?

Unless you have developed a completely new product, you probably have competition.  You need to give your potential customer a reason to choose you over the competition.  Having a USP will give direction for your marketing which will increase sales.

How to figure out your USP?

Step 1: Understand your target market

Who is your target market and why did or would they purchase your product or service? If you haven’t asked your customers this in the past or your customer data doesn’t answer this, then one way to do this is with a survey of your customers. Another way is to read through your online reviews (both good and bad), take note of why people choose you.

“Everyone” is not an answer.  Remember you don’t need to appeal to everyone. Getting one person to connect strongly with your business is better than 5 people whose feelings are neutral. Why? Because that one person is already sold. Finding your USP will lead you to your ideal customer.

Step 2: What is your competitive advantage?

Write a list of all the things that you do well in. Research your competitors and see whether they are meeting customer needs. Are you doing anything better? Can you do what they are doing better?

Online reviews are a great place to find inspiration

Step 3: Make the statement

Turn what you believe is your USP into a statement. Write it in different ways. You could also give each idea and image to help bring the concept to life.

When you make a statement, make sure that you can back it up. When you say that you have the best Italian food in town, the first question that will pop into people’s minds is “Why”. Make sure that you can back it up with Awards or Reviews. People will check! If you say that you have great service but all your reviews say that your wait staff is rude, then your statement loses credibility.

Step 4: Get it out there

Push your message! You should always be reminding customers of your USP and showing them examples of how you are achieving this. Whenever you are investing in any form of marketing (website, logo, slogan, etc), ask yourself ‘does this clearly communicate my USP?’

Still Stuck?

Think a little broader – What are you (and your competitors) not delivering for customers? Is there something about the industry that all customers have an issue with?

We are always here to lend a helping hand if you need it!

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Why Small Businesses Need to Invest in Digital Marketing

A few decades ago, small businesses invested their marketing and advertising budget in white/yellow pages (Not Happy Jan!), newspaper ads, and/or printed flyers.  This would have worked out very well back then as this is how customers were accessing and viewing information. However now (thanks to the smartphone and the internet), things have significantly changed and people are viewing information differently. The businesses that haven’t jumped on the digital marketing bandwagon will be left behind (if they haven’t already). In order to reach their potential customers, businesses need to invest in digital marketing.

What is digital marketing?

Digital Marketing is marketing through digital channels. They are referred to by many terms, like online marketing or by their specific delivery channels such as Facebook marketing, email marketing, or search engine marketing.  Its purpose, as with traditional marketing is to generate leads, convert them to customers, and make them repeat customers.

Why do businesses need to invest in digital marketing?

The easiest, most cost-efficient way of getting your message, product, or business out to your potential customers is through Digital Marketing. This is mainly because of the way people are using technology and how they are now interacting with businesses.

Stats – Why businesses need to invest in digital marketing

With so many people using digital technologies, it is unlikely that you will not find your target market using digital marketing.

What are the benefits of digital marketing?

1. Price: Traditional marketing is expensive and in a lot of cases does not give you the same sort of return. This is obviously due to the cost of delivering the message to the number of people required.  A lot more manpower is required to deliver a message through print media than through the internet.
2. A way to compete with big brands: Businesses don’t need to invest huge amounts of money to get the required outcome with digital marketing. Therefore, small businesses are able to compete using the same marketing platforms used by big companies. A business simply needs to think about its USP, have a marketing strategy, and thought out online customer experience. This gives small businesses the opportunity to compete with big brands on a semi-even playing field.
3. Detailed Reporting: A lot of information is collected and provided to you when you launch a digital marketing campaign. It is all in real-time as well, so you can find out instantly: How many people liked my Facebook post? Did they follow the link to my website? Did they spend some time on the website? Getting the answers to these questions means that you can answer the all-important question “Is this marketing strategy working for me?”. It is very hard to measure the results of traditional marketing. John Wanamaker a pioneer in marketing famously quoted saying “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”.
4. Better Exposure Possibility: With the same budget, you can get your Facebook ad in front of more people than you would receive with a traditional marketing campaign. If you make the campaign interesting or funny, people will spread the word for you.
5. More targeted exposure: With digital marketing channels you can specify your target audience, i.e. are males between 18-34 located in Sydney your target audience? Change a few options and hit enter! The message goes out directly to them.

What type of digital marketing would you recommend?

The answer to this really depends on your business, your target market, and your budget. At the very least businesses should have a digital presence. The great thing is that it costs you nothing to set up yourself:

Google Business Listing

It is extremely easy to Add or Claim your business listing with Google.  Adding a business listing will allow people to search for you on Google Search and Maps.

It won’t cost you anything to list your business with them. Customers will be able to view quickly when searching for you the most important information about your business such as Phone Number, Address, and Opening Hours. There are a number of other places to list your business as well.

Facebook Account

Facebook is a great platform for any business to use to interact with customers. This is because there is a wide range of people using the platform. This is because it has been around for a long time and is one of the most well known social media platforms. A large number of both businesses and customers are using the platform. Depending on your business and your target market a different platform may encourage better engagement with your intended audience. However, we recommend our clients create a Facebook account.

Website

People often get worried when we suggest a website. Yes, for a great custom designed website you could spend up to $15,000. However, you can find websites that you can create yourself or companies like ourselves that will sell you a template website (we charge $25/month fully set up for our clients). You don’t need to spend a fortune to have commercial real estate online. We recommend businesses get a website (even a very simple one) to provide information to potential customers that may be researching you. It gives your business credibility and the opportunity to sell your product before the customers arrive at your door. The website is available 24/7, so people will be able to browse your products/services at any time of the day. Combine this with an online store and you could make money while you sleep. Don’t forget to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly!

Watch our video

We go through an example to show you why Tom the hot dog stand owner would benefit from a google business listing, Facebook account, and website.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is a great way to reach and interact with your target audience. All businesses big or small should at the very least have a digital presence. If you are looking to grow your business the next step is to look into spending money to push your message, product, or service.

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Reasons Why your Paid Ad is not Appearing in Search Results!

So you have set up google ad words and you can’t help but check it out! You enter in some magic words and boom …. You are not there? At this point, you are probably wondering what went wrong? Don’t worry there are a number of reasons why your paid ad is not appearing in search results.

Top 5 Reason Why Your Paid Ad is not Appearing in Search Results!

You are not searching the right keywords

Usually, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Have a look at your account and see what word you are advertising with. Make sure that there are no typos in the ad or with the text you entered into the search.

Make sure that your keywords are active

The next thing is to check the keyword status, keywords should be eligible/approved. Any other status could be the reason you paid ad is not appearing in search results. If your keyword status is anything other than eligible/approved, you can get more information from the Adwords help page.

Budget or ad rank

Your ad may be eligible but doesn’t show up due to budget or ad rank. If you have a high search not appearing due to budget, see whether you can allocate some money to the campaign. If the ad is not appearing due to rank, then review your bids and quality scores to see where you can improve. The quality score is calculated based on your past performance. If you just started a new account, then remember that your quality score will be calculated based on other predictions rather than your past performance.

The results are personalised

Google is smart!  If you search for your own business on google but don’t click the ad, Google will stop showing you the ad.  From Google “If you repeatedly search for your own business on Google but you don’t click your ad, you may stop seeing the ad after a while. That’s because Google’s system recognizes your computer and stops showing ads that it thinks you aren’t interested in.”

Instead, they recommend that you use the Ad Preview Tool.

Note: Also try running the search in an incognito window. This way chrome won’t save a record of what you visit and will continue to show your ad. It is worth noting that doing this will still affect your impression share, so we don’t recommend this.

You are not in the campaign’s target location

Each campaign has a location specified. Make sure that you have set it up correctly and you are searching from that physical location. The ad can also be set up to exclude specific IP addresses. If this is something that you have set up, then this is probably why your paid ad is not appearing in search results.

Still no luck?

Although we don’t generally recommend searching your ads, there are plenty of reasons why your paid ad is not appearing in search results. If you are still having problems give us a call! One of our lovely consultants can help!

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Digital Marketing Consultant

When you are a small business owner, you are responsible for every aspect of your business. This often means you will have to either master new skills or outsource the work to complete it. Digital Marketing is one of the common areas that small business owners outsource. Below are the top 5 reasons small businesses choose to hire a digital marketing consultant.

Time

More time is what every small business owner wants. By hiring a digital marketing consultant, you can concentrate on what you do best!

Money

Time is money! Think about how much time it will take for you to understand your problem, come up with a solution, and put the strategies in place. Take the cost of outsourcing and see whether it is worth doing yourself. Often it is more cost-effective to hire a professional.  By doing this, you can concentrate on the core part of your business.

Experience

Although digital marketing is very cost-effective, this doesn’t mean that you can’t waste thousands of dollars on it. This is especially true if you set it up without understanding it fully. We see many owners who either continue to waste money in marketing that has lost power over recent years. Or who has setup digital marketing strategies without understanding what it does? Hiring an expert in the field will allow you to invest your hard-earned dollars into areas that produce results.

Results

There are a lot of small business owners who are not interested in investing in digital marketing because it has not yielded results for them in the past. They may have spent a couple of thousand dollars on a website and not seen a return on their investment. Alternatively, they could have set up Google Ad Words and not received enough customers. What these business owners don’t understand is that digital marketing is not just one thing. A digital marketing consultant can work with you to understand what your goals are. They can then plan, organise, and execute strategies in a way that will drive more leads that will convert to new customers.

Peace of Mind

Digital marketing can be overwhelming to some business owners. They either don’t know much about marketing or are worried that they will do the ‘wrong’ thing. Hiring a digital marketing consultant will mean that you can rely on an expert to translate your ideas and goals into real marketing strategies that produce results.

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How to deal with a Negative Online Review

Social media is a great medium to create awareness and loyalty for your business. However, it also allows unhappy customers and competing businesses to voice negative reviews. Part of managing your online presence includes dealing with bad reviews. So how should you deal with a Negative Online Review?

Understand why people write reviews

Before we delve into how to deal with bad reviews, it is worth understanding why people write reviews. According to the stats, the majority of people post negative reviews to receive a response. Often people just want an apology or want to give you another chance. So when you receive a negative review, assume that someone is offering you the opportunity to make them become a regular.

The other reasons include: Being paid to do so; To gain an Incentive; They were truly impressed by your product/service; They simply want others to benefit from their advice.

The ‘Not So Good’ Ways to Deal with Negative Reviews

With 69% of all consumers searching the internet for online reviews. How you deal with a negative online review can have a major impact on whether a customer chooses your business or your competitors’.

Here are some of the worst ways to deal with a negative online review:

1. Ignoring Them: If someone complained directly about your product, would you stick your finger in your ears and say ‘LA LA LA LA LA LA’? Not responding to a review online is the equivalent of doing this. Unfortunately, this happens quite a lot. Only 38% of people actually receive a response to an online complaint. This is a shame because these businesses are losing the opportunity to make the situation right, retain a customer, and turn a negative reflection on the business into a positive one.
2. Deleting Them – “It Never Happened”: This is a sure-fire way to anger the customer further. They have been refused the opportunity to voice their opinion and you have ignored them at the same time. This will prompt them to post another even worse review on a platform that prevents you from deleting their review. They will also tell their friends to avoid your restaurant, this could end up costing you several potential customers.
3. Lashing Out – “F*** You”: Snarky, Aggressive or Rude responses simply look bad on you and your business, and it also gives more credibility to the negative review. This is an example of an aggressive response to a negative review. There may be more to the story than what is available in the review and some truth in the owners’ response, but what sticks out is the business owner called a 74-year-old woman an asshole! Instead of reflecting badly on the customer, this makes the business owner look like an aggressive jerk. Nobody likes to receive negative feedback about their business. It may feel unfair and you will probably disagree with the customer’s opinion. However, it is important to be compassionate with the reviewer. Even if you can’t convert the dissatisfied customer, a well-written response to a negative review will show the potential customers that you care about them.
4. An apology with no further action – “Insincere Apology”: Responses like “We will try to do better!” do not appear sincere. It does not resolve or provide a solution for the customer. It does not encourage the customer to give you another chance.

How to deal with a Negative Online Review

The best way to deal with a negative online review is to apologise and provide a solution. You need to make sure you convey the message that you understand the customers’ frustration, you value their patronage and you will make it right. This will ensure that your disgruntled customer will tell their friends how fantastic you are! It will also encourage brand loyalty. Word of mouth and repeat business is still the best way to keep your business growing.

1. Be Professional and Polite: This is pretty straight forward. Don’t use words that insult or dismiss the writer’s concerns. Remember you are trying to make things better.
2. Use their Words: Using their own words does two things. It ensures that you address their exact concern and it conveys that you understand the issue raised by the review writer.
3. Don’t give Excuses: Although there may have been a reason why the diner had a bad experience, giving excuses or worse blaming the customer suggests that you don’t understand their issue. There is no reason for them to give you another go.
4. Highlight your Strengths: Instead of giving excuses, you could highlight your strengths. For example, you could say that “I am truly sorry for … being in the industry for 5 years we understand the importance of great customer service and pride ourselves on making each customer experience a great one …. We hope that you will give us the opportunity ……”.
5. Move the Conversation Offline: It is completely acceptable to request that the user provide proof of purchase. This way you can filter out the real and fake reviews (Woolworths fake review). Make sure that you post publicly your apology and the offer to contact them offline to make it right.
6. Resolve the issue: Sometimes you can get away with saying give us another chance. However, sometimes you need to resolve by taking the hit and refunding part or all of the cost. In some industries, this is extremely important. In 2010, I moved into a new place and noted that my mobile coverage from home was less than ideal. I contacted my mobile provider because I had just started a new plan and thought that it was an issue with my phone. They informed me that they were working on their network coverage and expected that my issue would improve in a couple of months. Before I had the chance to respond, they offered me 2 months free. I went from ‘what is the point of having a phone if I can’t use it at home’ to ‘It is only a couple of months, standing on one leg with my head out the window to take a phone call when at home isn’t that bad’. Had they not given me 2 months free (around $80), I would have moved to another provider on a different plan and they would have lost me as a customer. With multiple people in the same situation, they would have developed a reputation for having bad network coverage which would have resulted in people avoiding the provider.
7. Catch it Before it goes Online: Most people who have a bad experience will not tell you. So how to catch them before they post their review online? Ask them. People who are extremely unhappy will usually let you know directly. Most people will respond more honestly when approached via email, it can feel less confrontational and it will give them more time to think about the experience. Often if the customer is given the opportunity to vent their frustrations directly to you, they won’t do it online. If you have your own online ordering system like ours, you will be able to collect their contact details. At the end of the day, week, or month you can produce a report of all the first-time online customers and shoot them an email with a survey offer.
8. Encourage your Happy Clients to Review your Business: The best way to deal with negative reviews is to drown it out with positive ones. Encourage your loyal customers to review your business online and those negative reviews will lose their credibility.

If you do get a negative review, don’t sweat it! Remember that we all make mistakes, we are human after all! Just make sure you try to learn from it and move forward.

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