I am following up with yesterday’s post on customer reviews. I gave reasons to start asking for reviews but today I want to help you to think about getting reviews. This comes down to you providing the means for people to write a review. If people are 10 times more likely share a bad experience how much more do you need to fight for recommendation on good experiences? I think that our fears are people will then write a negative review. The truth is that they are going to do that any way so why not ask those that haven’t thought about. Here is how you can get those glowing reviews.

Start asking your repeat customers for a review. These are the easiest because they are already committed to your business. You have established rapport with them so leverage that relationship to get the ball running.
Next you should include links from your website to places where people can write a review. Instead of having your recommendations on the site you can use the business listing as a way to show the authenticity of your customers. This will also help people to include a comment about your company.

Then you should include something on promotional material for these sites. Put your website and how to write a review for the company. As you ask for feedback you can hand them your business card and it has a way to remind them of your request. Not everyone will do it but you reducing the barriers to getting yourself recommended. On the rest of your materials you can have a way for people to recognize your business for a job well done.

Finally, don’t sweat the disgruntled people. There are people out there who may not like you but if you are doing a great job then you have really nothing worry about. If you are concerned, simply gauge the level of satisfaction and then ask for that recommendation. I would lean toward attempting to get as much feedback as possible. For people who are not happy it might be your opportunity to shine all the more and resolve the situation. The result could be your greatest customer today.

Local business reviews really are a benefit to any company who utilizes them. The easier you make it for them the more you will get. So start asking and see where it takes you. Do you have ways in which you are using recommendations online? Has utilizing reviews been successful for you? Share your thoughts about gaining customer reviews.

Choosing a good domain name is easier said than done. If you’ve spent any time finding a good name you probably have discover that it is either being used or someone is sitting on that domain (domain parking). To put it simple, domain name purchasing isn’t easy. Here are a few things to help you choose and optimize your domain name for your business and search engines results.

1) Branded names and keyword rich urls.

The natural thing to do in buying a domain name is purchasing your business name. The problem is if you’ve thought it is likely that someone else has also. So there are some things you can do to get you url while keeping your business name.
a. If your business name is short enough add a keyword in your URL. When I worked for jewelry company we included diamonds after our business name and it was helpful in keyword targeted search rankings.
b. If yourname.com is not available then try a dash in the URL like your-website.com.

2) Make use of Thesaurus

a. If you have the opportunity to start a business then sometimes you can consider a name with a thesaurus. If you are past that point then you will want to find something that matches your business name with a product or service that you offer. The thesaurus helps with words you may not have considered.

3) Top Level Domain Names

a. Buy the .com wherever possible and if you want to secure your brand name purchase all .net and .org as well. Buying these additional sites help protect your brand.
b. The reason for purchasing the .com is that it is often the most thought of suffix for website.
c. If you are out side of the U.S. then a country specific domain is the best for your country specific searches. This is good for if you are looking to branch outside of your country.

4) Domain Name Length

a. When choosing a domain remember to keep it simple. The longer it is the more difficult to remember and for potential typing errors. One business I know of has a long domain name and whenever he tells someone they balk at the length of it. If possible find something short and sweet.

5) Keywords in Sub Directories

a. As I mentioned earlier about keywords you will want to consider this in naming your sub directories. A sub directory comes after the top level domain (i.e. .com, .net, ect…). In creating folders you want to make sure that your keywords are included. If it is diamonds add it to the yourwebsite.com/princess-diamonds.html or something similar.

6) Numbers and Misspellings in Domain Names

a. Numbers and misspelling of domains are a tempting choice but often is a mistake. If you include a number it can either be spelled out or just used as a digit. For your customer they may not remember which 1 (or one) to choose from and then necessitates a search if they don’t find the result. Misspellings are also bad because most people don’t think to write it with the misspelling. There are cases where both numbers and misspellings are used but tread carefully. The consequence is lost customers.

If you have taken marketing or business courses then you’ve been introduced to buyer behavior and the decision process. Often times analytics gives a picture of what people are doing on your site. What is also important is getting people to your site. In search optimization it is just as important to look at what people are doing off of your site in order to get them to your site. That is where the decision process is helpful in targeting your audience and creating content based off of it.

Satisfying problem/need recognition will help create content that your audience is searching for. Why does your customer look for your product or service? If you can determine the buying behavior of your customers it will be easier to provide the information they are looking for. So take a moment and do a little research. Luggage, for example, is tied to travel. A simple real time research from Facebook and Twitter shows that people buying luggage are going to travel or have already. That’s intuitive right?

Not exactly because most of these companies aren’t looking at the needs of its consumers except Eagle Creek. (Image 1, Click to view in detail)

What I like about Eagle Creek:

1) They have the destination of consumer in mind. Images of unordinary places with product.
2) During travel the consumer is concerned about size and safety (at check in, on trip, etc…).
3) Consumer has a lot to think about, organize, and watch (Make the trip easier).

Just because Eagle Creek understands this doesn’t mean that they have information gather stage down. Because most people don’t click past the first page in search engines, Eagle Creek loses on the information side of the search. However, it is possible that they don’t do this because their marketing model is a push strategy.

Using keyword research will help you find the right verbiage in the information search. Google’s keyword research tool will give you both a rough idea of what keywords are performed in the information search. The term luggage has over 9 million searches per month. It might be a bit optimistic that a keyword like luggage may be unattainable at 34 million results. So focusing on long tail keywords, like garment bag luggage, with 22 thousand searches and 1.8 million results, will give a better opportunity to reach that first page than a single keyword.

Making use of the buyer intent and information gathering will help your search results. Do little research of your services/products to find out what the needs of your customers are. Then provide relevant content that answers the information gather stage. Keyword research tools give you an insight into the information gathering stage of your target audience. With these two parts in the buying process you will have both more visits and a better click through rate of your customers.

Have I gone off the deep end? Leave a note and tell me what you think. Follow me on Twitter

1) Whistling for a Taxi. Why couldn’t we simply tweet “#taxi 5th & Main.” No need to raise your hand or whistle but simply tweet and soon you’re whisked away.

2) Auctions. What if instead of raising your hand during a bid you simply tweeted. 2k for the bidder @dereklive. Can I get 3k?

3) Deals. Flying deals online. Some models like Woot have a deal a day and Amazon has several. What about low priced deals offered only on Twitter in real time. First 100 products sold to those who tweet #awesomedeal.

4) Stock Quotes. Real time stock quotes that tell you stock prices as they happen. I know there is software for this but I could see people using this with a Twitter client.

5) Ordering. Why not order Take Out or Coffee on the go. A local coffee shop could set up a hashtag for people to order. A reply to the tweet will give the customer the idea that their beverage will be ready for them. To keep from getting unwarranted beverage orders simply have specific hours tweeted orders will be received or the customer has to announce they want the service.

6) Reservations. Dinner for two, Friday, at six. @favoriterestaurant

7) Radio. Why not have dual listening contests. The tenth caller receives cd and the 1st tweet #themusicrocks wins. Or they could take Twitter questions in place of phone questions. This gives a greater pool of questions for shows limited by time constraints.

My goal for 2010 is to share even more. Because of this goal I have given myself a digital resume. The reason is that within a short few years sharing has nearly become a commodity. You may not even need to create the content but merely disseminate that information. If done well, you may gain followers, friends, and maybe even fans. In fact, the old adage of “I think therefore I am” is being replaced by “I share therefore I am.” Therefore, I am sharing more. I am personally excited for this because I have just uploaded my digital resume on Slideshare.net. In 2010 I plan to continue and adding social media to my sharing venues on :

Google Profiles
Twitter
Linkedin
Flickr
YouTube
Facebook
Slideshare
& Blog

If you have a recommendation of a social platform others ought to consider or have interesting ways you use social media then send me a message.

1) Twitter Search. Twitter is a great tool to find out in real time what people are saying. You can simply do a search at any time and get real mentions of your company.
2) Facbook Search. You can find comments that people are making about your brand.
3) Google Alerts. You can search for keywords that relate to your brand, products, or service. You can get monthly, daily, or hourly updates.
4) Yahoo Pipes. Yahoo Pipes also aggregates information with websites and with keywords you specify. You can also make your searches viewable by others and have them indexed by search engines.
5) Youtube. You can do a search for your brand, product, or services. Just know that it may not be what you are expecting.
6) Search Forums. Industry related forums is great place to get involved and find out what people are saying.

Interested in learn more about listening in social? Read Jeremiah Owyang’s Evolution: The Eight Stages of Listening.

Have tool you use or recommend? Have any comments on companies you find do this well? Share your thoughts.

Begin your strategy with finding out what you really want to represent.  This isn’t just what category of products or services but in branding.  What keyword do you want to be remembered for?  When I discovered this it was nearly terrifying.  I sat in my seat in shock because I wanted people to think of me for all kinds of services; a jack of all trades who could do anything.  This isn’t very successful on a personal level nor is it successful on a business level.  Companies that have had a focused strategy are the ones that often cut through the clutter.  We can easily think of a few like Gieco’s affordable, Dell’s direct, Nordstrom’s service,  Starbucks 3rd place, and Google’s relevance.  If anything, learn from those who have done it best and create your unique niché.

Once you have a focus then it allows for you to begin defining what your strategy is online.  If you are not defining what your position is then someone else will (competitor and stakeholders).  Wouldn’t you rather define what you are about then someone else.  For instance, when I orginally purchased my domain name, Derek Live, I wasn’t sure what the purpose was.  Thought that I could just put up content and soon I would have followers.  The result, no one follows me and maybe a few visit occassionally when they meet me.  This goes for any digital strategy.  Joining the internet is a start but if you do not have a clear strategy then you may never rank for those keywords you want.  Unless you have that great domain name, it becomes the strategy of long tails.  So ask yourself, what is going to make me unique to others who may do it better and work harder at it then us.  Once you have this down it becomes easier to defend when your arch nemesis begins to challenge that position.

Digital marketing is the new platform for marketing and it demands that we think about it on a regular basis. Let your brand and what it represents inform your strategy.  Great companies are there because they have thought, planned, and experimented.  So learn from those who have done it best.  Once you figure your brand it becomes easier to define your strategy and defend it.