In any business, credibility is needed to attract and retain customers. This is not a quick process; building credibility in the long term takes energy and requires a lot of time. For most entrepreneurs, credibility is a complex concept. With fraud easily running rampant in our digital world, it can sometimes seem like a daunting task to convince potential customers of your company’s trustworthiness.
Considering how saturated the adventure tourism industry is, establishing the credibility of your business is one surefire way to set yourself apart from your competitors. If you want to stand out, it is important to learn the basics of boosting the credibility of your business – starting with your website.
Let’s learn some simple ways to achieve credibility through your website.
How do you boost the credibility of your website?
1. Provide verifiable information.
Verifiable information is crucial in boosting your website’s professionalism and credibility. Here are a few easy ways to provide this kind of information on your website:
Choose a reputable domain
Place your company’s physical address/phone number somewhere noticeable and easy to find
If possible, include contact information for your team
Provide links to memberships and organizations your business is affiliated with
Try to include a Google Map on your contact page for your customers to see
2. Provide social proof.
A new business can oftentimes give customers “Purchasing Anxiety,” which may delay or even stop a purchase completely. It is imperative for a business to invest in providing customers with social proof as evidence of legitimacy.
Here are a couple simple ways to provide social proof:
Post your customer reviews and success stories. On your website, the presence of customer reviews and success stories serves as a piece of reliable information that can help convince customers your business is credible. This technique has also been proven to successfully and consistently convert leads into sales.
Have your adventure tourism services featured on noteworthy sites. Level up your game by getting your services featured on credible sites. This technique will not only boost your credibility but will also expand your reach.
3. Showcase your best.
If a potential customer receives any indication you are not their best option, they may back out and change their minds about booking through you. If you want to boost your website’s credibility, put your best foot forward and showcase your services only in the best light possible. Now is the time to show off your expertise. Highlight your best tours on the front of your website, and be sure to mention your years of experience, any recognition/awards your business has received, qualifications, and more.
4. Post trustworthy content.
Hire a professional copywriter to explain the details of your services in a clear and engaging manner. Before publishing any piece of content, make sure to proofread and double-check any text for errors. You should be consistent in updating content, and you must keep your word if you publish any claims or promises to your website. Misrepresentation of your services will surely tarnish the reputation of your business.
5. Communicate policies clearly.
It is important to state your policies in a way that is clear and easy for your customers to understand. Consider publishing your company’s privacy policy to enhance transparency. This will make customers feel safer and more inclined to work with you if they can see which data your company collects and how you plan to use it.
Start Your Journey With Us
Your website has the potential to be your number one driver of sales, so it is important to invest in making it look its best. If you want to learn more about growing your adventure tourism business by improving your website, reach out to AAMP Agency for a consultation.
If you’re running a business, you need to be in control of your reputation online.
Potential customers can check out a business in seconds on their smartphone. With online reviews affecting nearly 68% of purchase decisions, it’s important for you to get your online review strategy right.
And the best place to start is with a positive set of Google reviews to showcase your attraction.
Here are 4 advantages of Google reviews that you simply can’t ignore if you’re looking to boost your reputation online.
Makes Your Business More Popular
No one goes into business to be unpopular, so building up reviews online can act as a loop of positive publicity for your attraction.
If you’re delivering good customer service, great products or offering a great overall service, and customers are commenting on it in their reviews, you’re going to draw others in.
Ultimately, you’re in business to make money. Building an organic set of 4 or 5-star reviews can increase your profits by bringing in customers who shop with you, based on your online reputation.
Improves Visibility and SEO
Google places a high value on the experience of its users. If you’re a business with good Google reviews, you’re demonstrating your value and Google will reward you with better search results for local search keywords.
Better visibility and better SEO for your website are added bonuses to draw in more customers. The higher your business ranks, the more likely your customers will turn to you than any of your competitors.
You’ll need a free Google My Business account to be able to take advantage. You can find out more about setting one of these up here.
Free and Useful Way to Boost Other Marketing
Reviews on Google are a great tie-in to other marketing you employ, and they’re completely free. This means you can spend your advertising revenue elsewhere while using the reviews to demonstrate the trust and value your attraction has.
If you’re buying Google Adsense ads, you can reference your average customer review score, for instance. The same method can be applied to social media marketing, where you can use a positive reputation to target new customers.
If you’re thinking about using social media to boost your visibility, check out how you can refine a social media campaign to work for your business.
Gives You The Chance to Interact With Customers
Of course, it isn’t just about publicity. You can use reviews from Google to help you interact with your customers in a way that wouldn’t be possible elsewhere.
Dropping a reply to a positive (or negative) review can show that you care about the opinion of your customers. You can address complaints head on, and if you feel any reviews are unfair, you can challenge them (constructively, of course!).
Reviews can make or break an attraction’s reputation. By interacting with your customers through review replies, you can show you’re not afraid to fix any problems that occur, and do so publicly.
Use Google Reviews for a Better Business Reputation
When somebody searches for your business, you want to convert them into paying customers. A marketing strategy that takes advantage of positive reviews from Google can set you apart from your competitors so you can do just that.
And with Google reviews costing you absolutely nothing, even the smallest local business can take advantage!
Looking for more specialized marketing advice? Get in touch to see how we can help, and if you’ve got your own tips to share, drop us a comment below!
Learn more about how AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros helps business with Reputation Management by filling out the form below.
As of 2018, 97% of consumers look online for reviews before doing business with a company.
Additionally, over three out of four individuals take online reviews as seriously as a personal recommendation.
Reviews are no longer limited to word of mouth, magazines, and professional critics. Anyone with 5 minutes and a smartphone is capable of leaving online reviews, making them a powerful new channel for leading traffic to your business.
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your customer reviews, here’s what you need to know.
1. Online Reviews Transcend Social Media
There are many channels online for individuals to leave product or customer reviews. Websites such as Yelp, Facebook, Google, and Amazon are the most well known, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of review sites online.
Individuals aren’t just checking Google reviews anymore. In fact, they’re checking an average of seven different review sites before they decide to purchase your product or service.
With this in mind, it’s vital to make sure that your company is listed on as many relevant review sites as possible. If customers can’t find other consumer reviews of your business online, you may as well not exist.
2. Customers Want More Than Reviews
Reviews are great, but customers expect more.
Many businesses simply shrug their shoulders when they receive reviews (whether they’re good or bad). They either figure that being silent will give them a better image or they don’t think online reviews matter.
This is a backward way of thinking.
Customers are elated when their reviews are answered by the business that they are speaking about.
By responding to customer reviews, you can show your customers that you genuinely care about their opinions and experiences with your brand.
If you have a bad review, you can directly reach out to that customer and try to fix the issue. By doing this, you can show the disheartened or upset consumer that you care about their grievances.
On top of this, you can show other customers who are reading your reviews that you are listening to feedback.
With this in mind, it’s important to focus not only on negative reviews but also on the positive reviews.If someone expresses their great experience with your company, it’s important to thank them for their kind words.
By responding to your customer’s reviews, you’re staying engaged and showing potential customers that you are keenly aware of the feedback and opinions of your customers. This will undoubtedly build your reputation in a positive way.
3. Reviews Can Make or Break You
Think about the last time you searched online for a restaurant to eat at, a plumber to fix your broken toilet or a product of some sort.
If that business or product had a bunch of bad reviews or an average rating of 2 out of 5 stars, did you still want to buy from them?
Many customers will not purchase a product or service unless the rating is around 4/5 stars or an 8/10 on a number scale
Alternatively, good reviews can put your business on a pedestal above and beyond your competition.
Conclusion
Online reviews carry as much (if not more) importance as social media campaigns. It’s important to monitor what your customers are saying and to stay engaged with them.
If you’re not sure where to start or you need help improving your online reputation, we’ve got you covered.
At AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros, we specialize in localized online marketing and reputation management to make sure you’re getting as much traffic and positive feedback as possible.
Feel free to check the rest of our website and visit our blog for more information!
Learn more about how AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros helps business with Reputation Management by filling out the form below.
George Eliot once said, “People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.” Considering that Eliot was a novelist who lived during the 19th century, it’s pretty clear that good reputation has always been important.
Now, two centuries later, online reputation is just as equally important for people who want to be taken seriously. And in an enormous place like the Internet, establishing it is much more difficult than it is in a small place like a neighborhood.
Today we are going to take a look at the reasons why your online reputation is important and three tips on how to improve it.
But Why Does Your Online Reputation Matter?
Consumers by default tend to trust other humans’ opinions when they are thinking about working with a business. Usually, there is one medium they use in order to figure it out: Social networks.
Communities like Foursquare, Yelp, Google Reviews, and Facebook Reviews have grown because people want to know if a company deserves their attention. If you have more positive reviews than negative ones, then you can expect more clients. If it’s the other way around, you have a big problem.
Your online reputation matters because it forms a public image.
Besides making sure your attraction is in top condition, here are three tips to make your business look and feel more trustworthy:
Tip #1: Form Relationships With Potential Buyers
Everybody who wants to purchase a product in 2018 does some online research before they actually buy it. Whether it is a service or a product, online reviews are everybody’s main guidelines to determine whether a business is good or not.
Unfortunately, just a few negative reviews can ruin your whole online identity but there is no need to worry. There is a solution.
Except for taking criticism into consideration (because let’s face it, you might have done something wrong that left your customers unhappy) you also need to learn from it.
If there are clients who are not satisfied with you today, most likely, there are going to be more tomorrow. To avoid that, offer a sample of your product or service before they actually move on to the purchase.
Do you sell items? Use a promo code that provides an extreme discount that will help them test your products at a low price.
Do you sell software or services? A trial version is always a great idea.
Even if they don’t find what you offer a good fit for their needs, they will always have this feeling of happiness associated with getting free stuff. Their reviews might not be mind-blowing but they will be honest and polite.
Tip #2: Use Negative Reviews to Your Advantage
Negative reviews are always going to be there. Unfortunately, you cannot remove them but you can use them to make your business look more professional.
When you see a negative review on your social media pages or on your website act professional and ask for more details. Be polite, apologize if you have to, and do not defend yourself.
Defending yourself will instantly make a bad review seem more accurate.
Something like: “We are sorry to hear that. Please check your inbox.” is enough to initiate a private conversation with your client and figure out what left them unhappy.
A professional local marketing agency might be a better idea if you are already dealing with too many negative reviews. Professionals have handled so many similar cases that they will fix your reputation in an instant.
Tip #3: Google is Your Friend
If negative reviews keep coming in, Google will associate your brand with them. So, most likely, when someone searches your company, they will come across them.
What you need to do is to keep feeding the beast and generate content that will actually push negative results down.
For each negative review, create two to three blog posts, pages, or anything that promotes your business name. This will create an extra layer of security so that when people search your business, they don’t get bombarded with bad reviews.
Keep monitoring Google search results to see what people say about you. A smart way to do so is by setting up a Google Alerts account. When someone posts something about you, you will get both a notification and a heads-up.
Is It Too Much?
Yes, online reputation does matter, but sometimes it can be a real struggle.
If you need help with any aspect of your online reputation, then contact us today!
If you’re like most people, you use Yelp for culinary guidance. It’s the same thing as checking Rotten Tomatoes for a movie you’re interested in seeing or zooming in on reviews with a Verified Purchase Tag on Amazon when you’re researching a product.
Now, if you’re to flip the whole thing and look at it from a business owner’s perspective, how would you ensure you don’t get negative reviews for your restaurant, movie, or product? That’s where brand reputation management comes in. And that’s where we come in with strategies on how you can use it to grow your business.
Brand Reputation Strategies to Master
Managing your brand’s reputation isn’t just about building an image. It also means protecting and preserving it. Remember, news – both good and bad – travels fast.
The more you keep your brand image positive, the more you build loyalty and customer confidence. And the more you grow your loyal customer base, the more your sales will increase and your bottom line looks better.
That said, here are 4 ways to effectively build, protect, and preserve your brand’s reputation.
1. Use Content Wisely
The content you produce will help establish the brand you want to build. One way to do this is by being a go-to resource for your target audience.
Provide the content your users are looking for. Make them see you as an authority, who can provide answers and solutions to their needs and wants. Don’t copy what your competitors are doing or if you have to, make sure you do it 10 times better than them.
2. Win the Social Media Game
Aside from knowing how to refine social marketing campaigns, you have to use your social media channels to foster authentic connections with your followers.
Try to build relationships rather than just pushing your products or services. Encourage them to share or even start conversations. And when they do, make sure to engage them.
You want your audience to interact with your brand. In fact, you want them to become ambassadors for your brand so they can encourage more people to recognize what your business or organization is all about.
3. Become a Thought Leader
A strong PR plan can help you do this, but you have to think bigger than your website. Get your name in major publications and look into speaking at events.
If you can give to charity, better. The important thing is to make the most out of these opportunities and network with other thought leaders in your field.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for you to manage your brand’s reputation and recognition if people don’t know where to find you.
And we’re not talking about sat nav systems. We’re talking about search engine results. Does your business name even come up when people Google products and services you’re offering?
If not, you can be sure they’re turning to your competitors because brand reputation and recognition means having an established presence both digitally and in the real world.
Need Help with Brand Recognition and Reputation Management?
We can help. As a full-service digital marketing agency, we offer a full stack of services to get your name out there.
Learn more about how AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros helps business with Brand Recognition and Reputation Management by filling out the form below.
