We’ve just returned from a trip to Dallas, TX to participate in Sandi Krakowski’s ‘Divine Call of God on Your Business’ event. It was a wonderful business and personal growth experience, with great speakers and inspiring messages. The two biggest take-aways for me were in the area of relationship building and my readiness to act on things I already know to be true. (More on these in a future post.)
On the way to Texas, we spent the night at a cute, retro motel that we never would have even heard of had it not been for social media and Google Places reviews. We normally spend the night in Rolla, MO on this particular route, but we wanted to push on a little further – and we didn’t want to spend an exorbitant amount on a hotel room. (Pinch a few pennies on the way down and you have more to spend when you get there!)
So I turned on my phone’s GPS and clicked the search by voice feature to find hotels near Joplin, MO. The top results were Google Places listings, one of which was for the Munger Moss Motel. It had a picture of this awesome neon sign and several great reviews from guests who had spent the night there, and also mentioned they had great rates. I followed up with a phone call and was greeted by a pleasant woman who welcomed us to spend the night at only $49. How could I pass that up?
Is your Google Places listing up-to-date? Does it contain any positive reviews? If not, you may be missing out on business from mobile customers. Whenever you have the opportunity, let your customers know in an email where they can review your company. Send them the link with the request; make it easy to build this area of your online exposure.
Check out our video recommendation for the top five places your business needs to be listed, then sign up for our free ‘List Yourself’ course to get the most from your business directory listings.
Abby, Susan – Thanks for your comments! We’ve come to rely heavily on our smartphones for reviews and quick research. We’ve used them to check reviews on washers and laptop computers before purchase, as well as to find restaurants and lodging on our recent trip. Now that I’ve learned how easy it is to search by voice – just by speaking into my Android phone, it’s become second nature – too easy not to do.
Business owners really do need to pay attention to the technology used to find them. It has definitely changed the way we find products and services, and online reviews do influence our purchasing decisions.
Way to explain it, Shari. It really is as basic as that. People want what others are selling, but only get a handful of options. Gotta be where the demand is, right? These days demand is growing on hand-held devices, and that won’t be changing any time soon. Those reviews matter.
Great example of how using technology correctly can help the consumer and the business owner!