WOMOW Re-Launching as Word Of Mouth Online - WOMO!

We have an announcement to make...WOMOW is about to become WOMO - Word Of Mouth Online! We'll soon be rolling out some changes that give us a new name and a brand new look.

Why? We've learned that two W's in a word is one too many and we're sick to death of people getting the name wrong! So we've shortened our name to Word Of Mouth Online Pty Ltd or WOMO - which is exactly what we're all about. We're now leaner, cleaner and with a lot more spunk.

Check out our new logo below...
We hope you'll agree that our new look is much more current and professional. We're sticking with the distinctive orange (that most of you love and a few of you hate), and in the process, we're introducing some new features to improve the experience for both members and businesses.

Check out our new home page below:



In this process, we've taken on board the feedback that we've received from many businesses and made quite a lot of improvements. For instance, businesses using WOMO's Happy Customers Program will be able to;

• Control first impressions by choosing your favourite review to appear first
• Include incentives on Review-Us Flyers to encourage more reviews (a sure fire way to drive more reviews)
  
• Feature your Deals or Special Offers throughout the WOMO website where people are looking for businseses like yours. These will appear on your Cross Advertising which will be more prominent.
  
• Access re-styled, re-vamped flyers, stickers and certificates to promote your business.
• Have a much cleaner, more professional looking profile with more images and less WOMO branding. It's a real "Brag Page" you can use to let the world know how great your business really is! See an example of a new profile below:
  

Don't worry - all of your existing links will still work. We'll also send you more details in the next few days.

If you've ever thought of joining the Happy Customers Program, it's now better than ever!

This new site is something we've been working on for a while so we're very excited to release it to you. And if you notice anything that seems strange or in error, please let us know. (We're all about customer feedback - literally!)

Word-of-Mouth Online has Doubled our Revenue!

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Can Businesses Review Themselves?

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Why Advocates Recommend Brands: What's in it for the reviewer?

Let's face it, the holy grail of marketing is positive word-of-mouth. Particularly when it's online.

Why? Because when word-of-mouth is online it has a FAR greater reach as the internet serves as an amplifier to reach significantly larger audiences. Did you realise that over 80% of all purchases start with a search on the internet, AND 78% of consumers trust online recommendations above ALL other marketing and advertising? (Nielsen research)

All good and well, but how do you get some customer love? Why would anyone bother recommending your business? Thankfully the researchers at Comscore, Yahoo! have recently given some attention to this question. Because the facts are that plenty of people ARE talking about businesses and brands they love - all the time. So what's motivating them to do it?

Looking down this list, there is a fair amount of altruistic behaviour - people actually want to help good businesses and inform others of the information they know.

There's also some ego-drivers here - evidence that people like to be seen as the influencers and sources of information and advice for others. Nothing wrong with that! In fact, that's what defines the "advocates" or "key influencers" for your business.

So business owners...what can you actually do with this information? Appeal to these natural drivers, that's what!

• Let customers know how much reviews help other people (how happy they are when they find a great business, and by helping them avoid bad experiences)
  
• Let customers know how much reviews help your business, and how much you appreciate anyone that reviews you (you won't sound desperate, you'll sound honest)
  
• Let customers know that literally thousands and thousands of people are using reviews everyday to help them make decisions (Australian's refer to WOMOW for advice about 25,000 times a day!)
  
  

Plus, check out our 12 Tips for Getting More Customer Reviews here...

Source: Yahoo / ComScore Networks study

Domino's Pizza Shows Reviews at Times Square, New York

Taking transparency to new heights, Domino's Pizza chain recently ran an enormous advertisement out of its customer reviews.

Customers loved seeing their reviews displayed and more importantly, Domino's showed the world that they are serious about listening to customers and providing a great experience.

The campaign was part of a turnaround following poor feedback about their pizzas and effectively communicated the subsequent improvements they made. The reviews were filtered for language, but not for sentiment. Domino’s spokesman Chris Brandon says about 80% of the feedback on the billboard was positive.

While this campaigning is somewhat extreme, it does show just how influencial top marketers believe reviews to be. For most businesses a live billboard is out of the question, but are you showing your reviews on your website*? On Facebook or other social media (why not post updates/tweet about each new review)? In your quotes / proposals? As part of your email signature?

Consider how you can get more leverage from your positive reviews...

*In case you missed it, WOMOW has a widget to display a live feed of your reviews on your website. See an example here and email us for your unique code (it's just a single line of code you add to your website).

A Strong Online Presence is Fuelling our Growth

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Why Word-of-Mouth Online Works

Many small businesses we speak to are somewhat daunted by terms like 'word-of-mouth online' and 'online reputation'. Or they think it's not relevant for them. Or they know that word-of-mouth is powerful, but don't know how this relates to their own marketing activities.

Before you flick the page thinking this is not for you, word-of-mouth marketing does NOT need to be a kooky stunt / viral video / give away product / or even an amazing campaign. Instead, it can simply be a consistent effort to get people talking about your business - and in the case of online word-of-mouth - doing that talking online.

In my mind, word-of-mouth marketing is undoubtedly the most powerful way for small and medium businesses to build a great reputation (by the way, this is what big business calls 'their brand'). It's a substitute for spending large amounts of money on mainstream media to generate awareness and preference for your business.

If you think about it, online word-of-mouth is perfect for most businesses. Let's break it down;

Question 1: Where is your market looking?
Answer: The Internet.

In fact, Neilsen Netratings research found that more than 80% of all purchases for goods and services start with a search on the internet, for both home and business! Did you realise that people are using the internet to find hairdressers, plumbers, mechanics, restaurants, online shops, accountants, travel destinations, dry cleaners, wedding services, doctors, gardeners, childcare - YES EVERYTHING! Even if you don't turn to the internet for everything, there's a good chance many of your target market does.

Adam Adler from ADM Motors quipped: "I never thought that so many people would be looking online for a mechanic or that customer reviews could make such a difference – boy was I wrong! We provide a good service and it means that the extra care we take is paying off."

Obviously the internet is not the only place people look, but most business owners vastly underestimate the number of people searching online for their type of business.

Question 2: Who do they trust?
Answer: Other consumers.

This is why it is soooo important to build up a glowing reputation online.

The researchers at Nielsen also found that: 78% of people trust consumer recommendations above ALL other types of advertising and marketing. And eMarketer found that: Consumer reviews are significantly more trusted -- nearly 12 times more -- than descriptions that come from businesses.

That's right. Reviews are more believable than advertising. Or, as one business put it: "When you tell people how good you are, it's bragging; when other people say it, it's proof." Plus, the more reviews there are, the more trust consumers place in them. At WOMOW, we see a 'tipping-point' at around 10 reviews.

Dee Davies from The Clear Skin Clinic explains that for their business; "Once [people] read what our customers say about our services, they feel like they’ve found the right place and make an appointment straight away."

And Chris Dimos from Mr Verandah concurs; "The people that come to Mr Verandah from WOMOW just want to go ahead straight away. They don't need to go through the whole trust-building stage as they already see us as experts in our field. Word-of-mouth is a really good way of marketing our business - it fits really well with our business philosophy of letting our work speak for itself."

Businesses that view online word-of-mouth as too hard or not relevant, are really missing out. When people's recommendations are online, they reach millions of people, and most importantly, they reach them at exactly the right time - when the prospective customer decides they need your type of business and starts their research online.

Even boring businesses can create great word-of-mouth!
If you're interested in generating online word-of-mouth for your business, check out our Happy Customers Program here.

Can Consumer Reviews be Trusted?

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Creating a Reviews Tab on your Facebook Page

Following our recent description of how Genius Printing had created a Reviews Tab on their Facebook page, we had several enquiries asking for detailed instructions on how to do this. So, if you want to create a page like this one, here's how...

• Firstly you need to add a static HTML application to your business' Facebook page. There are lots that will do the job, but we used this one: http://www.facebook.com/add.php?api_key=190322544333196&pages
  Click to Add this to your Facebook page.
  
  
• Next you need to change the name of this tab (the default name for this one is "Welcome"). To do this, go to the "Apps" menu option for your Facebook page, and find this app (called "Static HTML: iframe tabs"). Under this, click on "Edit Settings" and then change the Custom Tab Name to "Reviews" and click save.
  
  
• Then click "View Page" to see your Facebook page. On the left, you'll now see your new "Reviews" tab as a menu item. Click the "EDIT" link just under this.
  
  
• Next you need to add the content for this page. You can have different content for people that "like" your page, or the same content for everyone. (We just did the same content for everyone.) In the top box, enter the HTML, Javascript or other code for the content you wish to appear (could be an image as well).
  
  
• To add the WOMOW Widget that scrolls through your reviews, you'll need to get your unique code for this from us. You can customise this as you please but the exact code that we entered is shown below:

• Please note that the text in red here should specifically relate to your business listing on WOMOW. We also changed the width and height of the widget to be 500 x 300 (shown in the first red section).
  
  
• Once you've done that, just click "Save and View Tab" at the top of the page. (While we were editing, we found it easier to open up the Facebook page in another browser and refresh this until we were happy with it.)
  
  
• Good luck!
  

Marketing by the Numbers: A Case Study

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Promoting your Reviews on Facebook

Does your business have a Facebook page? You could be using your WOMOW reviews to show your Facebook fans how important customer service is to your business. It's a great way to give people more confidence in your service and convert browsers into buyers.

That's exactly what Genius Printing has recently done. They've cleverly created a new "Reviews on WOMOW" page and loaded up their WOMOW Widget which automatically shows their recent reviews*.

They've also included the WOMOW Widget and "Review Us" button on the bottom of their webpages. Click here to see this.

“Imagine if on the door of every store, there was an LCD display showing the feedback from the last 5 customers. You would instantly be able to see what kind of service you're going to get,
before you even walk in the door,” Rob from Genius Printing says.

“Our business is built on customer service and we’ve always placed a high emphasis on collecting and displaying customer feedback. With WOMOW, we’re taking this a step further by having feedback at an independent site that's trusted by consumers.”

To encourage customers to leave reviews, Genius Printing are now offering a 10% discount voucher to customers that post their feedback on WOMOW. And to increase their exposure on WOMOW and give people an extra reason to choose them, on their WOMOW listing, Genius Printing have included a special offer for all new customers.

This is a fantastic example of customer feedback becoming a true integrated marketing program. (I guess they're not named "Genius" for nothing!)

Is your business integrating customer reviews into your marketing and promotions?

PS - Many businesses also use their new reviews as a chance to post something new up on their Facebook Wall. eg "Thanks so much for your feedback MarkS. So glad to hear you're enjoying your canvas prints. They certainly were stunning!" + link to the review.


* Genius Printing have created this page in Facebook using a static HTML app for facebook (of which there are lots). These apps allow you to create a custom tab, with standard HTML code. They've simply pasted in the WOMOW code for the Widget. You can also link to images on other sites and put standard text and other HTML in here.

The Top 5 Things Bugging Your Customers

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It's not about the Money, Honey

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Creating a "We Love Customers" Attitude

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Renew your Customer Focus: New Financial Year Resolutions

While other businesses are focussing on finalising accounts, setting targets, and reviewing expenses, we suggest that you turn your main attention to something that matters more than any of this - YOUR CUSTOMERS. Remember why you went into business in the first place? Most likely to serve customers and contribute something to society. And did you realise that the strongest predictor of a business' future success is their customer satisfaction levels? (Not how orderly their books are!)

Here are 7 things to start doing right now...

Understand the Lifetime Value of Each Customer
Don't worry about perfection but get a rough understanding of the;

• Avg Order Value x
  No. Times Per Year a Customer Orders x
  No. Years a Customer Stays with You x
  Average Gross Profit Margin x
  No. New Customers Each Customer Refers

Knowing this number will probably make your realise how important the other things are, as well as how much you can spend on customer acquisition.

Provide Awesome Service
This goes without saying and is obviously easier said than done! But it's amazing how many months (or years) can go by without us stopping to think - "what could we change to improve the customer experience?" Block out an hour to think about how your processes, facilities, products, or anything else that could be improved.

Get Reviews and/or Collect Feedback
Remember the saying, "what gets measured, gets managed". Ensure you're either collecting feedback internally, or preferrably encouraging online reviews (you get all the benefits of internal collection plus the SEO and marketing benefits). This creates a feedback loop and keeps your focus on customer satisfaction.

Improve the Way you Handle Feedback
When someone takes the time to review your business, call with a complaint, or mentions you online, please show them some respect and respond! Even if their feedback is negative, you can often turn the situation around and a lost customer can become one of your biggest advocates. See our tips for responding to negative and positive reviews here.

Build a Customer Service Culture
Let everyone in your organisation know that each customers' experience matters. Keep the focus high by congratulating staff when they provide good service, celebrating good feedback (print out and pin up your reviews), and make customer service part of everyone's KPI's (even if their customers are internal).

Track Customer Sources
Being smart about customers requires knowing where they're coming from. This is usually as simple as asking each new customer how they heard about your business. Set up a field in your computer system, a column in your bookings sheet, or some other simple method. If it's too difficult to do in an ongoing manner, decide to spend a just one week focussing on this question to get a reasonable snapshot. (When Misty's 1950's Diner did this, she found that one-third of her revenue came from customers that had found her on WOMOW).

Keep Communicating with Customers
Once customers walk out the door, don't let them forget about you. Keep your business top of mind by communicating with them and showing them they matter. Send them a special offer, update on your products/services, information they might find useful, check on whether they were happy with your product/service, thank them for their patronage (maybe with a gift), or find some other excuse to keep in contact. If you don't already, collect their email address so that you can stay in touch easily. A fancy email newsletter is nice, but an informal message (that is quick to prepare) can be just as effective.

Customers are the whole reason for a business' existance - so keep your focus on things that actually have a positive impact on your customers.

12 Tips for getting more Customer Reviews

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Doing Business in Tough Times: 7 tips to get you through

Some industries are facing tough times right now, and others are facing very tough times. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to have a look at the implications of what it means for businesses when the economy is down. This doesn't apply to all industries right now, but if your segment is running flat, some important points to remember are;

• Forget About Maximising Profits
  Now is not the time to be worrying about growing your bottom line numbers - it's time for focussing on staying in the game!
  
  
• It's a Great Time to Build Market Share
  Even if the whole economy has moved down a notch, chances are that people are still buying what your business provides. People might buy less often, and might buy less from you, but make sure they're buying from you! Once the economy picks up, you'll be in a prime position to grow.
  
  
• Adjust to the New Realities
  Rather than whine about changes that are negatively affecting your industry, be a leader that takes the new technologies and makes them work to your advantage. Change your business model so that you're selling where customers are buying - and if that's online, you'd better get good at that! Ensure your business is optimised for 2011 (not 1999). Rethink your marketing, your staff, your operations and your administration. What needs to change?
  
  
• Compete on Service NOT Price
  When times are tough, the tendency is to discount, discount, discount. While there may be merit in reducing your prices somewhat, there'll only ever be one winner at that game and you probably don't want to win the prize for dropping your pants lowest! The alternative is to compete on customer service. Provide each and every one of your customers with exemplary service and showcase this to everyone else! Give customers the best experience possible and aim to be the best value, not the lowest price.
  
  
• It's Not Personal
  Remember, your reaction to any set of circumstances is up to you. Don't let it get you down! Smile. Keep healthy. Nurture your friends and family. Look after yourself. And if you're struggling to keep things in perspective, stop and do something about it (take a break, seek advice, get some fresh air, or whatever works for you).
  
  
• Focus on Your Sphere of Influence
  Stop thinking about and talking about how difficult everything is. (If you talk about problems, all you'll see is problems.) Start focussing on the customer in front of you and how you could make their experience a little bit better. Make them feel like dealing with you again... soon!
  
  
• Good Businesses WILL Survive
  Remember, this is temporary and you've probably experienced something like it before. Think of these times as a shake-out designed to test which businesses should be here. If you've got a great offering and determination, obviously that's you. Be smart and you'll get through!
  

Businesses Urged to update their Dinosaur Marketing Strategies

We recently spoke to Bruno Cristovao from Copy Magic to see how WOMOW was working for them. Their business has embraced the transparency of consumer feedback and he urges other business owners to do the same...

"Some business owners are afraid to ask their customers for feedback, which worries me as they're missing out on a huge opportunity to promote themselves and they're doing their business a disservice. Online customer reviews are helping people find us on the web, and more importantly, to create trust and get a sense of who we are as a business."

"It took a few months for us to build our reviews, but the more reviews we get, the more enquiries we get from our online forms. We now staple a 'Review Us' flyer to every invoice we send out. Just one job that came from someone finding us on WOMOW paid for more than a year's worth of promotion, so it's great value for money. The customer was a multi-national business and we have done repeat business!"

"I know that some businesses are still wasting money on Yellow Pages and White Pages - they're the slow moving dinosaurs of the industry. Everyone's searching for businesses with a reviewed reputation online these days and WOMOW are the experts in this field . We are not the Mr Bigs of the print industry, but with customer reviews on WOMOW, we feel that it highlights that we can compete and facilate change in our business. Our focus on personalised customer service is paying off and we're growing at 30% per annum. The growth has allowed us to invest back into the community."

Bruno Cristovao, Copy Magic
http://www.womow.com.au/biz/Copy-Magic-Beaconsfield/

Testimonials are Good, Reviews are Better (what's the difference anyway?)

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How Transparency Benefits Your Industry (yes, even health and medical businesses)

We've heard through the grapevine about some health profession bodies warning their members (ie practitioners) about the 'dangers' of customer reviews. It seems that their concerns mainly hinge on some confusion about the differences between 'reviews' and 'testimonials'. Because testimonials are known to be so powerful (although not as powerful as reviews), and testimonials are under the direct control of the practitioner, they have traditionally been prohibited to protect public interests. However, while these are the grounds that are stated, it appears that some industries are afraid of transparency in general.

Savvy Consumers are Becoming the Norm

Like it or not, transparency in our society is increasing (and will continue to increase). However, we should look at this as a positive phenomenum - not only for consumers, but for businesses as well. As Seth Godin argues, increased transparency leads to increases profitability. While the tendency is to think about the possibility of negative reviews and to come up with reasons why consumers are wrong and/or don't know enough to comment, the reality is that customer reviews put more focus on service and quality outcomes.

Transparency shifts the Focus to Quality

As Seth points out, when book reviews are available, book sales go up. (Coremetrics research has proven that when people read reviews, they are 30% more likely to purchase.)

When consumers get used to transparency, they get more interested in the quality of your service, and are more willing to pay extra (or wait longer, or drive further). This means that as good service providers start getting all the customers, other (lower quality) service providers either decide to lift their game, or are forced to exit the industry. So the standards and overall quality of the industry rise, while profits also increase.

Stop Hiding and Own Your Service!

Businesses that embrace transparency and encourage real feedback will find they're soon getting a huge amount of new customers. (In fact, many businesses tell us they're amazed to find how many consumers are searching online for reviews on all kinds of businesses.)

Real reviews generate trust and help people know whether you're the type of business that's right for their needs.

But equally importantly, you'll need to live up to your reviews. When customers choose your business based on reviews, they understand the influence that reviews have on others. Whether they leave disappointed or thrilled, they'll be likely to share their experience online. Which means that when there are significant numbers of reviews, it's safe to say that good businesses shine (without needing a perfect track record), and shabby businesses are outed.

Reviews on doctors won't mean that people stop seeing doctors - but it may mean that they'll be prepared to give up more to see a reputable one.