It’s true – we generally only go to review sites when we’re upset with a business. So how can a business owner trigger more positive reviews and social mentions?

Please note: DO NOT under any circumstances, contrive positive reviews for your business. This is unethical, easily detected, and most likely illegal. This is called “astroturfing” and just like in politics, can ruin your credibility or damage your reputation even further.

Make sure you deserve a good review.

Most business owners think their service is impeccable and as long as people continue to buy, they have nothing to worry about. Like an IT technician is trained to look for problems with the physical layer first, you should make certain that your business gives exemplary service BEFORE you should expect any positive mentions or reviews. If your business model or practices are uncouth or shady, you cannot expect anyone to say anything nice about you online. Some businesses are inherently going to make some people upset, but this comes down to managing expectations.

Look at the reviews you already have.

Duh. You can’t generate good reviews (at least not legally) unless you have happy customers to write them. No amount of asking for user reviews or soliciting feedback will help compensate for a bad first impression. Greasy fingerprints on glass doors are a turn off of mine. Even if I get great service and the food is great, my first impression is that diner doesn’t care if they appear to be clean. Start by making sure to resolve any issues that particularly bother your customers if you possibly can. How do you find out what those issues are? By reading reviews left about your business. If you know a patron that left a bad review, ask them if you’ve improved.

Consider asking for reviews.

Tread lightly if you decide to do this. Don’t ask for good reviews, just reviews, and not until the end of the transaction. The request should come after a meaningful interaction of some sort, not with every routine transaction. I had an exterminator ask me to give a 5 star review on their page on the yellow pages website. He explained there was a contest going on for the field techs to get good reviews. I thought, “That’s a neat idea,” until I went digging into the full scope of their reputation online. There was a reason they were asking for 5-star reviews, to cover up the 300+ 1-star reviews they had. After reading several, I could tell which reviews were contrived, which ones were asked for, and which ones were legitimate complaints. I chose not to leave any review at that time, and decided I didn’t want to contribute to this company’s cover-up. I may have left a good review had I not been asked to write a 5-star review, when the service was not the extra mile.

Make your web presence known.

If a majority of your customers are younger than 30, asking them to post a review may turn them off. Instead, simply engage with them in the online world by creating a Facebook group and Twitter account for your business. Customers in this age bracket are so accustomed to posting online about every experience they have, they’ll almost certainly share their thoughts about your product or service without asking them to… good and bad. So make sure you are prepared for them.

Respond quickly to bad reviews.

The best way to deal with a bad review is to resist the urge to defend your company, product, or employee, an approach that almost always makes things worse. The key is how you respond is not just for the person who made the complaint, but for the general public that will see how you reacted. If a complaint is valid, thank the customer for the review and apologize for their bad experience. Most times, the consumer just wants you to acknowledge that you, the business owner, understands there’s a problem and wants to fix it. Some customers will often go back and update a negative review once the issue has been resolved, so you can turn a negative into a positive if you act quickly. If the bad review is unwarranted, it’s especially imperative to resist the urge to get defensive. Respond with empathy and appreciation for their honest feedback.

Reach out to negative reviewers directly.

Not everyone recommends responding publicly to bad reviews. Sometimes it is never a good idea to respond online to negative reviews, because doing so tends to put the business in a defensive position. Some companies elect to contact negative reviewers directly if they can be found, and tries to resolve the issue. Thoughtful, constructive responses go much further than ignoring them or rebutting them defensively. You may offer an extension of a complimentary dessert or a coupon for their next visit.

Make reviewing your business easy.

By putting a link to a review site page right into your website, you can expect you’ll get more reviews. Some strategies include ‘give feedback’ or ‘suggestions’ button on your website so that users can do so without going public. Think of this as the comment boxes you used to see in places that were corporately owned but locally operated. This does a few things for you; it can keep a good majority of complaints from ever being seen by the public, help you address and resolve the customers problem in private, and allows you the opportunity to ask for a review. If you’ve not claimed all your profiles on Google Maps, Yelp or Urban Spoon, you should do so right away to prevent a situation such as this from getting out of hand.

We may not have a crystal ball with all of the answers, but here at TheeDesign Studio we have a few 2012 predictions on how internet marketing will adapt to changes in web design.

Responsive design will become mainstream.

Responsive design is the concept of creating websites that automatically scale and rearrange their content according to the device and screen size it is being viewed. We saw a bit of responsive design in 2011 with smartphone applications and games, but in 2012 it will become necessary for websites to function and become just as visually adaptable.

Responsive web design will require internet marketing experts to decide what content is the most important and how it should be placed on the page. A call-to-action button, like “Call us Now” or “Place Order Here,” in a sidebar on a desktop computer might not fit on a mobile browser, and so they’ll have to think about the size and placement of that button on the page.

Mobile design will become industry standard.

Smartphones are everywhere and tablet usage is growing every day. In order to stay in front of their audience, websites are being forced to adapt to the various mobile platforms available on the market.

In 2011 we saw marketers start to capitalize on mobile technology by offering incentives to customers who used their smartphones to scan promotional codes or check-in their location at their business. We will still see this mobile approach to marketing in 2012, but we will also see more business executives using their tablets as high-tech marketing brochures. Mobile devices allow the traveling salesperson to bring and showcase their portfolio, quickly pull up reports, or process a credit card payment instantly and all on one device.

Flash will become extinct.

Flash was once very popular for web designers, but it has slowly lost momentum. In 2012, flash will likely lose all or most of its momentum. CSS3 and HTML5 have come into the picture and offer faster loading, interactivity for users, and is simply better than Flash for mobile devices.

HTML5 has taken over most of the actions that Flash could do. HTML5 will greatly influence internet marketing in 2012 because it can create really rich and interesting typography, graphics and video which combined can create a dynamic marketing website that compels the viewer to stay on the site longer or make a purchase.

This is a far-fetched idea of course. The internet isn’t a car engine that can just be switched off with a key. It is a flexible network of networks of more networks. Even if a section of the internet were to go offline in the wake of a natural disaster, other sections would remain functional.

But for posterity’s sake let’s consider the idea of a world completely without internet for a day.
There is no doubt that as the internet has grown, so has our dependence upon it. How many of you used the internet in some capacity this morning? To place an online lunch order, RSVP to an event tonight posted on Facebook, play music on Pandora, or pay for your Starbucks coffee with a credit card?

The internet is more far reaching than just personal use. Businesses use websites and online advertising to sell their products and services. They also depend on the internet for internal communication: email, instant messaging, voice over IP services (conference calls), and credit card processing.

So what would happen if the internet stopped working?

Companies that would be obsolete without internet access:

• Amazon
• Craigslist
• Ebay
• Facebook
• Foursquare
• Flickr
• Google
• Hulu
• PayPal
• Xbox Live
• YouTube

Many services that we take for granted on a daily basis would be disrupted for a while until we reverted back to pre-internet methods of performing tasks.

Services that would be disrupted:

• Banking
• Credit and debit card purchases
• FedEx (tracking packages)
• Monitoring systems (from oil drills, to nanny cams)
• Netflix online streaming
• Online bill pay
• Web-based educational courses

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Our modern lives are more entwined and dependent on the internet than we can possibly count. What are some other key services and daily activities you can think of that would be disrupted in a world without internet?

This analogy could be used with any number of other professions other than auto repair; attorney, family dentist, accountant, dog sitter, realtor – whatever, they are all relationships you would build and forge with trust. The same trust is necessary from your SEO agency.

Mechanics (and SEO’s) sometimes get a bad rap because even if you find one you know and trust, they charge handsomely for their time and expertise. What you may not consider is to keep up with how to fix newer cars with newer technology, costs are considerably expensive.  Take for instance, the amount of time it takes to replace your timing belt and the cost of the tools to do it correctly. It takes an average minimum 4 hours to remove everything in the way of the belt, replace it, and put everything back properly. Depending on your make and model, the necessary tools can cost about $8,000 just for the basics. Finding a mechanic that you know and trust is crucial to your vehicle’s value, performance and most importantly – your safety. Consider the same when you shop for an internet marketing agency.

Unsolicited phone calls and emails from SEO companies are usually not a trustworthy folks to hire. Would you agree to pay a mechanic a monthly fee to make sure your tires stay on and your doors close? That is essentially what you’d be getting if you buy into an internet marketing agency that comes to you.

Let’s say you choose to go with the dealership mechanic because you trust the salesman that sold you the car. What you may not know is that the service department is run separately from the sales floor and the management is a bit crooked. What I’m getting at is just because the company that made your website did an outstanding job at designing it, may not be the best at getting you traffic. This can be true even if you do trust them.

Much like your relationship with your mechanic, as you get to know your SEO provider, you should start to learn what his time and expertise is worth. You can do this by what data they show you and if your conversions have increased. It’s a lot like the mechanic giving you back the old parts as proof of a job being done. Even better, my mechanic actually shows me what he’s doing and makes sure I’m aware of the options for band-aids if my budget is low. He always suggests I take his advice and go with the best solutions to ensure my car runs at peak performance and is optimally safe. I hope your mechanic  or internet marketing agency does the same for you.

• The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers.
• The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
• They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo.
• You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
• Because they change things. They push the human race forward.
• And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
• Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who DO!

Steve Jobs certainly was a “Crazy One”.

Recently, I found myself in my local Barnes and Noble looking for something new to read. As I normally lean toward the non-fiction, biographical type read, I found Walter Isaacson’s work on Steve Jobs. I have read several other books by Isaacson and considering Mr. Jobs had recently passed it seemed like a good choice.

I have always been intrigued by the stories of successful entrepreneurs. I enjoy their stories demonstrating their above average efforts and relentless focus and desire. As I would soon learn, Steve Jobs embodied these characteristics t more than the average business superstar.

I own an iPod and an iPad so naturally I felt that I was part of the Apple movement. Isaacson’s wonderfully written biography on Steve Jobs takes the reader on an exciting journey from Apple’s humble beginnings in a small garage, to near world domination! – sinister laugh

If you enjoy the entrepreneurial aspect of such stories, you’ll appreciate the thorough research Isaacson performed in order to detail the intricacies in creating the Apple logo, the obsessiveness demonstrated during the creation of the first Apple ad campaigns, and even the complexities regarding the packaging of the Apple products. Steve Jobs obsessed about details that few, if any, other people would have given much thought to. I found the details in this book to be quite exciting and gave me a deeper appreciation for the “Apple Way”.

If you are the type of person who simply enjoys reading books about successful people, again this is the book for you. Walter Isaacson’s research over the course of several years has allowed him to paint a detailed and personal portrait of Steve Jobs, the man, the leader, the odd-ball. Before passing away, Steve Jobs asked Isaacson to write his biography, but with one exception; that Isaacson not allow Jobs to read any of the book before its release so as to not distort the reality that was his life. Isaacson agreed.

The book details Job’s affinity for perfection through Zen, Buddhism and vegetarianism—his aversion to wearing shoes or socks, or showering more than once a week—his minimalism regarding the furnishings of his own mansion. Isaacson’s book does an excellent job detailing the often crude and harsh style of communication Jobs exhibited toward his employees, vendors, competitors and even close friends and family. Actually this was probably the most revealing aspect of the book; Steve Jobs was a very mean person to a majority of the people he dealt with throughout his life.

In all, this biography has become my favorite. The book is filled with stories about Bill Gates, President Clinton (and Monica Lewinski), world travel, Pixar and Disney business relationships, and much more. This would make a great Christmas gift for many people on your list this year!

Here’s to the crazy ones…

You know the profile – bring your dogs to work! On-site massages! Nap Times in the Napping Room! Foosball and Paintball and kick ball, oh my! Giant slides in place of stairs, and bouncy houses, for, well, I dunno…

As the Sales Manager at TheeDesign Studio, I believe this begs the question:

Who are you hiring to bring your dream project to life?

It’s an extremely legitimate question, as you shop the various full-service internet marketing sites throughout the Raleigh, Durham, Cary area. After all, you are preparing to potentially invest tens of thousands of dollars with a partner – and you only have one shot to get it right.

So, will you be drawn to a company whose main goal seems to be appeasing and pleasing their employees? Or a professional firm that has its eyes set on the real prize? You.

At TheeDesign Studio, we have fun. We have a close team of professionals who know their role and support one another as we put our respective expertise to work constructing our client’s dreams. We’re cool. And we don’t need to be coddled, entertained or enticed into working today.

Making your project come to life is our bouncy house. That’s more than enough for us… and beats a bouncy house or air hockey any day.

We wouldn’t be such a successful Raleigh web design and internet marketing company without you. You are our friends, clients, and social networking lifeline.

The past year has been fun. We created a ton of new websites, added more awesome developers, web designers and SEO experts to our team, and expanded our network of clients and partners.

We have big plans for 2012 and would love to share them with you. Sign up for our newsletter, join the conversation on Twitter, or keep up with our antics on Facebook.

Have a joyful New Year!

Cheers,

All of us at TheeDesign Studio

Managing a business website is now easier than ever with the availability of open source Content Management Systems (CMS). A CMS allows a business owner to update and edit their website’s content without advanced webmaster or programming skills.

A good CMS helps you:

• keep your website well organized
• reduce site maintenance costs
• generate and manage sales leads

WordPress is a very popular blog posting platform. But what many people don’t know is that it is also an excellent open source CMS. Here at TheeDesign Studio, we use WordPress to design and build websites for our clients. Our designers and developers customize the CMS to fit each client’s needs and design preferences.

A few of the top reasons why we believe WordPress is the best open source CMS of 2011:

• Supportive global community.

Since WordPress is so widely used, there is an abundance of tutorials and help forums available to find any and all information a developer could possibly need in customizing the CMS.

• Easy content editing.

Once the design and development are done, our clients love the user-friendly CMS platform that allows them to update their content, post blogs or company news, or update contact information.

• Search engine friendliness.

WordPress makes it easy to optimize websites for search engine results. That means your site is more likely to land on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing results when someone is searching for your keywords.

• Sales lead management.

We design websites are not just pretty, but are powerful marketing tools. WordPress is great for keeping track of your internet leads coming from your website and submitting information on your website contact form.

Many of us at TheeDesign Studio are from elsewhere; California, New York, Kansas, Connecticut, Michigan and even Hungary. We all agree that this is the one of the strongest economies in the country and an excellent place to raise a family.

Personally, I have lived all over the country and can say that there’s no place quite like NC. I like being able to drive for a couple of hours East to some of the most beautiful beaches the Atlantic Coast has to offer or drive a couple of hours West of here and let my kids experience natural wonders of the Appalachian Mountains.

The folks at NC Headlines agree with us and they created this awesome infographic that displays some of the best features North Carolina offers it’s residents and tourists. From the Hatteras Lighthouse to the Biltmore Estate to The Birthplace of NASCAR in Hickory, North Carolina is just about the best place to live and work.

Our marketing and web design team here in Raleigh is working hard filling your website and internet presence with holiday cheer (and search engine friendly keywords). But sometimes even hard working elves need to take a break and share a laugh…

Internet marketing efforts can fall into two holiday categories: Naughty and Nice. Here are a couple examples of both to help you assess, is your marketing Naughty or Nice?

Naughty List

• Boring Content

If you aren’t keeping your website and social media content fresh and interesting, you are wasting your time. A common marketing mistake for businesses is that they believe they should talk only about themselves and their achievements. This might be interesting to you and your staff, but can be boring to your audience.

It is more valuable to your marketing efforts if you can tell your audience what you can offer them. How you can make their lives better or easier. Useful or entertaining information is much more interesting than self promotion.

• Christmas Spam

A holiday ham can be tasty, but spam is a different story. No one likes spam messages regardless of the time of year. However many businesses abuse the holidays as an excuse to send excessive amounts of email promotions. Being too pushy or spamming with your internet marketing can have the opposite effect of what you intended, as your would-be consumers start to opt-out of your messages or blacklist you as a spammer.

Nice List

• Holiday Keywords

The holidays are a great opportunity for marketing your products or services as gift items. Including keywords like “Christmas” or “Gift” can help your target consumers find your products easier as they are searching for the perfect gift items for loved ones. If you are a bakery for example, you could add the keywords “Christmas cupcakes for holiday parties” or “gifts for bakers.”

• Spreading Social Cheer

Wish your Facebook fans a Merry Christmas. Take some time out of your busy day and write personal thank you messages to clients on their Facebook wall. Make someone smile for the simple joy that it brings. People trust brands with good intentions and respond well to messages that don’t have an alternative or hidden agenda.