Reviews help customers make decisions on where to stay, what to do or what to buy.

You work hard at providing an excellent customer experience resulting in positive reviews on sites such as Tripadvisor, Facebook, Google, Yelp etc. But every now and then, you may get a negative review. Some are fair, and these provide you with an opportunity to improve aspects of your business. And some are unfair.

No matter what they are, you need to write a response. It provides you with an opportunity to explain what happened and apologise, and it shows your professionalism and that you care.

I have talked with many operators about their occasional bad review. It’s human nature to focus on these, even if the majority of your reviews are raving! 

So, my first piece of advice is: keep the negative reviews in perspective. How many good reviews do you have compared to the bad ones? Don’t take it too personal and don’t dwell on them.

OK, now you need to respond to that negative review. Here are 5 tips to help you do it.

1. Keep it short. Potential customers that read your reviews are likely to read the good ones and the bad ones to get a balanced view of your business. So, keep the response short as no one has time to read a really long response.
2. Apologise. Whether they are right or wrong, apologising to the customer is always appreciated. 
3. Keep it professional. Respond to each of the points and explain what happened. Don’t take on an emotional, accusative or aggressive tone (believe me, these responses are out there! Not a good look!) Be authentic and highlight the positive aspects of your business. 
4. Never offer a refund or other compensation in the online response. Unfortunately, some people make it a sport to complain and get refunds. (you can click on the person who wrote the review and read their other reviews – this can give you an indication). Get the writer of the bad review to contact you directly to discuss the matter further offline or contact them yourself if you still have their contact details.
5. Personalise the reply. Recently, I saw an operator who had a standard identical reply to similar complaints. Do change the text so it’s more personalised.

Final tip: Have a complaints procedure in place so it’s easy to respond. Ensure your staff is empowered to do this too to solve issues quickly and on the spot.

User-generated content is hugely powerful. It's when customers share photos and their experience about your business on social media. It's 'word-of-mouth marketing' and it's free! It works because it's much more credible when your customers say nice things about you than when you do it yourself.

So how can you make it easy for customers to share positive photos about your business or experience?

It's simple. Create a photo opportunity at your business location that people can't resist. It can be a funny board with a hole for their face (cheesy, I know, but people love them!). If you do this, ensure it has your business name, website address and hashtag so it's easy to share.

Another idea for a photo opportunity is a large 'prop' of some sort, something unique, cute, funny beautiful etc. I was at Houston, Texas yesterday and just had to take a pic of these huge cowboy boots (about 2m tall). What could you come up with for your business that people would want to take photos of?

Generate a simple, short hashtag that relates to your business. To encourage people to use your hashtag, you could start a competition and offer a prize for the best photo with that hashtag.

PS, have you checked out the new Tourism Business Success Programme yet? Click here for information about this exciting 9-month programme that will help you take your business from where you are now to where you want it to be! Only 10 spaces per location - registrations are now open!

Till next week, Marijke

Below is an excellent infographic with some great tips to help you design the perfect logo. 
Also, don't forget to research your competition so your logo doesn't resemble theirs! I see a lot of logos looking very similar, so do ensure yours is unique and different.

Innovative marketing ideas for your business
2017 is well underway and I hope you've had a chance to set some time aside to work on your business, or at least plan when you're going to do this.
Below is an infographic with some  innovative marketing ideas for 2017. Note the ones that apply to you in your marketing plan!

Till next week, Marijke

I found this interesting piece of research by AC Nielsen (a large global marketing research firm). They surveyed 30,000 millennials (age 21-34) and baby boomers (age 50-64) on their consumption behaviours.

If your clients fall in either the millennial or baby boomer category, then the infographic below will be of interest! Click on it to enlarge it, print it off and circle the information that applies to your business. Then decide how you can better serve these customers.

Till next week, Marijke