Using email to thank clients for their online compliments

Who do you know that doesn’t use email? Falling under the Generation X umbrella myself, my friends and I have been online for what seems like forever – now we can’t live without our Email, Internet, Blackberry/iPhone technology. However, we didn’t grow up with the technology like Generation Y (also known as the ‘Millennial Generation’ has. They can’t even recall a world before the internet!

What about the Baby Boomers generation (usually referred to ages 44-62)? It may have taken some time to come around but they have managed to jump on the band wagon (so to speak) as well. For me and the types of positions I have held since I was 18 (1993) I have utilized email and the internet as a must have to survive and be the best in my field. However, I have friends who really haven’t used the internet like I have. They didn’t have a job that forced them to be online and then didn’t have a computer at home until maybe a few years ago for personal use. But they all know how to and use their email.

One thing is for sure, no matter what generation you fall under EVERYONE uses email. When you go online, what is the first thing you typically do? That’s right, check your email. Even the newest of online users get their email setup before they do anything else.

So why is this important as a business owner? Well, as I have been posting my comments on social media and relationship marketing…it is crucial for businesses to build relationships with their customers. Getting people to visit your website can be a challenge. We are all busy. Your customers may really like your website and want to check it for specials, to see what’s new or for educational/informative purposes. Yet, they may fail to visit with all the other daily things going on in their lives. Still….they are never too busy to check email. Sending emails to your customers is a great way for you to interact with them, tell them about sales, or specials or other stuff you may be an expert in your field on and want to communicate out to them.

Part of eCompliments Relationship Marketing PRO profiles for businesses, are some great email tools to utilize. We allow you to send emails to people who have posted comments about your business even if you don’t have their email address. We don’t give out their email address to you but we provide a way for you to message and interact with them. Even when customers visit your website and like what they see….they still don’t know you and have no way to interact with you.

The hardest thing for most business owners is building trust and loyalty with their customer base. What’s more important than getting new customers all the time is actually getting the ones that shopped with you once, to keep coming back over and over again. You want them to share the good about your business too and get that word of mouth building within their circle of friends and family. This is hugely powerful. I don’t know about you but if I posted a great review for a salon I went to and then received an email notification from the salon owner thanking me and perhaps even giving me a discount on my next visit if I bring a friend, I would be pretty jazzed about that. What a nice thank you and acknowledgement!

There are some great ways to use our PRO profile and email is a big part of that. For less than $1 per day you can have this and up to 20 other powerful tools. Call or email us if you have questions. We have many great tools and ideas to get you started connecting with your customers and building those relationships.

Posted by Angelica Michaels

Getting the Word Out

Are you good at your job? Did you start your own business to fulfill a life long dream you had? No matter how good you are at your job or how much passion you have in your business, you need to get the word out so others know how great you are. Having third party referrals like your customers sharing the good about you is an ideal way to get business. Even if you have the best pastries in town, the most unique and varied stock of wine, are the best dentist that works great with kids and are the hardest working mortgage broker, customers won’t be beating down your door if they haven’t heard of you and don’t know where to find you.

Getting the word out is a must. Spreading the word about your great business online is even more crucial in this ever so connected world we live in. “Googling it” has replaced “getting the phone book”. There are more than 160 million searches performed on the internet daily, and 38 million people use search engines daily. So not only is getting the word out important but trying to do it with a minimized budget in this economy can be frustrating. eCompliments can be a great inexpensive solution for any professional or business owner. We give you the tools to give to your current customers who already love you to “share the good” about you online.

Review sites are very much mainstream these days. However, eCompliments is the only review site that is focused on the positive and let’s you truly get involved. It’s about giving you, the business owner, tools to get your customers involved. It’s also about you being proactive and asking them to get involved! If they already love shopping with you or working with you they will happily go to your profile on eCompliments and pay you a compliment. At eCompliments we can show you how easy this is. So how does all of this help you get the word out?

First let me give you some stats. In a recent Nielson Study Survey it showed that 70% of consumers trust consumer opinions posted online over all other advertising methods and that 90% trust positive word of mouth by people they know. So, by utilizing your eCompliments PRO profile and getting your customers involved you will increase your search engine optimization (SEO) – which basically helps your profile be found on the first few pages when people are searching online, help strengthen your brand and credibility, gain a competitive edge, enhance customer experience and increase customer loyalty, establish a web presence, and help you manage your online reputation.

Positive word of mouth gives you instant credibility. People think, if it's written it must be true. As more and more customers pay you compliments online you will become the place everyone wants to try or the person they want to work with. We are all busy these days, that’s why you need a simple, easy and inexpensive way to get with the times and help your business thrive in this economy.

Remember, word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing medium as shown in the Nielson survey. And now with the Internet where there are millions of daily searches performed it can start a viral marketing happening for those who are plugged in. It’s time to get involved.

Posted by Angelica Michaels

A Creative, Free but yet Meaningful Idea for Valentine’s Day!

In this economy there has been a lot of talk about what do to do for that special someone in your life on Valentines Day without breaking the bank. From one morning show to the next they talk about staying in and having a romantic dinner at home or drawing a bath for your sweetie with rose petals and wine. I even read on a website how one woman’s husband got a red can of spray paint and out in their pasture, he wrote his Valentine message to her. What a lovely gesture! To me, the old saying still holds true…”it’s the thought that counts”.

As simply put on Wikipedia; Valentine’s Day held on February 14 is celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. Valentine’s Day to me has never been about going out to the most expensive restaurant, or getting fabulous jewelry. I don’t know, I just never expected that. Yet, I never liked the cliché of getting flowers and candy either. To be honest, a beautiful heart felt card and the chance to spend quality time with my loved one is perfect for me.

However, after reading the story of the woman’s husband who spray painted his message of affection to her, I thought the most romantic thing that anyone can do is to publicly profess their love to their Valentine. But many of aren’t going to spray paint our lawns, and putting something in the newspaper still costs money and may be too late to do so this close to Valentine’s day anyway.

This is yet another example how eCompliments is so different than all the other review sites. We provide the platform for anyone to post a compliment to any one, person, place or thing, not just businesses or professionals. So why not this year, when you are thinking of what to do for your loved one, create a profile on our site for them and post a compliment telling them how wonderful they are, how much you love them and what they mean to you! It’s free!

Honestly, if I saw that my sweetheart did that for me, it would be much more meaningful than any bouquet of roses or box of chocolates. I may just have to send this blog post to my honey! (LOL)

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you from eCompliments, may it be as sweet as your heart.

Posted by Angelica Michales

Freedom of Speech

With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation. ~Edison Haines

We have great freedoms in the United States of America. The right to vote and to have a political opinion is our greatest freedom and one that was purchased for a heavy price. No other country in the history of mankind has influenced the way human beings govern themselves. Democracy certainly is not perfect but is comes closer than any other time-tested method of rule. Our right to have an opinion and to voice that opinion takes on the largest stage with our right to vote politically. We vote for the candidate that we feel represents our values and most importantly will uphold the office for which he or she is running with competence and integrity.

Today there seems to be a great deal of healthy debate. Issues from healthcare, military defense and economic growth and stability are the focus of much debate in Washington. Our responsibility as a registered voting citizen is to educate ourselves on the issues and voice our opinions and eventually cast a vote for our representatives that we feel will represent our values and beliefs the best. Like I mentioned earlier, it is not perfect. But we the people have a say in our future. If we have a politician in office that the majority of citizens don’t agree with there is a process through our vote to remove that politician. That is a power not shared by the average citizen of China, Venezuela, Cuba, or Russia. Having an opinion and being able to do something about that opinion is powerful.

Freedom of speech is a great citizen right that we have. That’s the great idea behind review sites such as eCompliments. You have the opportunity to cast your opinion (whatever it may be) about any person, business, place or thing. That includes politicians. Search our site for your favorite (or not so favorite) politician and practice your freedom of speech on the issues that are important to you in the day and age we are living in now.

~Angelica Michaels

Helping Realtors Spread ‘Positive’ Word of Mouth in 2010

Many say finding a good real estate agent is the key to enjoying a painless real estate experience. I have to say I totally agree. When I was a first time home buyer I didn’t think to ask anyone for a referral. The only real estate agent I knew was my own Mother. However, I was in Florida and she was in Las Vegas. So when I started working with the first realtor I was disappointed and frustrated. She really didn’t listen to what I wanted although she had asked me a million questions in the beginning of the process. I guess I just assumed everyone was like my Mom, who always worked hard to find her clients the house of their dreams.

After working with a second realtor I was complaining to my Mom and she said, “Don’t you have any friends that have purchased homes or sold their homes who could refer a realtor?” I was like, oh yeah. Of course I knew some friends. I had numerous friends that I could ask….and finally when I did I ended up with a great realtor. I had never even heard of the office she was working for but I soon realized it didn’t matter where they worked as long as they were working for me! She was wonderful and we even ended up becoming good friends. Most real estate agents stay in business because satisfied clients refer them to friends, family, and colleagues. You should ask those you know who they have worked with and what their experience was. As any great salesman, the most successful agents make customer satisfaction their top priority.

With social networking, relationship marketing and review sites being so prevalent these days, its imperative real estate agents and offices begin realizing that “word of mouth” is now being utilized online more than ever before. There are plenty of Web sites that will refer agents to you but that is no assurance of quality. Here at eCompliments it feels so good to know we have a platform to help realtors spread positive word of mouth about their business.

Just as any business on our site, when real estate agents or offices utilize our PRO package, they will get the tools to spread positive word of mouth about their business, help them be found through a Google search increasing their search engine optimization (SEO), use their happy customers as their volunteer sales team to “share the good” about them, manage their online reputation & create a positive web presence, increase their customer base, gain positive name credibility and develop strong customer experience, loyalty & feedback and last but not least, get customer analytics.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post on Relationship Management, traditional advertising is going to the wayside. eCompliments can help realtors gain the competitive advantage they need, all in one place.

Posted by Angelica Michaels

What is Relationship Marketing anyway?

Relationship Marketing is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns conducted during the 70’s and 80’s which emphasized customer retention and satisfaction rather than a dominant focus on point of sale transactions. In a nutshell, it is about keeping existing customers happy, rather than constantly focusing on attracting new customers. In fact, servicing and selling to existing customers is viewed as just as important to the long term success as attracting new customers.

In a recent white paper put out by Peppers & Rogers Group they found customers trust each other’s opinion far more than they trust a company’s brand. And in today’s climate, Social media makes it easier and far more convenient to access and act on those opinions. The principle is simple - if you treat your customers right; your customers will advocate your product/service to other people for you in a sense acting as your “partner” or “volunteer sales force” by potentially gaining new customers for you and spreading positive word of mouth.

Take a close look at some of your neighborhood businesses to see how well they are flourishing. Doubtless, everyone has cut back during these economic times. However, there might be another reason some businesses are surviving whiles others tank. In good times and bad savvy business people should have but one focus ---- their customer.

That is where eCompliments Pro comes into play as it provides Relationship Marketing tools to help businesses strengthen their brand and credibility, enhance their customers experience and loyalty, turn their customers into a volunteer sales force in spreading positive word of mouth about the and help increase SEO and their online web presence.

by Angelica Michaels

What’s your New Year’s Resolution this Year?

It’s 2010, can you believe it? With each New Year I find myself thinking “wow”, this is the year we are in? Where does the time go? I always love starting a new year however. If you had a fabulous 2009, cherish it and be thankful (and good for you!). If you had a bad year then now is the time to stop dwelling on the past and look into the future at all the new possibilities and opportunities that await us. So what’s your New Year’s resolution this year?

A common resolve you hear is “I’m going to start exercising” or “I’m going to loose weight”. I can tell you that getting a parking spot at my local gym the first few weeks of January can be a challenge…but come February it’s back to normal. Other popular resolves are, “I’m going to quit smoking, drinking, spend less or save more.” These are all great promises to make yourself but still a challenge to stick to for most of us. Of course we have good intentions but many of us soon fall off the wagon. I believe one of the reasons could be is that when you want to make changes in your life permanently but disguise it as a resolution it almost sets you up for failure. Losing weight, exercising or deciding to quit smoking are lifestyle changes that should be made if you are serious and committed to being healthier, right?

I was thinking why don’t people make resolutions that can make you feel good and make others feel good as well? Like, well….sharing the good! I find in my own life I am surrounded by negativity and pessimistic outlooks. But those that know me know I am the exact opposite of that. I wish I could just get everyone to be more positive! So I say it’s time to loose that Scrooge bah humbug attitude people! We are in a new year and can make it anything we want it to be! It’s my reasoning that being positive, nice and wanting to help those around me makes me feel good, make others feel good and thus results in being positive and having a happier life.

So when is the last time you complimented someone? Giving compliments is a great feeling, really it is, just try it and I think you’ll agree. It’s a win-win! You may be reading this thinking, “Hey, you work for eCompliments so it’s obvious to be talking about compliments”. But in actuality, all of us who are part of the eCompliments team had that positive, optimistic persona before we joined this organization. That’s why we wanted to work here. We have the belief we can change the world by “sharing the good”. Yet I don’t always find myself making a conscience decision to give compliments to people in person. So that is my New Year’s resolution this year; to compliment at least one person a day. How about you? I think you will be rewarded too if you give it a try. Share the Good! Happy New Year everyone!

Angelica Michaels