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

$10,000 contest is over! Get ready for our next one...

Our $10,000 video contest has come to an end. We would like to congratulate Thanks to my viewers for winning the contest with his video sending out a big thanks to his fan base. Complimenting Strangers came in second, Thank you Prairie! came in third, St. Albert the Great Compliments was fourth, and GNCS eCompliment rounded off the top five. We know all of the top vote getters worked hard at spreading the word about their video and sharing the good.

There were all kinds of submissions. We saw videos that went from one spectrum to the other. Both funny and serious; from professional quality to webcam, from a rap song to a commercial spiff to song and dance.

To everyone who submitted a video we say Thank You! for helping us share the good.

We will be running another video contest in January. We are making a few changes to the contest. There will be awards given to the top 3 videos instead of just one grand prize. Some of the new rules we are considering include having the ecompliments website URL on the video longer, stricter requirements on the complimenting nature of the video, and utilizing a panel to select the winning videos from the top vote getters.

Please email us with your suggestions about how we can improve our video contest.

Just 2 weeks remaining to our $10,000 video contest

There are just 14 days remaining to our $10,000 eCompliment video contest. There have been several new entries and the competition is heating up. Complimenting Strangers remains #1 but St. Albert’s is nipping at the heels.

This last week we have seen the addition of new videos such as You’re my #1, Calvary Christian School, Man who lives life through rose colored glasses, and Thank you Prairie!

Each day one spot gets removed from the leader board until there is only one left standing on October 1^st. The videos that have survived the cut have accumulated about 50,000 views.

We applaud the creativity and optimistic activism of those who have submitted videos. Good luck to all of our entries and we look forward to watching the new videos submitted.

A lot can happen in 2 weeks.

Share the good!

Utilizing keywords is one key to SEO

Continuing in the vein of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is helpful to understand how exactly a search engine “chooses” the results it does, which plays greatly in the overall ranking order. Delving slightly below the surface, each search engine is developed to various specifications, creating a unique algorithm. Though the programming and specifics of each algorithm is truly one of a kind, at its essence, they're all looking for the same thing: Relevance.

Utilizing the Keyword Feature on YOUR eCompliments Profile

When you begin to build out your eCompliments profile, one of the first things you'll notice is the opportunity to list keywords under your “Listing Info. Summary.” After filling out all pertinent, business-related information, utilizing the keyword feature is one of the best ways to begin the SEO process for your eCompliments profile. The keywords you choose should be relevant and robust – imagine if you were searching for something online.

As an example, let's use a fictional Japanese Restaurant in Juneau, Alaska called “Bob's Japanese Joint”: The following would be a great list of keywords for the business – separating all words/phrases with commas:

Bob's Japanese Joint, Juneau, Bob's, Alaska, bobs Japanese joint, Japanese restaurant, food, appetizers, Japanese food, Chinese food, sushi, teriyaki chicken, teriaki, best Juneau restaurants, tempura, Japanese steakhouse, Asian cuisine, Asian food, Japanese beer, oriental food, lunch specials, miso soup, hot sake, sushi bar

Be sure to include common misspellings.

Keyword Rich Content – Another Key to Search Engine Optimization

As mentioned in the blog entitled, S-E-What?, original content is part of the effort in maximizing SEO. Relevant content is exactly what you want to present to the public and to the search engine spiders, which are “crawling around,” trying to help the “seeker.” You can greatly assist the spiders by offering robust keywords, which boldly state the relevance of your profile. With a Professional Profile on eCompliments, you'll enjoy the ability to create fresh, original content. Consider the example business from above - relevant keywords in bold:

Bob's Japanese Joint in Juneau, Alaska, is no ordinary Japanese restaurant. We are proud to present an artistic display of the finest sushi in the state of Alaska, prepared by our world-class sushi chefs at our one-of-a-kind sushi bar. At Bob's Japanese Joint, we offer a full service menu that includes Japanese food favorites such as Chicken Teriyaki, tempura appetizers and entrees, as well as many other Asian cuisine specialties. Our Monday – Friday Happy Hour includes half-price sushi, discounted appetizers and daily specials on Japanese beers and hot sake. Stop by, say hello, and enjoy the atmosphere at Bob's Japanese Joint - Juneau, Alaska's best Japanese and sushi restaurant.

Posted by James Sheldon, Regional Director

S-E-WHAT?

Welcome to the 21^st Century folks, where small businesses will struggle to thrive without SEO, and yet most businesses cannot tell you what SEO actually means.

SEO firms have become one of the fastest growing entities in the realm of online marketing and functionality. The Internet, thriving on the function of the word “algorithm,” was made far more efficient and effective through site optimization. As business owner, you may not get this, and you may not really care to understand it; however, if you hope to continuously grow and thrive, and perhaps even survive, it’s time to get up to speed on a few basics!

In terms of a website and all online presence, it needs to be well optimized (done from the programming end), and it needs FRESH, ORIGINAL content to drum up successful and consistent search results.

As a business owner, what makes you believe that your little corner of web space is enough to draw “Joe Public” product seeker into your business? If your website isn't properly optimized, and doesn't offer fresh, original content on a regular basis, it might as well be a poster on your business wall... the only people who are seeing it will be your existing customer base. A static web site will collect dust and become antiquated, just as other once-proud possessions sit and collect dust in the attic or basement.

The good news is you are a short distance from owning a huge edge over your competition by simply working your eCompliments profile. Though a little effort, it can become the ambassador for your business and/or your business website.

By utilizing their eCompliments profile, many businesses are getting their eCompliments result to come up on the first page of search engine results. If online reputation management and new business is important to you, and I know it is, then this is the easiest and most effective tool you can be using right now.

eCompliments provides the space for your customers to create fresh and original content for you. This diminishes the need for having to hire or rely on a webmaster or an SEO firm that can cost THOUSANDS!

You can and should ask (and yes, you'll actually need to ask) your customers to share the good about your business! Request our eCompliments “Share the Good” sticker badges to put at your physical location. Or, if you have a virtual based business get your eCompliments digital badge for your website. Even if only small percentage of customers follow through, you will have significantly increased your profile optimization. It's a numbers game for you, as it is for everyone in any line of work.

eCompliments can give you the exact kind of positive word of mouth traffic that will increase revenues. In the digital world, the only thing worse than not having a website is having an outdated static one.

Your Pro profile on eCompliments.com gives your business an online presence that has fresh and relevant content (and the right key words), which serves as a powerful marketing tool to drive NEW customers to you.

When even a few customers share the good about you on your profile it does a lot of good for your search engine optimization!

By James Sheldon, eCompliments Regional Director

eCompliments Launches Affiliate Program

eCompliments Launches Affiliate Program

This week marked the launch of our anticipated eCompliments Affiliate Program (ECAP)! We are excited that now more people can benefit from sharing the good.

What is ECAP, you ask? It’s a program where people or websites can be official affiliates of our site and receive a one-time $75 referral fee for each person/business they help upgrade to a Pro Package. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

There is no limit for referral fees.

It's real simple.

Here's how it works:

1. Apply on our website right HERE.

2. Once approved you will be given a personal code to use to give to your friends, family, contacts and acquaintances. If they use the code when they are upgrading their profile, then you get the referral fee.

3. If you have a website, you can put the eCompliments banner on your site with a special link to our site. If anyone follows that site and upgrades to a Pro Profile, then you will get the same referral fee.

I know some of you might be asking, “Why would you have an affiliate program?” or “Why should I be an affiliate?” The answer is going to sound cliché, but it is the absolute truth and it reminds me of that line in the movie Jerry Maguire, where he tells his client “help me help you.”

Seriously, we want to give you a little extra cash for doing something you are already doing. You already know small business owners in your community, right? Some are friends & family, right? Why wouldn’t you encourage them to enhance their business’ online reputation and upgrade to the Pro Package? When they do, they will get all of the benefits our Pro Package gives to small businesses.

There are many benefits a business receives from upgrading to the Pro version. You will be helping them increase traffic, drive positive word of mouth and ultimately increase their bottom line. It truly is a win-win situation for everyone involved. The small business owner is happy because you’ve told them about a fantastic tool their customers can use to share the good about their business. You are happy because you’ve got some extra money to pay that nagging credit card bill, buy those back to school clothes or simply put in your savings account!

Sign up to be an Affiliate today and start helping those small business owners you know! In today’s world, with bad news all around, it’s always refreshing to receive a compliment or even better, to let a business know that you have given them a compliment!

Posted by Trey Tipton, VP of Operations

Become a Facebook Fan!

eCompliments is growing our Facebook presence through our business page and Facebook Connect. I encourage you to visit our page on Facebook and become a fan of eCompliments at http://www.facebook.com/ecompliments. We update our wall frequently and encourage your comments.

After you become a fan we encourage you to send a request to your Facebook friends asking that they become a fan too. Join the share the good movement and encourage others to be optimist activists!

If you have a Facebook account then use the Facebook Connect button on our home page. Facebook users now have instant access to eCompliments without having to create a separate profile and log in. Share the good about any person, place, or thing on eCompliments and have the profile and your comments post on your wall. This way your friends can see who, what and where you’re sharing the good about.

$10,000 video contest is half way over

The eCompliments’ $10,000 YouTube Video Contest has reached it’s half way point. The quarter long contest started on July 1st and ends September 30th. The video compliment which receives the most votes wins $10,000.

There have been all kinds of entries so far accumulating about 20,000 views. Several new entries last week are making a run at the top spot. Recently, David Lehre’s eCompliments commercial, who had been sitting at number one for weeks, was overtaken by Great Neck Community School eCompliment. GNCS is actively sharing the good about their school and this contest.

I love you, Ruth and Haven Horse Ranch just posted last week and have already shot up to #3 and #4.

Will David Lehre return to the top? Will the parents, alumni and community of Great Neck keep GNCS at #1? Will eCompliments Rap rally? Will a new video be posted that steals everyone’s thunder?

It’s now less than 6 weeks until we hand someone $10,000. Who will it be?

eCompliments now has Facebook Connect

eCompliments has just rolled out Facebook Connect.

If you have a Facebook account then you no longer need to create a separate profile on eCompliments. Just hit the Facebook Connect button on the lower right hand of the home page and you can log in using your FB profile.

When you post compliments or reviews on any person, place or thing it will post simultaneously on the eCompliments website and your FB wall. This way your friends can see what you are sharing the good about and check it out as well.

Share the good through eCompliments on Facebook Connect!

Share the Good Professional Party in Jacksonville, FL

eCompliments enjoyed our first “Share the Good” party in Jacksonville, FL this week, hosted by our very own Jacksonville Community Manager Susan Woeppel. Business owners and professionals were invited to an absolutely beautiful venue on conservation property with floor to ceiling windows provided by Digital Video Arts.

We enjoyed wonderful foods like hummus, caviar pie (that was to die for!), assorted cheeses, crackers, yummy fresh fruits, bountiful cabernet and pinot grigio wines and a pleasing mix of musical tunes. It was a great social gathering for these local small businesses to get to know each other and find out how they could benefit from utilizing eCompliments and our Professional tools to help them spread POSITIVE word of mouth about their business…..right now!

As the Regional Director for Florida here at eCompliments I had the privilege of driving over from Tampa to partake in Sharing the Good! It was a great opportunity to get to know Jacksonville and the wonderful businesses in the community. The enthusiasm over what eCompliments could do for them and their community was just awesome! By upgrading to our professional version they could easily develop a strategy on building closer relationships with their customers, provide a way for their customers to share the good about them (rather than just hope they are spreading the word), establish a positive online presence and manage their online reputations…..no wonder I saw happy faces!

It made me feel great that I could work for a company that could really help small businesses not just here but in every town across the United States, accomplish the same, for such an inexpensive price! Talk about ROI! Even more fabulous, was to witness these small business owners and professionals see the greatness in coming together to Share the Good and utilize each other’s services to keep the community thriving. Why not have the wine store use the account in Jacksonville that is part of eCompliments, and the account use the massage therapist, and the therapist use the print shop and the print shop buy wine from the wine store, etc. Sharing the Good seems to be coming full circle in this community…..who’s next?

I wanted to thank Susan for hosting such fab event….she even sent people home with a goodie bag of truffles she made herself. Yummy Susan! Also gratis to Digital Video Arts (DVA) of Jacksonville for providing a place for us to share in the Good Times and Share the Good! And an additional gratis to Gloria from DVA for helping Susan with the preparations and making the out of this world caviar pie. One final shout out to Tropical Wines for providing such tasty wines for the evening!

Posted by
Angelica Michaels
Regional Director

Empower your customers to proactively share the good about your business

For most small business owners customer referrals are the most prized of all new customer sales to have. To know that a customer purchased from you, because he or she was referred by another, validates your business. For your customers to refer your business you must be doing something right.

The great thing about your customers referring your business to their friends, family and associates is it is the most powerful and effective advertising there is. There isn’t any amount of advertising you can buy that will impact a person coming to your business more than a heartfelt referral from someone they trust.

Any business owner knows the power of positive word of mouth and every business owner wants it. Owners will strive to provide the best product, or service, or value, or all of the above to get it. They will often bend their policies and bend over backwards for their customers to make sure they have the best possible experience.

If your like most business owners you hope that your customers will remember to refer you to someone they know if what you sell or do happens to come up in a conversation they are having. This is how it has always been. Do good by your customers and someday when the topic comes up they hopefully will tell someone else about your business.

But if customer referrals are so important, and for many businesses essential to your very survival, then shouldn’t you be actually equipping your customers with the tools to proactively refer you? How are you empowering them to actively share the good about your business?

The eCompliments Pro for business owners gives you such tools. What would it do for your business if your happiest customers started actively referring you to everyone they know starting today? How much would it impact your bottom line if you actually empowered your customers to refer you to everyone they know well instead of just hoping they will if the topic comes up?

If your business is listed in the yellow pages then you likely already have a profile on the eCompliments website. If not, it takes just a moment to add your business. It’s completely free unless you want to upgrade to our Pro version. Check out the ReferNow! and the MyFavorites features your profile has on eCompliments. Both equip your customers to actively refer your business.

Use the tools at eCompliments to turn your happy customers into a proactive referring word of mouth spreading volunteer army. It’s good business to help customers share the good about your business!

Benjamin Franklin says, “Share the good!"

Benjamin Franklin believed in the importance to do and share the good. In fact, he had two primary questions he asked himself each day. The first was his morning question. He asked himself, “What good should I do this day?”

What a great question to start your day off with. It brought him clarity of purpose and reminded him daily what was important to him, doing good.

The second was his evening question. He asked himself, “What good have I done today?” He ended each day reflecting on the good he did each day. You know sometimes he thought he could have done more (he was human like the rest of us). I also can imagine him smiling when he reflected on the good he had done on a daily basis as well.

Of course Benjamin Franklin did a lot of good and was an American pioneer in sharing the good. He was such an optimist and positive thinking person I can just imagine what a man of his capacity thought about each morning and each evening when he asked himself these questions.

There is no doubt Franklin reflected on What good should I do this day? and What good have I done today? when he was thinking about the good history remembers him for. Things like being a Founder of the United States of America, his writings, his inventions, his politicking and diplomating (yes I took literary liberty with this word). I doubt if anyone reading this needs a history lesson of all of the good Franklin contributed to not only America but mankind.

What is interesting to me however reading through his autobiography (photo is excerpt of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, published in 1793, page 40) is when you get the insight of who Franklin was as a man it gives deeper insight to the two questions he posed to himself each day. Franklin believed in doing good, in sharing good, in the little things as well. He saw and focused on the good in his relationships, friendships, and life’s simple pleasures.

I encourage each of us to follow Franklin’s example in starting and ending each day with asking ourselves the same two questions:
What good shall I do this day?
What good have I done today?

eCompliments is helping churches with social media dilemma

eCompliments Is Helping Churches With Social Media Dilemma

Press Release 7/28/09

Colorado Springs, CO—In today’s world, it’s no longer a question of if a local place of worship wants an online presence or not. Rather, it’s now a question of how they choose to manage the presence they already have.

Any local church, synagogue, or mosque in the yellow pages now also has a profile on at least one online review site such as eCompliments, Yelp!, CitySearch, and others. Online review and social networking sites are rapidly gaining in popularity. The Internet is pulling all places of worship into the digital social arena, although sometimes, kicking and screaming.

While some forward thinking churches have embraced and utilized the Internet, many others have resisted having an online presence. Most don’t have current and relevant websites. Even fewer have embraced online social networking. The dilemma is of course, their members have.

According to a recent Nielsen study, 90% of American’s look to personal referrals and 70% trust online review opinions when making consumer decisions.

eCompliments has over 400,000 worship centers in their database. eCompliments is an online review and referral forum whose mission is to be the world’s forum to share the good. Unlike other national reviews sites, eCompliments is family friendly in that they don’t allow sexual content/businesses or profanity.

“We offer a central depository for testimonials, references and compliments. We help empower local places of worship to be more relevant in the lives of their current members while simultaneously reaching new people in their community,”
says Trey Tipton, VP of Operations for eCompliments.

Profiles on eCompliments can be customized with pictures, service times, upcoming activities, and other up to date information. The cultural and the philosophical nature can be shared. Content can be updated easily and often. PDF files of bulletins, programs, or anything else can be uploaded.

Certain review sites can be an effective outreach tool. Members can post why other people, especially those new to the area, should visit a local center. Sites like eCompliments gives members a proactive tool for sharing the good about their local place of worship with others.

“It’s an easy, non-obtrusive way for people to tell others about your place of worship. If properly utilized it can dramatically and immediately increase the word-of-mouth,” adds Tipton.

To learn more about eCompliments visit our website.

Using eCompliments as your online presence

Today’s business owners are constantly bombarded by talk of the new rules of marketing. You can’t turn on the TV without hearing about Twitter or Facebook and you can’t research a product without seeing a review from Amazon. Most business owners are not marketers and struggle to find ways to promote their business. Do you hire someone to build a website? Do you get a Twitter account and start tweeting? Do you create a Facebook account and join a group? Just where do you start?

If you own a business but haven’t set up a website, eCompliments offers you a way to create an online presence without having to spend hours on research or learning to use new software. You can start slowly just by creating a simple profile or quickly ramp up a whole campaign using the tools provided by eCompliments. Your profile will allow you to provide your location, contact info, and a picture or logo. In addition, you will be able to add the eCompliments logo link to your email signature, send messages to those commenting on your business and create a list of keywords that a person searching for your type of service would use.

The Pro Version give you access to even more incredible tools. You’ll be able to add more pictures giving viewers a broader feel for your business visually. Textboxes let you can tell visitors about your business or current happenings. You can feature white papers, coupons, flyers, or anything that can be printed out. And an invaluable tool for a business that does not have a website is the vanity URL. With a vanity URL, you can choose to use your business name or a product, category, or industry. For example, if you were a Real Estate Agent in Miami, Florida, you could use the URL www.ecompliments.com/FL/MiamiRealEstate. Then when someone searches for real estate in Miami, your company will come up high on the search results – have the most compliments and you will come up on top.

You will also have access to features like Compliment Accelerator which provides you with a vehicle to send emails and get your list of compliments started. The Compliment Responder notifies you every time you receive a new comment. Quickly responding to new comment will let them know you are interested in what they have to say. You can create custom surveys to ask your customers questions about anything - your policies, store hours, product line, or events. The Compliment Magnifier lets you choose the compliment you feel best represents your business and places it at the top of the results. And the Complaint Resolution Solutions allows you to respond to any concerns and resolve issues quickly and openly.

All of the tools eCompliments provides to business owners give you the ability to connect with your customers in numerous ways. We want you to successfully use all of them and maximize each one to grow your client base, sales, and ultimately, profits. So explore each feature to learn more about using that tool.

Submitted by Joanne Hall
Community Manager
eCompliments