RETENTION: ONE-TO-ONE ONLINE MARKETING

The Ultimate Question

“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this company’s product or service to a friend or a colleague?”

Pioneered in 2003 by Fred Reichheld, author of The Ultimate Question, the NPS is a customer loyalty metric that predicts the likelihood of a customer repurchasing from you or referring your company to a friend.

Is this information actionable? We think so. Share with front line employees, set up benchmarks, target “promoters”, with friends & family offers, “passives” with discounts for additional services, etc. The ultimate objective is to convert customers who were less than happy or unimpressed into promoters who will then put the word out and allow for increased revenues and profits. These customer enthusiasts will buy more from the company they are satisfied with, they’ll need less customer service and will refer friends and relatives. Free positive publicity from a promoter helps improve overall customer satisfaction and could lead to higher company profits and growth.

This question is a barometer for how customers feel about your business and rates on a scale the likelihood of recommending the company or brand to a friend or colleague. The score from the responses to this question constitutes the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is an index that measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to others and/or take the time to say positive things about your company or brand. The score is used as a proxy for gauging the customer’s overall satisfaction with a company’s service, the customer’s loyalty to the brand, and can be a gauge to predict company growth. 

The Ostler Group offers a completely customizable online survey that incorporates the Net Promoter Score question, as well as access to a dedicated reporting dashboard for your stores.

The Ostler Group’s customer reminder program offers the following unique benefits:

• Custom Creative at the Franchise or Store Level
  
• Flexible Offers (including price point)
  
• Database Segmentation
  
• Dedicated Account Manager
  
• Quick Response Time
  
• Custom Reporting, including Campaign, Response, Financial/ROI & Customer Types
  
• Text Message Reminders
• Social Media Reminders
• Due Date Reminder for Online Calendar
  
  • Using .ics files, email reminders will give customers the option of adding a due date reminder to the online calendar of choice

• Window sticker reminder creative matches actual car window sticker info
• Check Chart integration for vehicle-specific manufacturer recommended services
• Actionable ROI Insights. Clients on The Ostler Group CRM program have access to a database reporting portal that enables them to quickly and easily run performance reports. These tools provide insights into Operations as well as promotions and ROI. 

Introducing TOG Local , a service designed to consolidate, track and manage location listings and customer online reviews on nearly 50 websites like Google, Bing, Yelp, Facebook and many other websites that feature location profiles and customer reviews (Foursquare, Yellow Pages, EZ Local, City Squares, Hot Frog, Brown Book and Merchant Circle, just to name a few).

 

Think of it as the only online reputation management tool you need! TOG Local consolidates and delivers reviews to your inbox in a single daily email. You’ll be able to monitor how your locations are performing across multiple online review sites and be able to respond directly to reviews from the daily email or through a dashboard log-in, which also allows for custom reporting. This way, you can make designated management aware of negative reviews needing follow-up and award locations for positive reviews.

Another benefit of TOG Local is location profile updates. Any changes, like updates to store hours or services, are instantly synchronized across a network of review sites. Consistent NAP listings (name, address, phone number) helps boost SEO.

TOG Local can also help you get additional reviews from customers after their visit. Ask your Account Representative for more detail.

The Ostler Group has been honing its paid SEM craft for over ten years. Our approaches are based on relevance to the customer. And they are very effective. Lean more about SEM Here >> 

Online review websites, like Yelp and Google Places, create a community where consumers go to provide and gather information on local businesses. The hope of all business owners is that the reviews on their page(s) will give potential customers faith that their experience will mirror that of Jane D. from Anytown, USA: “Great Service! Give these guys a try!”

Sadly, all too often the reviews on local business pages might read: “Terrible! Don’t go there!”

It might seem like a great idea, at first, to offer an incentive ($10 off your next oil change!) to customers in exchange for an online review on Yelp or Google. A step further is to offer a better incentive for positive reviews (you know, to push down those negative ones). Or, even just to ask
customers, mailing list subscribers, friends/family or anyone else to review your business.

Not so fast.

Online reviews are intended to be organic. Google, and especially Yelp, do not allow companies to give any sort of compensation for customers leaving online reviews. They go even further than outlawing compensation – they discourage businesses from asking their customers to write reviews, at all.

Here’s how to play by the rules when it comes to these review sites:

• Tell customers you’re on Google or Yelp – ask customers to “Find Us” but be careful not to ask them for a review.

• Display the branding of the online review site to all of your customers by using logos on signage, messaging on receipts, etc.

• Embed your favorite reviews on your website, share them on Facebook and Twitter, and link back to your locations’ page.

• Critical reviews can be an opportunity to build goodwill with your customers. Show customers you care by listening to them and responding to reviews. Customers often update their negative ratings if their issue has been resolved.

• Use a tool to aggregate and monitor reviews, keep NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) listings current and consistent.  

ESTABLISH REPEAT BUSINESS WITH A PRE-PAID LOYALTY PROGRAM

- Digital Interface (no coupons, punch cards or certificates)
- Vehicle Specific
- Customizable (number of oil changes, oil types, price)
- Compete with dealers and manufacturer maintenance packages
- Opportunity to increase ancillary services at each visit
A pre-paid loyalty program is a way to offer customers a
convenient way to pay for oil changes in advance, at a discount.

THE OSTLER GROUP

If presented properly, pre-paid loyalty programs can build relationships with customers that can
last for miles down the road. It’s this on-going relationship that should be emphasized in your
sales philosophy. Customer loyalty is the key to profitability. The reason is simple. It costs more to
acquire a new customer than to keep a current one.

Customer Retention is one the most important, and most perplexing, issues that businesses face. There are three basic rules to customer retention:

1. Put the customer first. View their experience through the customer’s eyes. Every touchpoint: the advertisement, the store visit and follow up messaging, should be reviewed (and modified if needed) in order to give customers what they need to have great experiences.

2. Develop a relationship with them. Developing long lasting relationships with customers is like hosting an enjoyable party. Guests are greeted warmly by name, personal connections are made, and most people leave happy. Although it is impossible to deliver flawlessly every time,
a consistent and authentic experience are what customers want the most.

3. Follow up in personalized and meaningful ways. It is critical to collect and verify accurate customer information on each and every visit. This enables the development of a relationship by customizing communication to a specific person. Accurate collection at the store level
(name, address, email, vehicle information and proper OCS input) will yield a more personal relationship with customers.

Immediately post-visit, thank you emails accompanied by experience surveys provide an opportunity to turn around an unfavorable experience. A consistent email campaign with useful information helps maintain top of mind awareness. Reminder Mail helps customers stay current on their maintenance. And Lapsed Mail will help re-engage customers that are severely past due for a visit.

Maintaining a customer-centric focus and personalizing communication will directly manifest itself in having guests return to the party more often. That’s something everyone will enjoy.

You might be losing customers even before they pay a single visit your store. These days, consumers
turn to popular online review sites, such as Google and Yelp, as they seek out new service providers.
Research shows correlations between online reviews, consumer trust and purchase intent. What a
potential customer reads online could send them running – either to your store, or to the competition.

8 Best Practices for Online Reputation Management (ORM)

1. Claim store addresses before someone else does. If you’re not there, someone else will be.
This could be a competitor or well-meaning employee.

2. Provide dissatisfied customers with outlets before they resort to social media. These include:
a. Having a Manager introduce themselves at the end of the service and ask, “How was your visit?”
b. Clearly posting Customer Service contact information in-store, on receipts and on business
cards for customers to take from point of sale.

3. Use all feedback – both positive and negative – to coach and counsel your team. Use actual
reviews to celebrate great work and discover areas that need extra attention.

4. Aim for perfect – but not too perfect. Negative reviews not only give you a chance to improve
operations, they also allow you to show that you care about your customers. Profiles that have
all 5-star ratings look fake.

5. Be consistent in your responses. Find a process that is sustainable for your organization.
You don’t have to respond to every positive review, but if that’s your business style, go for it.

6. Keep responses short and respectful. It’s essential to respond immediately to negative reviews
(usually three stars or less). Responses to negative reviews are as much for the prospective customer
as they are for the one who posted the original review.

7. Thinking about providing incentives to customers or employees to post positive reviews?
Not so fast: Yelp and Google have advanced algorithms that detect fake reviews. It’s also unethical to “buy” positive reviews.

8.  Make sure that all NAPs (Name, Address and Phone Numbers) are formatted correctly and consistently across all platforms. all NAPs (Name, Address and Phone Numbers) are formatted correctly and consistently across all platforms. 

Read this before you make your next move on social media>>

THE OSTLER GROUP

Reputation Management has become a critical responsibility for businesses in every sector. This blend of public relations, marketing and customer service entails the monitoring of online reviews and following best practices in the interest of maintaining or improving the public image of the brand. The Ostler Group offers a wide range of Reputation Management services that are administered by real humans – not robots. We can tailor a program to match your specific business needs and style, while also providing tools that will help improve your operations. In addition to helping you claim your location listings, we can also set up a program to monitor your profiles for reviews and, when appropriate, respond to a review. Monitoring and responding to reviews helps to stop, fix, and prevent PR disasters, as well as protect and promote your brand.

A solid marketing plan helps attract and retain customers. Why not leverage similar strategies when it comes to recruiting employees?