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Newsletter Archive

How social preferences have changed

August 3, 2021

How social preferences have changed Quires Survey looks at how consumer preferences have changed over the last year and what social attitudes are regarding summer 2021. PrintPublished: July 26th, 2021 Author: Chris Hubble As Americans begin to weigh the risks around COVID-19 this summer, there’s still a high level of caution. Yes, people are anxious to resume … Continued

10 Ways to Reach Customers Who Don’t Know They Need You

August 3, 2021

10 Ways to Reach Customers Who Don’t Know They Need You Table of Contents 1) Do your homework 2) Find a common ground and apply it to your approach 3) Customize your approach to appeal to them, not your current customers 4) Offer them something truly unique 5) Generate awareness of the want/need for what … Continued

How Consumer Spending Habits Could Change in 2021

August 3, 2021

How Consumer Spending Habits Could Change in 2021 As businesses and economies closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, consumers also tightened up their budgets. According to data from McKinsey, most consumers were more conscientious about purchases than before the pandemic. Because of this, most households primarily budgeted around essential products and services. But, … Continued

9 Business Challenges Every Small Business Struggles With (And How to Fix Them)

August 3, 2021

9 Business Challenges Every Small Business Struggles With (And How to Fix Them) In the first few years of business, small companies come up against a lot of different challenges. Some are harder than others to overcome — and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses fail by the end of their first year. By … Continued

Where Will People Shop Once Businesses Fully Open

August 3, 2021

Where Will People Shop Once Businesses Fully Open For the last year and a half, many of us have gotten used to doing everything — including shopping — from home. Now, it seems full reopenings are closer than ever in the U.S. as the CDC now says that fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks … Continued

The Ultimate List of Interview Questions

August 3, 2021

The Ultimate List of Interview Questions As a job seeker, you can often expect to speak with an HR professional before moving onto interviews with employees within the department for which you’re applying. It’s critical you prepare well for your HR interview. Oftentimes, a company uses their HR department to screen candidates and decide which candidates are … Continued

What Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing and How Does It Drive Success

August 3, 2021

What Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing and How Does It Drive Success Have you recently made a purchase or visited a business because a friend or family convinced you to? If you have, this means you were influenced by word-of-mouth marketing. You’re also among the vast majority of consumers who identify word-of-mouth marketing as a key influencer in their … Continued

Improving Your Online Accessibilities To Reach New Audiences

August 2, 2021

When was the last time you thought about whether your website content is accessible to everyone? 57 million Americans have some type of disability, but only about 2% of web pages are accessible to the disability community. In today’s digital-first world, it’s more important than ever for businesses to think about how they’re addressing online accessibility. Web … Continued

What Are Customer Expectations, and How Have They Changed?

August 2, 2021

What Are Customer Expectations, and How Have They Changed? Customer expectations hit all-time highs. By definition, customer expectations are any set of behaviors or actions that individuals anticipate when interacting with a company. Historically, customers have expected basics like quality service and fair pricing — but modern customers have much higher expectations, such … Continued

Recruiting Tips: How to Attract Top Talent

August 2, 2021

Recruiting Tips: How to Attract Top Talent What’s Inside: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. observed the highest number of open jobs at the end of March 2021 since 2000. 86% of employees/job seekers are likely to research company reviews and ratings when deciding where to apply for a job. 79% of job seekers say they … Continued

5 Changing Customer Expectations Every Business Should Meet Now

August 2, 2021

5 Changing Customer Expectations Every Business Should Meet Now Photo by NeuPaddy, CC0 1.0 Article by Himanshu Agarwal Everyday customers seem to be more and more demanding of what they’re expecting from companies. Customers are wanting more personalization from companies when they purchase products and they are looking to be cared for more than ever. This is … Continued

What A Brand Voice Is And How To Create One

August 2, 2021

What Brand Voice Is, and How to Create One Whenever I’m driving and see a Herb Chambers billboard, I smile. Image Source At this point, I can recognize the short, humorous, memorable ad copy as a Herb ad without even needing to see the brand name. And, after years of seeing those ads, I feel … Continued

What Do Consumers Want To See On A Company Websites

May 21, 2021

Written by Geoffrey Colon For many businesses, a website is undeniably critical for reaching new audiences — and is often the first impression someone will have of your brand. But having a website alone isn’t enough to reach and convert new customers. It’s equally vital that your website is well-designed, or you risk losing valuable leads. Website design … Continued

What Brand Voice Is And How To Create One

May 21, 2021

Your Guide To Google My Business Posts

April 28, 2021

What’s Inside: Nearly half of all Google searches have local intent. There are 5 different Google Post types businesses can create. Google Posts will disappear from the top of your GMB profile after seven days, so it’s a good idea to create a Google Post at least once a week. You can only have 10 maximum Google … Continued

What’s a Conversational Landing Page (& How Do You Create One)?

April 28, 2021

What’s a Conversational Landing Page (& How Do You Create One)? Marketers have found that conversational experiences on landing pages (such as chatbots and live chat) convert three-to-four times more than a traditional landing page. Additionally, a report from Juniper Research predicts that by 2023, the adoption of chatbots across the retail, banking, and healthcare sectors will save businesses $11 … Continued

Your Customer Service Sucks

April 28, 2021

Your Customer Service Sucks Three things you can do to improve it By Mike Wood | In: Customer Service Customer service sucks. In fact, I believe that the term “customer service” is an oxymoron. Out of all the experiences I have with companies, I dread when I have to contact their customer service department as I know it … Continued

Customer Service Expectations Are Rising – Is Your Business Keeping Up?

April 28, 2021

Customer Service Expectations Are Rising – Is Your Business Keeping Up? Customers’ expectations for service continue to rise, and the quality of your customer service can make or break your business, according to the Gladly Customer Service Expectations Survey. Here’s what this survey of nearly 1,000 U.S. adults found and what you can learn from it. Consumers … Continued

I Hope We Never Return To How We Were

April 28, 2021

Shake Shack’s Danny Meyer on the Restaurant Business: ‘I Hope We Never Return to How We Were’ Danny Meyer. Getty Images The visionary restaurateur has spent the past year reflecting on how the industry ought to come out of this crisis. The answer: not the same as before. After one of the hardest years on record for … Continued

What’s New With Google & Yelp

April 28, 2021

What’s Inside: Google’s passage ranking update will affect 7% of search queries. Yelp now displays user-generated feedback on if a business is enforcing social distancing and if their staff is wearing masks. Google Messaging is now available in desktop browsers. Are you keeping up with the latest Google and Yelp updates? From Yelp’s recent addition … Continued

Call To Action

April 28, 2021

Call To Action So for the past few months we have shared with you some important information about your website and social media. Some may ask “why is a mystery shopping company so focused on their client’s websites”? Our job as a mystery shopping company is to measure your customer’s experience at every touchpoint, … Continued

The Future Of Advertising (Predictions and Data)

April 28, 2021

The Future Of Advertising (Expert Predictions & Data) In a world of banner blindness, I’m sure you’re concerned about the future of advertising. If you’re in marketing, I’ll bet it’s one of your bigger concerns. But it’s a new dawn and it’s a new day. And as technology and advertising continue to evolve, so will your … Continued

The 6 Best Thank You Pages

April 28, 2021

The 6 Best Thank You Pages for 2021 via GIPHY … Not exactly the message you want your customers inferring from your website’s Thank You Pages, is it? Thank You pages are effective opportunities to demonstrate appreciation towards your leads, prospects, and customers for taking a desired action — and even potentially convert users or … Continued

The Hidden Value Of Mystery Shopping

April 28, 2021

The Hidden Value of Mystery Shoppers [RETHINK Retail] — She walks in the door with a carefully hidden script in her pocket. Or, maybe she’s typed notes in her smartphone, glancing at them occasionally as though she’s checking texts or emails. She checks her watch to see how long it takes store associates to greet … Continued

How To Adopt Your Social Media Strategy During COVID-19

April 28, 2021

The Importance of Social Media During a Crisis During this uncertainty, social media has quickly become the go-to for communication and updates. These statistics below provide context to how social media usage has drastically changed since the start of COVID-19: Facebook saw a 70% increase in usage of all its apps in March. 43% of social media … Continued

10 Predictions From The Past About The Future

April 28, 2021

10 Predictions From the Past About the Future From Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Clancy, and More Why waste hindsight on 2020? At the start of a new year, Inc. evaluated 40 years of business prognostications from past writers and sources. Steve Jobs, Tom Clancy, and Kurt Vonnegut. Photo: Getty Images. Illustration: Chloe Krammel When it comes to … Continued

It’s Time To Do Nothing

April 28, 2021

It’s Time To Do Nothing From the pages of Inc. Magazine Jeff Bezos Says He Makes Time in His Schedule to Do Nothing. It’s a Brilliant Example of Emotional Intelligence In a new book, the Amazon founder talks about his morning routine and the value of time to do nothing. BY JASON ATEN, TECH … Continued

If Schitt’s Creek Characters Responded To Reviews

April 28, 2021

Just For Fun If you’re like us here at Business Evaluation Services, you’ve probably binged a lot of shows this past year. One of the shows we were sad to see end this year is Schitt’s Creek. The characters of Schitt’s Creek not only provided us with hilarious comedic relief, but they also taught us … Continued

Listing Management Best Practices

April 28, 2021

76% of people who conduct a local mobile search visit a business within 24 hours. Every day, consumers are searching for local businesses to make purchases online and in-store. Local business listings are a vital source of information that connects consumers to your business. The last thing you want is for a consumer to find … Continued

Holiday Shopping Experience

April 27, 2021

This year’s holiday shopping experience is different from any year before. The economic climate and COVID-19 have created the perfect storm for retailers. These limitations have altered the traditional in-store shopping experience. But it isn’t all bad news. The holiday shopping experience to-date has proven to have positive milestones so far. Brands have already … Continued

How To Remove Negative Online Reviews

April 27, 2021

So you received a negative review. Whether it was on Google, Facebook, Yelp, or somewhere else, the first step is to not panic, take a deep breath, and stay calm. It’s always tough when you’ve put so much work and time into creating the best possible experience for customers, only to receive a negative review. … Continued

Google Maps “Live Busyness” Feature and Other Updates

April 27, 2021

A few weeks ago Google announced some major updates during its Search On 2020 event on October 15th. Here is a look at the updates and new features coming to Google that will make the biggest impact for local businesses. Sharing Data, Visually One interesting new Google update is the ability to create featured snippet graphs. … Continued

Local Search Predictions for 2021 and Beyond

April 27, 2021

2020 has been quite the year. COVID-19 and many other unprecedented situations were thrown our way this year, changing our day to day lives and how our world operates. In these uncertain times, one thing remains certain: “the new normal” that we’ve all been talking about isn’t really new anymore and is likely here to … Continued

How To Promote Your Business On Facebook

April 27, 2021

When Facebook started in 2004 all you needed was a valid email address in order to join. Within two years one of the top trends was to create a fan page that anyone could follow. I remember that feature being used by friends as a way to tell jokes and post funny content. But things … Continued

Responding To Negative Reviews

April 27, 2021

As a business owner, you’re no stranger to the concept of negative reviews. A negative review can happen regardless of the quality of your work or how many people love your business. A negative review may not seem like a big deal, especially if most of your customer feedback is positive – but it’s always best to address the situation. … Continued

Social Media For Franchises

April 27, 2021

With over 700,000 franchise establishments in the U.S., it’s clear that franchises are a big part of the nation’s economy. However, many franchisees struggle with balancing how to differentiate their own business from other franchises, while meeting all the guidelines provided by their corporate umbrella. This is where local social media marketing comes into play. The role … Continued

Best Business Directories To List Your Business

April 27, 2021

Nowadays, listing your business in just one or two places doesn’t cut it. “Near me” searches have increased more than 500% in the past few years. When a business is listed on the best online directories, they gain additional SEO benefits. The more top quality directories your business is listed on, the more backlinks and … Continued

How To Analyze Your SEO Success

April 27, 2021

Whether it’s on Google Maps, Facebook, or Yelp, over 40% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses every week. Local search has become a prominent aspect of customers’ lives. No matter what they are looking for, when they need a business with a physical location, their search and discovery process lives online. This makes local search one … Continued

Your New Front Door

April 27, 2021

Your Website is Your New Front Door? Guess what, with COVID guiding how your customers shop, your new front door is now your website. With this new found convenience for your customers it’s highly likely they will continue this trend even after we recover from COVID. Clutter and lack of consistent visual content is usually … Continued

5 Tips To Making Responding To Reviews A Breeze

April 27, 2021

One of the top ways in which a consumer decides if they want to purchase from a brand is through reviews. In fact, 84% of shoppers read online reviews to help form an opinion about a business. How you choose to respond reflects greatly on your business and can either create a repeat customer or turn a … Continued

How To Choose The Correct GMB (Google My Business) Category

April 27, 2021

What’s Inside: GMB signals are the most important factor for local rankings (33% impact!). There are over 3000 GMB categories. Your primary GMB category is the most important factor in ranking for local search results. Identifying relevant search phrases and researching your competitors can help you choose the best GMB categories. One of the … Continued

Attention Marketing

April 27, 2021

What’s Attention Marketing, & Should You Use It? Written by Rebecca Riserbato Did you know that the cost of acquiring consumer attention has increased dramatically (seven- to nine-fold) in the past two decades? It might not be surprising to hear, but overall our collective attention span has been narrowing. You might be wondering, “What does this mean for marketers?” As … Continued

Google’s latest Google My Business (GMB) update

April 8, 2021

Google’s latest Google My Business (GMB) update comes as a win for businesses using our local listing management tools to keep their business hours up-to-date. A couple of weeks ago, Google started displaying notices on GMB profiles notifying searchers of the last time the business hours were updated. Now it looks like these notifications are here … Continued

The Power Of Apple Maps For Local Businesses

April 8, 2021

Two years ago, Apple announced plans to rebuild its Maps application from the ground up. Since the official US relaunch earlier this year, there have been many noticeable changes, including more emphasis on businesses and places. As Apple Maps functionality improves, so does its reach. If your business has not yet claimed its Apple Maps business listings, you could be … Continued

Adapting the Customer Journey in 2020

April 8, 2021

Adapting the Customer Journey in 2020 In just a matter of months, COVID-19 has changed how consumers interact and do business with brands. With the world in various stages of lockdown and reopening, brick-and-mortar brands have had to rethink the traditional customer journey to reach consumers in this new normal. This guide will give your … Continued

Google Is Watching

April 8, 2021

What you should know about Online Customer Reviews

April 8, 2021

What you should know about Online Customer Reviews Benefits Of Review Management Our Online Reputation Management tool can give you full-spectrum oversight and control of your Brand’s online reputation, ratings, reviews, SEO analytics and more. Learn more IMPORTANT NOTICE When was the last time you updated your business hours? Google is now placing new notices on … Continued

Rebuild Your Brand Reputation After COVID

April 8, 2021

In our recent report, The Road to Reopening, we found that businesses dropped an average of .27 stars in overall star rating. Some industries falling as far as half a star. Now that we’re seeing a second and much stronger wave of Coronavirus cases, businesses are bracing for impact. Brands already have a lot of work ahead … Continued

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON LOCAL SERVICES

April 8, 2021

The information below is specific to LOCAL SERVICES THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON LOCAL SERVICES The local services industry includes businesses like gyms, self-storage, salons, and car washes. Many of these businesses have yet to reopen after stay-at-home orders were first initiated, whereas other businesses in this industry never closed. This led to some drastically … Continued

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON FOOD SERVICES

April 8, 2021

The information below is specific to FOOD SERVICE THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON FOOD SERVICES The following data takes a look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the food services industry. The food service industry faced some of the biggest loses caused by the pandemic losing an estimated $120 billion between March and May, according to … Continued

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON RETAIL

April 8, 2021

The information below is specific to RETAIL THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON RETAIL The following data takes a look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the retail industry. Unlike some other industries in this report, the retail industry had to close the doors to a large majority of their locations. As e-commerce sales are flourishing, rising … Continued

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON BRAND REPUTATION

April 8, 2021

Over the next few days we will be sharing information by industry. This newsletter will highlight our overall findings. Stay tuned for more detailed information for your industry. THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON BRAND REPUTATION ABOUT THE REPORT The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the lives of millions of people across the globe. In an effort … Continued

What Consumer Trends Are Revealing About Hospitality

April 8, 2021

As a follow up to our last newsletter, about changing consumer search trends due to COVID 19, here are some consumer search trends for the hospitality and travel COVID-19’s Impact on Travel & Hospitality Consumer concerns and shelter-in-place orders impacted the travel and hospitality industry significantly from the start of the pandemic. In March, 82% … Continued

What Consumer Trends Are Revealing About Retail and Automotive

April 8, 2021

As a follow up to our last newsletter, about changing consumer search trends due to COVID 19, here are some consumer search trends for retail and automotive Consumer Interests in Retail Similar behaviors have also followed suit for the retail industry. Apart from grocery stores which became one of the few essential retail businesses allowed … Continued

What Consumer Search Trends Reveal

April 8, 2021

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to unfold, consumers’ responses to the pandemic are also continuously changing. Consumers throughout the world are responding with different actions, lifestyles, and search behaviors. Understanding these underlying insights from trending consumer search behaviors will help brands adapt their strategy for success during reopening and the future. Over … Continued

Seamless Omnichannel

April 6, 2021

Curbside Pickup, Virtual Shopping, BOPIS, Voice Search…which new omnichannel experience is helping your business survive the pandemic? COVID-19 has dramatically shaped consumer behaviors and as a result, brands must quickly adapt if they want to survive post-pandemic. As businesses reopen, one thing remains clear: an omnichannel experience will remain key in preparing every brand … Continued

5 Things To Do Before Opening Your Business

April 6, 2021

Depending on where you are in the country, the coronavirus pandemic is impacting everyone differently. If your brand is on the way to reopening your storefront business, it’s important to take the right steps before you open your doors. First and foremost, businesses must follow all CDC guidelines to ensure a safe environment for employees and … Continued

SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES / COVID-19

April 6, 2021

SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES / COVID-19 We know COVID-19 has impacted millions of businesses across the country. It’s been a stressful time for brands trying to protect the health of their employees and customers as well as their brand reputation. We’ve made it easier for your brand to respond to coronavirus related reviews with the following tips. … Continued

Google / Yelp Changes

April 6, 2021

Google / Yelp Changes Due to COVID-19 Google / Yelp News…… Google is temporarily disabling new reviews, review replies, and new Q&A for all businesses until further notice. There have been significant numbers of reviews posted for 1-star reviews because business was closed or others complaining that the business was spreading the virus. This … Continued

5 C’s

April 6, 2021

5 C’s The 5 C’s We wanted to share with you the daily practice, or hourly at this point, of focusing on the 5 C’s. Calm – Stay calm and don’t make rash decisions! Let’s focus on the facts. Not rumors. Not speculation. Not social media hype. Facts. Confidence – Confidence in those with more knowledge of … Continued

Growing & Protecting Your Reputation

April 6, 2021

Growing & Protecting Your Reputation There is a lot of noise out there concerning Reputation Management tools. We pull it all together for you to include more that social media reply and tracking. Our Prism Intelligence Reputation Management platform includes; Review Management Social Media Analytics Sentiment Analysis using Artificial Intelligence Posted Photo Monitoring Location … Continued

New Year / New Name / More Services

April 6, 2021

New Year / New Name More Services Over the past several months we have been developing and adding additional services based on our customer’s input. To that point our old name (Mystery Shopper Services) no longer reflects our full breadth of service. Therefore going into 2020 we will be going to maintain our … Continued

Your Competition Is Hungry, How Well Are You Feeding Them?

April 6, 2021

Contact Us Your Competition Is Hungry, How Well Are You Feeding Them? In today’s tech savvy world consumer behaviors and their outcomes are evolving faster than ever before. Consumers expect frictionless shopping experiences, more transparency, genuine interaction, and authenticity from brands and retailers. You need only to look at Amazon’s business model and success which … Continued

The Future Of Advertising (Expert Predictions & Data)

April 5, 2021

Call To Action!!!

April 5, 2021

I Hope We Never Return to How We Were

April 5, 2021

Customer Service Expectations Are Rising – Is Your Business Keeping Up?

April 5, 2021

Your Customer Service Sucks

April 5, 2021

Your COVID 19 Reopening Checklist

April 5, 2021

What’s Inside: Responding to customers during reopening will show customers you care and provide a chance to address negative feedback. Listings are one of the first touchpoints consumers have with businesses in their search for businesses and products. 98% of people use at least four social media channels today. The CDC recently gave guidance allowing vaccinated individuals … Continued