Online and offline used to be 2 completely different mediums. If information were online, only a small percentage would be able to get to it. Also, offline information took a long time before it was made available online. Now they are the same, and that is why it is so important to manage your online reputation. Find more information on how to apply here.
Right now, your offline reputation – no matter how good – is subject to opinion. Some like you, others don’t, or maybe everybody likes you. But do people know why? Do searchers know who exactly likes you? And what did they say, and what part did they like the most?
Offline anecdotes and testimonials can be lost forever after they have been told to 1 or 2 friends. But by putting it online, every right (and wrong) experience can last forever. Whenever your category and location is searched, the review or anecdote will be displayed.
Over a month only a small percentage of your local population will search for your service category but remember they will all talk, people are always looking for something to talk about at work or over lunch, and they will talk about. Those relatively small number of searchers are your ONLY gateway to spread the word to the rest of the community.
The viral nature of the online world is now merging with the offline world. If you stand out online, you will become known offline, and far quicker than would be possible with traditional marketing methods – and for far less cost.
Summary of why you should also focus resources online
All marketing is simply communication – There are expensive ways of communicating and free ones. Online technology allows open connection and the ability to target your marketing efforts at people actually interested – right now- in your services. Compared to the scattered approach of other marketing mediums, online techniques perform far better. Added to the fact that they are FREE and you’re onto a big winner.
Online lasts forever – an enjoyable experience can be forgotten, but if you get it online just after it’s happened, it will last forever. Offline a good anecdote about a local service provider can be forgotten after being told to a few friends, online it can tell thousands.
It Supports Your Current Marketing – When a quote is requested. It means that the customer will be thinking deeply about the decision of whom to go with. They will search online for any reviews and when they see a flood of your customer reviews – even if they’re not all perfect – they will learn 3 essential things. That your company has nothing to hide. That customer feedback (and therefore, the customer experience) is more critical to your business than it is to your competitors. The real standard of your service (and not just a cherry-picked one that most companies have on their testimonials page).
Online is the gateway to the offline world – For big towns and cities, there are who search for a local service provider every month. But even for smaller search numbers, there are still each year. These online customers are your only link to the rest of your community. Everybody offline is connected online, so once your reputation is online, it will filter down into your offline community, everybody will know what a great service provider you are – as long as you are one!!