The vast majority of consumers shop online, and an overwhelming number of these look for reviews of the product or service for which they are shopping. Unfortunately, only about 1.5 percent of people that buy a product will leave a... View Article Read more...
The Denver Post recently published a story about a Denver-area Walmart that has all the markings of a shoplifter-friendly store.
In one week of 2013 at the Walmart in Stapleton, Colorado, a pair of men walked out of the store with a paintball gun, while another attempted to steal pillows and a futon. Finally, a fourth shoplifter was by a cop after absconding with nearly 100 items in his shopping cart.
This Walmart has reported 283 shoplifting occurrences in 2013, 179 more than Denver's second-place finisher, a downtown Rite-Aid. Denver police officers have resorted to parking squad cars around the building in hopes of warding off thieves. However, this tactic has yet to yield positive result. Read more...
Studies have shown that approximately 90 percent of consumers will consult the Internet before making a purchase. When sites such as Google Places for Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor and MerchantCircle appeared on the scene, many businesses failed to understand the impact that these informational tools would have on their sales and customer retention. Reviews of any nature - negative or positive - will have a significant effect on your search rankings.
Local business reviews and ratings sites like Yelp are designed to allow consumers the opportunity to read and share opinions about businesses, services and products. Some sites organized information based on city and state, while others focus on a particular niche. Customers needing a place to speak their piece will more often than not go online to voice their displeasure. Read more...
The best word of mouth is unsolicited and organic.
Yelp uses analytics to flag online review solicitations. A major offense could result in the removal of your listing, not simply the filtering of the ratings and reviews. When manipulating reviews for the benefit of your reputation management, review-site algorithms could be the least of your worries.
Businesses that choose to pay for fraudulent reviews have faced public outrage, along with monetary fines from government officials. In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission determined that paying for reviews without disclosing the reviewer's compensation is considered a form of deceptive advertisement and would be prosecuted. Read more...
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