Are you accidentally harming businesses you love through ratings?

Customer reviews are one of the most important metrics to help first-time visitors decide to visit a company. Most review sites such as Google Reviews, Yelp, and Trip Advisor use a five-star rating system where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. Something we've noticed, especially for local businesses, is that some satisfied customers are leaving low review scores, yet their review is nothing but praise. Some people have even admitted to never giving 5 star reviews. If you're one of them, we hope this article will help change your mind. 

A 3 star review is NOT a good review score. It means you were unhappy and that the business didn't deliver on its promises and expectations. Even if you personally think 3 stars means a job well done, the majority of people see the scale a different way. Satisfied customers giving poor star ratings is frequent enough that we think that some people are misunderstanding what the star rating on some of these sites mean.

Happy customers giving those 3-star ratings could accidentally be harming a business they love.  A couple of these for the same business could  lower the rating enough for people to not bother clicking in and reading more, all because satisfied or even regular customers rated it poorly. Are you one of them? 

2 Minute Blog: Trade Show Prep

Trade shows are a fantastic place to raise brand awareness, meet new, high-quality leads, and network with people in related industries. However,  doing a trade show right can take a lot of preparation and planning ahead of time.

It's important to do plenty of planning before the big event so that you can get the most out of it. Going in unprepared is like opening a restaurant without a menu. You probably wont' get much out of it, and potential customers will probably get confused too. So for this 2 Minute Tip, we're going to go over some helpful Trade Show Prep to make yours more likely to be a success. 

9 Ways to Become a Professional Networking Professional

Networking. It's something the experts just won't shut up about. How do you get that dream job? Networking. With proper networking, you can get the job before it's advertised! What comes up when you type in "best way to get new customers" into Google? Networking. Even articles about "creative ways" to get customers will mention showing off your existing customers or using your existing network. How do you have an existing network? Networking!

We're Finalists for the national Best Design Awards!

We've proven that even a small Southland design and marketing studio has what it takes to play with the big boys. 

What's in a company name?

Think of some of the biggest names in the corporate world today. Disney. Apple. Nike. Amazon. Google. They aren’t confused with competitors or companies with similar names. The names are iconic and recognised by practically anyone with an internet connection.  

Two Minute Blog: CRM of the Crop

Everyone knows getting the cream is better than getting the… Not cream.

And for databases, that cream is a Client Relationship Management system, which is literally CRM. Programs like Excel are great for organising data into columns and rows so you can find it later, but what about when you want to pull out specific bits like which customers live in Winton and have a first name starting with J? Okay, that may be too specific, but this week’s Two Minute Blog is on CRM and the actual useful information it can give you.

How much does a good logo cost?

How much will your logo cost? It’s a question we get a lot here at Back9. The short answer is, it depends. A lot. Very helpful, we know. So what about the long answer? What does it depend on?

What Ranking Factors is Google Looking for in 2019?

With literally billions of searches done each day, Google is doing pretty well for itself. And with approximately 85% of the search engine market, other search engines are dwarves against the GIANT. It’s no surprise that the slang for finding information online is to Google it (Yahoo It! Nope, sorry Yahoo). In fact, Google has become such a big deal that there are Search Engine Optimisation companies dedicated solely to getting you to rank well on the search engine, some of which use… Unscrupulous means to force results--that almost always turn out to be short-term.

How Do I Turn Strangers Into Leads?

If you’re looking for practical tips to help you get more, better leads, download our new eBook The Beginner’s Guide to Generating Inbound Leads for free by completing the form at the bottom of the page!

How do I turn strangers into leads?

One of the biggest advantages of the digital age is that it’s easier than ever for companies to learn more about customers to give them what they want. But it’s also made it so that you get a lot more virtual “window shoppers”, people who will stop by your website for a quick look to see what you have without buying anything. These people will usually have some interest in what you have, but for many, once they leave they're gone for good. Unlike a physical store, there’s no one to stop and ask if they’ve found everything they’re looking for.

Or is there?

If Your Website Sucks, It Won’t Convert

Where's that bacon my site promised? 

Get a website, they said. It will bring customers, they said. But it’s not. Why?