REVIEWS: How important are they? One word "very"!

Customer Reviews are essential for several reasons.  Let's focus on just two of them for this posting.

Reputation - I always say that people do not read as much as they use to.  Most would agree, and statistics show the majority is visual.  Enough said.  Fact is, people read reviews, good or bad, and then make a decision based on others experiences.  Have you ever read a really bad review of a product or service, and thought, I'll buy it anyway.  Not likely!  Your online reputation is everything.  If a customer is happy, get a review.  And if you don't know how, please continue reading.

Run a test on anyone under the age of 35 and ask if they read reviews on their Smart Phone/PC before making a purchase.  This should curve your thinking a little.

Search Engine Marketing - Reviews mean content, and content means search-ability on Google, Bing, and Yahoo.  It really is that simple.  You can either play in the game or watch the game being played.  Many people are happy and/or content with status quo (or doing the same thing over and over again with hopes to receive a different result).  If you want help getting your business to be front and center, reviews will help in the process.

Having said that, please Click Here to learn the Top 10 Tips for collecting Reviews from your Customers.

Is Facebook Worth The Hassle?

We all take care of our cars with the typical maintenance issues; oil change, flat tire, brakes, etc.  And then there are sometimes where we need to address some bigger and more serious problems; leaks, belts, electrical, and much more.

In regards to a bigger problem, such as a radiator leak on a Friday evening, where does one find an auto service repair store on a Saturday...affordable...trustworthy...and has your parts?  A better question is, how do you search for an auto service repair store?  Since I was fortunate to have this happen to me a few days ago, I thought it would be appropriate to share my story.

Here is the Where and the How options:

Yellow Pages - not in our home or business these days; who wants to call all over the community?
Newspaper - no more delivery at our house; stopped reading old news 10 years ago
Direct Mail - not too much promotion here; currently receive car dealerships advertising their services
Internet - the only timely way to find anything; Google search 'tampa auto care services' and voilà

Along with the basic keyword search, a shopper receives multiple choices in the community.  This is how business is done today, right?  Absolutely! 

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I clicked on three automotive websites who appeared to be a trusted brand, open on Saturday and have the necessary parts for a 9-year old BMW.  This is where the fun begins for a shopper, and that is trying to locate pertinent information (value and service) fast (right now, not Monday) on a website full links from tires to services to parts (like looking for Waldo).  The three companies were Firestone, Pep Boys and Sears.

Please allow me to cut to the chase and make this 30 minute story real short.  When I visited the companies mentioned,  I found myself thinking...who wants my business?  Who is going to make it easy for me to drive my car into your facility and pay you money?  Good question right?

So why or how did Pep Boys earn my business?  The answer is simple!  After reading up on their services, I clicked on their Facebook link and it directed me to a "Monthly Deals" page. This page convinced me and closed me, and from there, the savings of 10% looked good on my invoice.
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Knowing this, if you were responsible for Sear's or Firestone's online strategy, would you change your strategy to drive more customers into your business?  Of course!

In summary, I asked the Assistant Manager at Pep Boys a question:  "Do you receive many of these Facebook coupons?"  His answer:  "More and more each day".  And then he said, "Next time, just pull the coupon up on your phone and we will honor it."  That is what I am talking about....Keep It Simple & Smart!

Playing Around with "Call-To-Action" Buttons and a Badge for Emails and Websites

New buttons are popping up everywhere in the reservations space. From the industry leaders (airline, hotel, car rental, rail, and cruise) to skeptical followers (parking, limo, taxi, golf, restaurants, salons, and many others). So why is this phenomenon growing so fast?

There are many reasons for this change of circumstance. For this writing, let's discuss three.

1. Businesses spend X amount of dollars promoting their brand through various methods and channels on the internet. Researchers have found that when people arrive at a website, at least 50% of them will leave that website within 8 seconds. Please click here to read more.

2. Mobile Devices. Not much too say here other than - "Watch Out, because you have not seeen anything yet". Okay, let me share a quick one with you. Last week, we reserved a free Chick-fil-a sandwich online which we had to pick up today between 8a-9a. (Personal note: Eating chicken for breakfast is tough to swallow). Anyways, a 30-something man walks up to the counter with his Tablet PC, in place of a printed receipt, to redeem his sandwich with a bar-coded stamp on his screen. You get the picture, right?

3. The element of surprise - no full disclosure. Consumers want to know the total price of what they are buying in a real time environment. No one likes surprises. Car dealers are the best example here. "This car will only cost you $300/month". We all know how that story ends after driving your dream car off the lot for only $349/month...if you're lucky.

Having said all that, we are creating Call-To-Action buttons for email campaigns. We are also playing around with a "Best Rate Guarantee" badge for websites. Many companies are adding these features to their marketing strategy and we feel it is important to follow success. So, if you have thoughts to share, we are listening.

Do You Want Customers?

Undeniably YES, right? Right!

Okay, then lets get back-to-the-basics of when you first started your business. Because we all know how important the basics are in everything we are set out to do and achieve. And since we are in the heat of the basketball season, and March Madness is around the corner, just how important is it to 'make a layup' or 'make a free throw' during a game? VERY, and this is why before every game all players practice both techniques more than shooting around the floor.

Here is a great quote from many successful entrepreneurs: "If you take a different mindset, you may get a different outcome."

So lets begin with the 5 Top Tips for getting back-to-the-basics for the sole purpose of retaining existing customers and generating new customers.

1. Get clear about where you want to focus your time.

• Know first of all what you want - what you really want - to achieve with your business strategy this month, this quarter, this year and beyond. In these times, like we never experienced before, you must have a solid frame of reference to make good decisions.

2. Be open to all options.

• Sometimes assumptions and past experiences create a wall thus getting in the way of new thinking and objectivity. Be completely honest with yourself about whether you are limiting your range of solutions to how can you can achieve better results at your company, or with your staff, or most importantly, with your customer and/or shopper.

3. Create space to think.

• Establish a time and place to evaluate and analyze all your business options. Ask yourself the who, what, when, and how questions to support your new thinking structure. Write your thoughts down to create an approach to find solutions that may have stumped you in the past. The fact is, time will not change, so you will have to.

4. Take ownership for the outcome.

• As it should, the buck stops with you. Only you can manage your time and only you can therefore choose what and how you spend your time. You are the only one who ultimately chooses what you do and when you do it. Yes, there may be consequences beyond your control, but only you can decide the impact of those consequences.

5. Ask for help.

• You do not always have to do everything yourself, especially in these evolutionary times. There are always people around you who can help you with achieving your objectives. Again, think about that first day with your business - most likely, you were a sponge for information and were willing to do whatever it took to build your business.

In looking at prospecting for new customers, we know that this is never easy. In even the best economy, it takes creativity, perseverance and determination to successfully drive new customers into your business. But when the economy struggles, small businesses are better positioned to grow their brand by offering more services - personalized services.

THINK HARD ABOUT MONTHLY EMAIL BLASTS: Click here to learn more about Email Marketing.

And here are a few marketing ideas to get you thinking:

• Spring Breakers - Reserve Now and save big from airport parking prices.
• Traveling over St. Paddy's Day, park your car with us and St. Paddy's day will be complimentary along with a car wash. Reserve Now for our lowest prices.
• Happy Easter from ________ Parking. Park your car with us and ________.

To summarize, it is all about fundamentals. It is important to realize that travelers - families, associations and business owners - have become more focused on their personal and corporate finances to circumvent cutbacks of any kind. So, if you really think about it, off-airport parking companies have a great opportunity to take market share simply because of the mindset of most American's - and today, it is about saving money!

Inside Information on Aggregators?

What is an Aggregator?

An online aggregator is a third-party website that accumulates and displays specific information (brands, services, prices) from multiple online sources. There are currently over forty aggregators in the parking industry.

To the consumer, aggregators appear to be a great way to land a reasonable bargain; but in reality, most will cost just as much if not more than booking direct with a company. Furthermore, many aggregators offer strict modification policies, and institute non-refundable booking fees (aka convenience fees).

If we go back 12 years and review how it all started, the large travel aggregators (i.e. Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz) were created to present best pricing and real-time inventory to online shoppers through a seamless integration into various vendor reservation systems (i.e. airlines, hotel, car rental). These aggregators have done a good job polling real-time information for comparing prices, products and services for travelers to select a brand of choice. The aggregator's success was based on the integration to seamlessly collect data from each of the vendor reservation systems. And, in turn, the aggregator was paid a fee by the vendor and the customer for each reservation booked. Sound familiar?

Aggregators in the parking industry provide a directory model. These third-party websites display various brands, services and prices. However, there is no real-time pricing or availability. So, the big difference is the seamless connectivity between databases to present real-time pricing and inventory. Having said that, parking companies are advised to contact each of the aggregators in the event there is rate change or a block of inventory or face showing incorrect information. This is a similar scenario to how the airlines, car rental and hotel companies processed information back in the 70's. NOTE: If you look carefully right now, in some cases, you may find incorrect pricing and services under your brand name.

Going Direct by Branding your Business!

The fact is, parking companies must focus all efforts on branding their business by driving consumers directly to their website. And although coupons are nice and colorful, parking companies must operate a real-time transaction system that is simple, fast, secure, instant, affordable and mobile-friendly.

We are in a generation wind tunnel. Baby-boomers are enamored with technology toys. Generation X'er's think they invented technology. And the Y Generation, well, their cell phone is an alarm clock, MP3 player, radio, TV, and social everything. With mobile devices (cell and pad) being a large part of our every day activity, brands must develop a proven marketing strategy to control costs, increase revenue and build loyalty.

Google or Bing Search: your city + airport + parking

If you find the first page of these two large search engines listing various aggregator's ahead of your brand, it is time you do something about it, and fast.

The Inside Parking Blog is about communicating to parking operators for the sole purpose of helping owners with trending in 2011 and beyond. Great success to all in the New Year!