Results that match "Community"
I love reading the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections of websites – sometimes before even reading company information in the About section or product specs via the Product tab. I like doing this for a few reasons:
1. More organic. Since the material is written to answer questions or solve problems, it usually shies away from simply broadcasting the product’s features. As such, the tone is very different from that of traditional brochureware.
2. More revealing. The selection of sample questions to which they have provided responses tells me a lot about the company. What do they feel is most relevant for potential customers to know? Conversely, what should customers not know or what questions do they not anticipate customers asking?
As both a creative and an analyst, I can extract a lot about a company just from its FAQ section.
As a bonus, when available, I love clicking on the option at the bottom of the webpage that asks, ‘Was this page helpful?’ I never get bored seeing that question.
So, then, should company websites be entirely comprised of FAQs?
Perhaps. Nowadays, I’ve begun to notice a trend in converting FAQ-type content into the company’s external online community. You will notice these URLs for the portals as http://community.CompanyX.com or http://support.CompanyX.com.
The community can serve various purposes. The first one is obvious: facilitate self-service and make it findable, reducing the strain on the contact center and others responsible for handling direct inquiries or requests.
Moving beyond the FAQ format, the community can extend to include new product announcements, promotions, and other information relevant to customers or prospective customers. In this way, the ‘marketing’ material is peripheral to the content that users actively seek out – useful, but not intrusive.
If I build it, will they come?
One of the biggest complaints about creating a new platform for users – whether for customers or employees – can be debated via the question, Who will end up using it?
As with any technology, people will only use it when they discover and experience value. After the discovery phase comes validation – OK, great, the community website content answered questions and helped them understand more about using a particular product or service – but what comes next is crucial: diffusion, or spreading the good word about that experience.
The main community webpage for Cisco.
Of course, all companies pin their hopes on word-of-mouth marketing, but online communities need it even more, because the deepest value comes from content that’s written, edited, commented on, liked, and shared by users. By extension, a community needs to not only build momentum but also sustain it for the benefit of all of its members.
Indeed, an active community’s most active content contributors may very well become its loyal customers who are more than happy to share their experiences with others.
Final Thought: Today’s customer would rather find an answer on his or her own, rather than spend time on the phone with the call center. Creating the tools to deliver a unique experience will create legions of happy customers and a marked improvement to the bottom line. Your marketing writers could be the missing link to delivering expert service, delivering efficiency and driving down costs in the process.
ChangeU: for your independent study…
With over 53 million local reviews and 120 million monthly unique visitors, Yelp is considered the leading review site on the Web. Indeed, ‘to Yelp’ is a verb meaning to review a local business online, and a Yelper is one who actively participates on the site. It’s part of our culture!
A public profile on the site is considered a must for local businesses, especially restaurants.
Customers leave reviews, and other users use these reviews when considering visiting a local business. Reviews and ratings for a business stack up, democratizing the process of choosing to eat at the new Thai restaurant or trying out a new nail salon. Further, users can rate reviews ‘Useful,’ ‘Cool,’ or ‘Funny.’ (Yelp’s editors do keep things lighthearted.)
Let’s take a look at some features and best practices for participating on Yelp, and using the network to promote your business.
Make It Fun: Contests, Games, Rewards
First off, make it fun! Encourage your customers to check out your Yelp page. Display the Yelp sticker on your front door, and in your collateral materials – brochures, menus, business cards, and the like – mention Yelp and your wish for your customers to review your establishment.
In addition to encouraging customers to write and post reviews, which are generally more time consuming, ask them to instead take photos, check in, or leave Quick Tips, which are faster and much easier. Plus, you still get engagement and free social content. Yay!
(Extra credit: ask your Yelping customers to cross-publish their reviews, tips, and photos to their Facebook, Twitter, and other social profiles for even more engagement. Even more extra credit: ask your Yelpers to first take photos – and beautify them -- with Instagram, and then re-post to your Yelp profile.)
Meet Your Yelp Community Manager
Of the hundreds of communities on Yelp – Yelp is now in 24 countries – there is a Community Manager. Unlike reviewers, who are not paid to contribute reviews, photos, comments, tips, and information on the site, Community Managers are paid employees of the company, and their job is to ensure that reviews keep going unabated.
The email address for your local Community Manager is usually [email protected].
Community Managers also plan local events, bringing together business owners and reviewers. As an alternative to paid advertising, you could participate in these events by offering up your venue, catering food, providing a free giveaway, or some other way to get your name out in front of local Yelpers. (Again this is not mandatory, and your decline to participate will not affect your profile on Yelp.)
Do I Have To Pay for Advertising?
Yelp derives 100% of its income from advertising, but you do not need to spend on advertising in order to unlock value from your participation on Yelp.
However, if you hear from a local Yelp advertising salesperson, don’t be alarmed – hear them out and learn about what they offer.
One promotion you might wish to consider is offering a special for checking in. Much like geolocation app Foursquare, Yelp has increased its mobile engagement features, and allows merchants to offer discounts, freebies, and specials (called Yelp Deals) to users who check in or leave a tip at their establishment. Your local Yelp advertising representative would be able to set up a promotion like this for your business.
There were rumors a few years ago that Yelp would only favor businesses who advertised, pushing those who did not further down in search results (i.e, if someone searched on ‘dry cleaner’ and ‘Phoenix,’), but after a few legal challenges, Yelp has pledged that the site is completely democratic and review-driven.
What If I Get a Bad Review?
Every business on Yelp has received negative or unfavorable reviews. What to do? For one thing, do not ignore it. As the business owner, you can respond to the review publicly, and also reach out individually to the Yelp member and offer to make things right.
This actually does not happen too often so taking the time to respond positively and in a timely manner shows your commitment to providing excellent customer service – and also displaying proper social media etiquette! Go you!
(Yelp Business Owner Secret: you can communicate directly with customers via the Yelp platform, privately or publicly – your choice.)
Not the Only Game in Town
Besides Yelp, there exist many other review sites. Here are some worth considering:
The list goes on, and some specialty review sites exist for physicians and other professions. Your experience with Yelp will certainly support your ability to deal with other review sites.
Getting Started
As with any social media profile, you should stake your claim before someone else – perhaps one of your customers – already starts. Yelp makes it very easy for you to get started, and the good news is that once you claim your business, you can upload your own photos, add important info like phone numbers, hours, parking, and methods of payment, and begin to truly see how the community reacts and engages.
Like any social media site, features, design, and navigation will continue to change over time. Your Yelp community manager, local advertising representative, and most importantly, your customers, will help you unlock Yelp’s true potential as a marketing platform.
Final Thought: A strong Yelp presence should be a substantial component of your marketing and social media strategy.
Not only will it help you become a better marketer, but your active involvement will also help you understand more about your customers, their preferences, and how they engage and interact with your products and services (and even your employees).
In a way, this is free market research, perhaps even leading to a shift or adjustment in your very products or services.
View your Yelp presence as an ever-changing source of new ideas.
Want more info? Expand your horizons with additional reading.
Want Help? Contact our team today!
ChangeU: independent study…
Yelp Case Studies
https://biz.yelp.com/support/case_studies
Case studies on small businesses that successfully implemented Yelp, including automotive, beauty and spas, health and medical, home services, and restaurants
Huffington Post: How to Turn Customer Service Into a Compelling Competitive Advantage
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-whetten/companies-that-care-how-t_b_4898558.html
From Huffington Post’s Small Business blog, five essential steps to exceptional customer service
The 2014 State of Marketing
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/the-2014-state-of-marketing/
From Social Media Examiner, the results of a survey of over 2,500 marketers of what’s working and what’s not, and trends for 2014 and beyond.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has progressed from what some saw as a handy business trend to a necessary strategy for brands to ensure that they have longevity and growth in the marketplace.
How businesses engage with the community is important in a business environment where consumers and other businesses want to positively contribute rather than cause harm with their commercial choices.
Understanding what Corporate Responsibility means
The term corporate responsibility is one that may often be heard around your networks, but what does it really mean?
Let’s start with a broad definition from the International Chamber of Commerce:
For ICC, corporate responsibility is the commitment by companies to manage their activities in a responsible way. More broadly, Corporate Responsibility includes efforts by business to contribute to the society in which it operates.
This definition is a good place to start for any business about to create a corporate responsibility program, however there is a lot more to understand before you get started.
The changing community
The most compelling reason for CSR programs is community building. When we all work together to effect change and protect our environment, support the disadvantaged and move towards an equitable society we all benefit.
Business reasons for creating a CSR program
Of course there are also very solid business reasons for CSR programs that go beyond the moral and ethical and that are the natural benefits that your business can reap in a the ideal business environment.
​.jpg)
Lush Charity Pot
Learning new ways to feel good
The possibilities for your CSR program are endless. Being a responsible and caring business is the broad definition so from that you can create positive policies and strategies to get you started. Some of the things that you can consider during this process include:
Examples of CSR Programs:
Intel, US - http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/jobs/careers/veterans-military.html
Rubicon Bakery, US - http://www.rubiconbakery.com/images/Rubicon_People-heroes.pdf
Microsoft, US/ Global - http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/citizenship/giving/programs/up/digitalliteracy/default.mspx
David Jones, ANZ - http://www.davidjones.com.au/Community-and-Environment/Environment
http://csr.cisco.com/casestudy/veterans-program
Burts Bee, US - http://www.burtsbees.com/Sustainability/sustain-landing,default,pg.html
Ben & Jerry’s, US - http://bjsocialresponsibility.weebly.com/
Consumers have changed. They want to participate in making our world better and generally want to engage with businesses that care about the world rather than those that blithely conduct business without caring how they affect their environment or the struggles that their consumers live with daily.
The voice of the people drives the call for change in society and with it the need for organizations to build sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility programs into their core work to be competitive.
The risk of ignoring this call is being ostracized by consumers, suppliers and the general public all of which could very well propel your business into negative growth. Customers engage quickly and easily online and want to deal with companies that care about the future of the planet and therefore their future.
Edged Out by the Competition
Business competition is fierce and margins are becoming smaller. Customers are getting turned off by companies that don’t care and are demonstrating their feelings by not purchasing goods and services from the offending organizations. This is why fairtrade and ethical organizations are showing strong growth in the current environment.
If your competition is socially responsible and you haven’t even started, before products are even considered by consumers competitors have a considerable edge over you when it comes to attracting and retaining loyal customers.
Social Media Suicide
Information travels very quickly through social media channels. People are very vocal about responsible companies but they are equally vocal about those doing nothing or worse, causing harm. Every business needs to not only be connected to their social media network, they need to pay careful attention to what is being said and take action before irreparable damage is incurred.
Peer to peer referral is a key method of attracting customers to your business and can quickly drive them away if there you have a record of bad labor practices, damage to the environment or other undesirable association.
There is even a boycotting app that encourages people to only deal with ethical companies.
.png)
Buycott.com app iPhone screenshot
Top Talent Bypass
If you want to attract and retain top talent in your organization you must be able to offer more to prospective candidates. According to a report by Net Impact, working with companies that want contribute to the community is important for workers and a strong CSR program helps you attract the workers that you want.
The talent that you want working for you may just pass on your offer if your competitor has a strong environmental program or encourages staff to volunteer once a month.
Final Thoughts
Ignoring social responsibility is no longer an acceptable business practice. Whilst there are still many companies that are yet to get on board in a serious way, it is the leaders in CSR that are really demonstrating how big a difference that CSR can really make to the community.
India has now built compulsory CSR into their legislation in an historic move. How long will it be until over countries follow their lead?
ChangeU: For your independent study...
Ethical Consumer http://bit.ly/1nZZ8uB Net Impact and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University partnered to conduct a survey on the career priorities around sustainability and making a positive impact at work, or “impact jobs.”
Why Companies Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Their Social Responsibilities http://ti.me/1vRymFv Today, amid a lingering recession that has dented corporate profits and intensified pressure from shareholders, companies are devising new CSR models.
How the Voice of the People Is Driving Corporate Social Responsibility http://bit.ly/1BTgKcp The business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming easier and easier to make. You can argue that it boosts a company’s brand, manages risk, and just plain saves money
It is time to step out of the kitchen and create an effective digital marketing plan to attract, engage and communicate with your customers. Because the internet has become the primary source of information for people when it comes to deciding on what restaurants they will choose to go to, it’s critical that you are use a combination of marketing tactics to present your brand online. Furthermore, to ensure your restaurant continues to grow, it’s important to define your target audience, learn what is relevant to them and learn how they communicate to effectively create an online experience that will convert them from visitors to customers.
Here are some ways to increase your online presence and promote your brand.
Serve up a great website
Your website has the potential to be your greatest marketing asset and a professional-looking website that run quickly on a variety of mobile devices is the first step in converting visitors to customers. Your website should be easy to update, they should integrate with popular restaurant locator and review sites like GrubHub Seamless and Urbanspoon, and at the very least show your menus, offer online ordering options, location information, and hours. Also, remember that eating out isn’t just about eating, it’s about socializing, being seen and talking about food so your website should make these simple activities look amazing. Include galleries to showcase your food, guests, and events. Post a virtual tour of your restaurant to give your online visitors an idea of what the ambience and tone will be like when they visit your location.
Create a mobile experience
People are more connected to the web as ever, for this reason it is essential that you include a mobile component in you digital marketing strategy. It is expected that by the end of 2014 1.76 billion people with will own or use smartphones on monthly basis, so as a restaurateur you should be asking yourself how you can reach this audience. While creating a separate mobile site or mobile app may be expensive there are still ways to get in front of these mobile phone users. The most obvious way is to optimize your website responsive design to make it mobile friendly.
Another effective way to create a mobile presence is to partner with one of the established online directories, like Google Places. This kinds of sites are free and offer built in mobile-optimized shortcuts, including mobile apps which put your restaurant in front of thousands of mobile of users every day, including those in your local area. Deal sites like Groupon or LivingSocial are another way to increase your online presence when used in combination with your other marketing efforts. A big advantage of these promotional sites is that it's free to feature your business.
Pair the Right Social Platform with the Right Customer Type
Each social media platform effectively reaches a different type of customer and serves a different role (see our post on how to use each social platform), so that means you should take a few minutes to figure out which of these platforms your customers are most likely to use and how to use it. If your restaurant already covers the broad spectrum of customer types (e.g., families, professionals, foodies, lunch crowd, etc.), then you may want to have a slightly different strategy for each platform so you can best target EACH of your choice customer types. More importantly, there are some great tools, such as Hootsuite and IFTTT , to help you manage and automate your social media accounts and save time.
Additionally, each social platform has a unique sets of capabilities. For example, Facebook allows you to provide updates, photos, videos in a “personal-oriented” environment, whereas Twitter might be ideal for shooting out coupons, new menu items, specials and other timely updates to your audience. The great thing is, you don’t have to use all social platforms, but you should be aware of what other restaurants like yours are doing and do your best to provide a competitive experience to your customers. You can turn to firms like ours for help (affordably) as well as use automation tools to make it more efficient for you or someone on your staff to do personally.
Final Thoughts
An effective digital marketing plan is one that will help you build and nurture relationships with your customers. Therefore, with a well-developed strategy your restaurant will appear at the top of search results and stay on the top of the mind of you customers as they decide where to dine. By understanding how to best use the marketing tools available, your business will see a return on investment in the long run.
ChangeU: for your independent study ...
Cell Phone and Smartphone Ownership Demographics http://pewrsr.ch/1vZBrS7
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.
Mobile Apps in the Age of the Consumer http://bit.ly/1qgv4pI
Build a mobile app that engages. This paper answers today’s pressing mobile app questions, including: Should your brand develop an app? What operating systems are the most significant? What do millennials think about mobile apps? Restaurant executives will learn the answers to these questions and which trends to watch.
The Mobile Path to Purchase study by xAd and Telmetrics http://bit.ly/1D5xPCm
The results of these studies provide valuable insights into the mobile tools utilized in the process of research and decision, and strong mobile user intent to purchase.
Change3 is a digital marketing and lead generation agency. We provide exceptional results to our clients by ‘delivering happiness daily’ using seasoned professionals in 12 countries. We don’t just produce materials for our clients, we help companies define how to talk to their target market and who they are talking to within the market.
Scottsdale, AZ 85255 
+1 844 314 1265
[email protected] © 2026 Change3 Enterprises LLC - All rights reserved
