Small Business Saturday, Why Is This Day So Important?

Well it is quite simple, it is a day to support the little guys that day and night to make sure we have a nice place to go and eat. American Express created this holiday to support these gems and build their brand. Founded in 2010 by American Express the day has grown to be a powerful movement. According to American Express, more people are taking part than ever before.

Coming from the marketing professionals SBS is marketing gold mine! It is no coincidence that SBS falls right after Thanksgiving and Black Friday and right before Cyber Monday. It is placed right in-between the biggest holiday shopping days ever! Now something everyone can relate to during the holiday season, we are all looking for a good deal considering the amount of gifts we need to purchase. So why not give all these hungry shoppers a big reason to come in, sit down, and refuel.

With Twitter on the rise, it is a great place to check for “trending” terms. In 2013 Twitter accumulated 352,000 tweets about SBS, which was 65% more tweets than 2012 (Source: grasshopper.com). Small Business Saturday has more than 3.3 million Facebook fans (source: Businessweek). On October 14, 2014 there were 3,317,865. The message is growing, not only are people tweeting and posting Facebook status’s about the day, but this proves that people look forward to this day and will come in for a deal. 

Of course a large following doesn’t actually prove the success of a hash tag or a tweet. Do a basic good search for #SBS2013 and see the success shared from these small business owners for yourself. It’s trending and growing. So when it comes down to it advertising SBS on your website, through Email Campaigns, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or whatever else you use to market your business. You’re followed by those who matter to your business, and they will build your brand as well. Loyalty goes a long way on the internet. Marketing your SBS specials will only grow that loyal fan base!

Being a woman I can shamefully admit I will save my pay to spend a couple hundred dollars on some high end pocketbook but at the end of the day if a small business near me is selling something just as good I will convert. These businesses are small for a reason, they have that home felt and heartwarming atmosphere, for the most part. So if you haven't jumped on the #SBS2014 ban wagon, don't worry there is always next year!  

Ordereze prides itself in making sure that all of our customers have the best tools to help the small business owner succeed.  If you ever need any help with further marketing strategies and ideas we have a fully staffed marketing team who is waiting, and eager to help you!

Written By: Cody Schantz

Why it is important to respond to negative reviews.

Ever get a review like this one?

Life goes 1 of 2 ways, people either hate you or they love you. That goes for just about anything and especially your restaurant. It is inevitable you will receive negative reviews and to the very few of you who don’t… bravo! Your restaurant is important, treat it like you’d treat your personal ego, it may even be your whole ego and there is nothing wrong with that. So what do you do when someone attacks your ego?

Fight back, but kill them with kindness. The way you respond to the negativity thrown your way shows even more about you than the actual negative review. If you are claimed to have horrible wait service, grimy food, a dirty workplace, wrong orders, long waits and any other negative comment you can imagine… kill them with kindness. Even though you are responding to this specific review EVERYONE can see your response and even if they didn’t you should be taking your constructive criticism seriously especially if you’re seeing it more than once!

Some good examples would be about wrong orders and poorly tasting food, your responses should go something along the lines of…

“We are sorry your experience was not up to par, we hope that you come back to give us another chance to make it up to you!  We appreciate your criticism and keep everything in mind for the future”

Try and make these posts as personal as possible, customers want to know that you are actually reading their complaints and if you show the compassion they will come back for a second chance.

As much as we want to say ‘Don’t worry about the haters’ the haters are your creators! They definitely matter in the review world and you need to show them the compassion they long for. While you’re reaching all these ‘Negative Nancy’s’ you’re also reaching an even bigger audience that sees the professional and caring way you’ve responded to them.

Here at Ordereze we take your reputation very seriously, check out our new platforms and how we can help you with your negative reviews!

Written By: Cody Schantz