The Big Survey 2024: Advertising and Marketing

What have you found is the most effective form of digital marketing?

What is your Google Review rating?

Rank the following social media channels from most useful to least:

Rank the various traditional media by most useful to least in 2024:

Tell us about a lasting lesson you learned from a review.

Respondents say they’ve learned that providing 5-star customer service is essential to accumulating positive reviews. Do everything you can to make the customer happy, but realize that try as you might, it won’t be enough for everyone because “some customers are dingbats.” If a bad review does occur despite best efforts, retailers have learned to wait a day or two to reply to an angry customer to avoid getting defensive. “Do not get bent out of shape,” said one. “A bad review will happen. Groan and move on.”

LESSONS LEARNED:

• I kicked a customer out of my store for being unreasonable about a restringing. She wrote a scalding review. I should have immediately responded and explained why she was asked to leave. Now I know better and do better with unreasonable customers. I hand them off to my most patient CSR and respond to critical reviews with honesty and kindness.
• The Golden Rule rules! Be nice! It’s a secret to success undervalued by knowit-alls. And never, ever, say anything negative about any competitor.
• I prioritize customer service and assume that they’ll always leave me a 5-star review.
• That every customer has the power of a one star. Keep them a 5 star!
• Don’t tell a mean girl no!
• Make sure every customer is greeted. We hired a hostess for the weekends so that no one is accidentally missed when it’s busy.
• To communicate as much as possible with clients. The few reviews we have that are not wonderful are from clients who did not understand how long something would take to be completed and were disappointed.
• Always have good communication with a customer, and if we “bloop” do whatever we can to apologize and send a gift card for the future.
• Watch batteries cause the worst reviews.
• That our parking is poor.
• Sometimes, a good response to a false/bad review is better marketing than good reviews.
• Always ensure everyone in the showroom gets asked several times if they are being helped. It is very easy for someone to get offended thinking they are being ignored and they don’t care how busy you are.
• To try your best for a customer not to leave the store angry, even if the conversation is unavoidably unpleasant.
• A comment was made regarding the noise in our office. We run an active business vs. a quiet luxury showroom. Phones are ringing, and salespeople are constantly contacting clients. It’s a pretty open office setting, so noise travels. When we outgrow this space, we will look to create a separate showroom and sales offices.
• Every review, positive or negative, offers us an opportunity to learn from our customers’ perspectives.

Repeat customers account for what proportion of your sales?

If you have a loyalty program, what activities do you reward?

How do you reward “preferred” customers?

Assuming you offer jewelry repair, if someone in your area makes a generic search in Google for “jewelry repair,” what page does your store appear on?

What guerilla marketing (non-traditional, low cost) activity has worked best for you?

There was a lone fence post at the front of our property by the sidewalk. I printed a sign that said, “Please like and share this post” with our website address and stuck it to the fence post. People would stop for selfies with the “post” and get a nice picture of the store and our web address to share on social media. It was crazy, but it worked. A kid just broke the old post off. I need to put up another one!

• We take inventory that’s been in stock for one year and offer it as a deal of the week to customers who give us their email. It usually sells in 30 minutes.
• We participate in a quarterly event in our downtown called the ART Walk. We provide free food, and artists set up in our store and show their wares. We are not trying to sell our stuff during this event. I can’t remember a time when we didn’t increase sales the next week by at least five times what we spent on the event.
• Sign spinner on the street corner.
• I host an “Ornament Hunt” on Small Business Saturday. Lots of excitement and word of mouth!
• Coasters in local restaurants.
• Free watch battery if you are 60 or older, a first responder, a veteran, an educator, or a healthcare worker. Not a pile of watches, just one. Word spreads.
• I have an electronic sign that I put a funny saying or quip on and change it weekly. It is an icon for our store.
• We hand deliver Thanksgiving baskets to our top 20 customers with local goods only.
• Advertising in our local cinema. Lots of people in our city see us.