Category: Top Tips

If you’re a start-up or a family enterprise and you’re mindful of the bottom line, it can be hard to think of giveaway ideas for small businesses. But the good news is that you don’t have break the bank, or leave yourself out of pocket when you give something away.

In this blog, we share our top five giveaway ideas for small businesses.

Why does giving matter to small businesses?

Giving is an essential part of any business’ marketing strategy. When we give things away, we reinforce our brand with our customers and clients. We interact with those people in a different way from usual, strengthening the professional relationship. This can be a very effective way of getting customers further down the sales funnel. It can also help you appeal to different markets who respond to different approaches.

Think of giving as lighting one candle off another – the second candle gains but the first candle loses nothing.

Top five giveaway ideas for small businesses:
  1. Promotional items

An on-message promotional item can be a great addition to your marketing toolkit. Trainers and coaches can give out branded pens and paper so their clients can take notes. Trades often prefer a branded fridge magnet to a business card – their customers don’t have to rummage when they need a plumber quickly! Events organisers sometimes give out branded bottle openers while travel agents give out branded luggage labels.

Get Ahead has a number of suppliers in our network of contacts – if you need a recommendation for branded items, please ask!

  • Your own products or services

Obviously, we’re not suggesting that you just give away all your hours and stock! Instead, think about how you can use a giveaway strategically. Who is likely to respond positively to a free software trial – will it make them more likely to buy a subscription at the end? Yes, they’re using your software for free for a month, but if they turn into loyal customers then the freebie was a valuable investment. Remember to research likely groups and target them strategically so you get the best outcomes from giving away your own product or service.

  • Expertise

Yes, it is possible to write a blog or a newsletter without giving away your trade secrets! Instead, give away a small amount of useful knowledge that will help your clients get more from what they already buy from you. For example, letters from your bank often feature a market or finance update. By sharing these insights, banks can help customers to make their money work harder, in turn promoting more of the bank’s products.

Think about what ideas you could share that would help you and your customers at the same time.

  • Discounts

Even if you can’t afford to give something away completely free, consider whether you can afford to offer a discount. Do your sums and work out what percentage you discount from the price of your product or service. You can also give a discount in exchange for something, like signing up to a mailing list. Discounts like this can be excellent investments: once customers or clients have joined your community, they’re more likely to buy from you again in future.

  • Referrals

This one isn’t a traditional sort of giveaway, but it makes a real difference to others, grows your network and establishes you as someone worth working with.

When you’re networking, be ready to praise others in the network whom you’ve worked with. And if there’s a request for a recommendation on LinkedIn, for example, don’t be afraid to put others forward – they’ll really appreciate it!

Marketing strategy support with Get Ahead

If you think that giveaways could play a bigger part in your marketing strategy, Get Ahead would love to help you make it happen! Explore our marketing pages to find out more, or contact your local regional director today.

 

Many businesses share a monthly newsletter with their client community, but we’ve seen a great engagement rate from sending out a different kind of message at Christmas. Instead of the usual combination of “hero” theme, tips and discounts, Christmas is a time to engage on a more human level.

For this blog, we talked to our digital and email marketing expert Claire about how to write a business Christmas message to strengthen your business relationships for the coming year.

What do we mean by a Christmas message?

Claire: Most monthly newsletters follow a standard format. Business owners have considered what works best for them and share a great combination of product promotion, top tips and special offers.

However, Christmas is not the time for a hard sell. It’s not really the time to talk about business either. Many businesses have their golden quarter in the run-up to Christmas…but by the time Christmas actually comes, it’s time to stop talking shop and connect on a more personal level.

What should I include in my Christmas message?

Claire: The best Christmas messages include a strong awareness of the reader, appropriate emotion and gentle humour. They’re a good opportunity to invite your clients to recognise your team members who have made a particular contribution. You can also show empathy by referring to challenges you know your clients have faced in the last year.

You can show emotion in your seasonal message with phrases like, “we’ve all found X tough this year…,” “I’m really proud of Y…,” and “Z was really exciting – such a privilege to be part of it!” Referring to your feelings will help your readers see you as a person and not just a business – this will reinforce your connection.

It’s easy for clients to overlook contributions made by individual members of your team. It’s not that they’re selfish – they just don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. But giving them some new insight has two benefits. Firstly, it shows that the service or product you offer doesn’t just magically appear – this helps your clients to understand its value. Secondly, it reinforces the fact that a real person has made something happen – a real support to the message that “people buy from people.”

Lastly, your Christmas message is the time to write about your clients and not about your business. Write about industry highs and lows, and praise your clients for how well they’ve coped with any recent storms. Thank them for supporting your business, including making referrals, being understanding in times of stress and remaining loyal.

Email marketing from Get Ahead If our blog has inspired you to write a different sort of Christmas message this year, Get Ahead are here to help. Our experienced marketing team includes content writers like Claire as well as graphic designers and email automation experts. Explore our site to find out more or follow us on LinkedIn. And if you’re ready to outsource your email marketing or any other back-office support, contact your local regional director here.

 

Outsource recruitment planning and you’ll find you not only save time but see better results for your business too.

Recruitment planning is an essential part of growing your business. With a strategic plan and knowledge of how you’ll implement it, you can recruit the right people for your business who’ll help you deliver on your goals.

In this blog, we take a closer look at recruitment planning, how to do it and why it matters.

What is recruitment planning and how do I do it?

Recruitment planning is the spadework you put in before you advertise a vacancy.

  1. What roles does my business need?

The first step is to work out what role or roles you need to recruit for. If you’re scaling up from working alone and taking on employees for the first time, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of recruiting a whole team at once. However, when you take time to plan the recruitment, you’ll see it all fall into place.

It’s probably easier to start with what you need your employees to do, rather than choosing job titles you think you need to fill. For example, you might want someone to do the accounts and keep on top of invoicing. If this is an area of business where you’re already comfortable, you might not need someone else to do this at management level, but you might need an admin assistant to deliver the day-to-day finance tasks.

It’s also a good idea to look at your business goals – these will help you decide what tasks you should prioritise. You might have spotted that you need to increase your sales by a certain percentage. If that’s the case, prioritising the recruitment of a strong sales team is the best way to deliver that goal.

  • What kind of person would be best for the job?

Once you’ve worked out what roles you need to fill, the next step is to think about what kind of person you’d like to have in that role. Remember that skills can be learned but personalities don’t change – think about the kind of person you want in your team and what kind of attitude is most likely to deliver the work you want.

Make sure your person specification and job description don’t have contradictions! Be realistic and remember, for example, that a motivated self-starter is unlikely to be a good team player, and vice versa. Some tasks don’t go well together, e.g. reactive jobs like PR can clash with regular responsibilities like finance and admin.

  • How do I attract the best candidates?

Another aspect of recruitment to consider is how to attract the highest calibre of applicant. Of course, salary is important, but savvy business owners also consider what values and benefits their business has that appeals to potential employees. For example, if you’re expecting to recruit someone to their first job, it might be helpful to say that there are prospects for promotion. If you want to attract someone who will stay in the role and really embed into your business, offering a long-term or permanent contract will help you appeal to candidates who are looking for job security. Depending on the role, values, ethics and your company’s B Corp status might also be worth mentioning.

  • Where should I advertise?

With the person spec and job description written, it’s now time to advertise. Think about where you might find the best candidates for the job. You might choose to headhunt on LinkedIn, or advertise on an industry-specific job board. Take time to think about how you’re going to spend your recruitment budget to be sure of having your advert seen by the most suitable candidates. For example, school-leavers might not be on LinkedIn yet, and efficient admin assistants don’t necessarily need to know your industry to work effectively. In other words, think carefully before you put your entry level jobs on LinkedIn or look for admin assistants by industry. On the other hand, leadership recruitment might involve actively reaching out to likely candidates instead of advertising in the usual way.

Why does recruitment planning matter?

The reason that all of these processes are important is that they help you attract and retain a higher calibre of applicant. This gives you a great talent pool to choose from and ultimately makes your business more successful. Best of all, if you recruit the right people for your business culture, they’ll want to stay. And the longer they stay, the better the value they give you.

Outsource recruitment planning

Outsource recruitment planning and you’ll benefit from the human resources expertise your business deserves. A well-planned recruitment process is the most likely to give you great new employees, ready, willing and able to take your business to the next level. Explore our HR outsourcing section to find out more.

 

 

What are the best ways to retain employees?

With a number of businesses struggling to recruit the right new staff, many business owners are looking to improve their employee retention strategies instead. Of course, we all know the basic tenets of respect, recognise and reward, but putting them into practice in an effective way can be more challenging.

In this blog, we talk to our business operations manager Debra, who manages our large team of virtual experts while also delivering outstanding admin support for Get Ahead clients. Debra herself has been with us for nearly ten years, giving her plenty of time to reflect on why she’s chosen to stay with Get Ahead.

Why is “respect, recognise, reward” not enough on its own?

Debra: The three R’s are a great starting point. But it’s also important that they’re not just a token effort. Instead, it’s important to think about what they mean for your specific business and the people you work with. Respect might include backing up your employees when they’ve done the right thing, even if the client doesn’t see it that way. Employee of the month can be a great recognition scheme, but sometimes a quiet “thank you” is more appropriate.  Maybe you can’t afford to give the financial bonuses you’d like to, but it’s still important that your reward scheme resonates with your team.

How do I find the right employee retention strategy for my business?

Debra: A lot of this depends on your ideal workforce, the type of people they are and what their values are. For example, if you have a creative business where you employ lots of young people who are great at generating fresh ideas, you should acknowledge that they might have different values from older team members. Millennials might want to stay with your business because they admire its ethics and feel that it’s the best place for them to “be the change they want to see.” On the other hand, a team at a later stage of life might have financial commitments like mortgages or university fees. They might value job security more than your business’ journey to B Corp status.

Finding the right retention strategy can be tricky, but Get Ahead’s HR consultants can advise on how to take the general principles and make them specific to your business.

What do you think has made you stay at Get Ahead for this long?!

Debra: It goes without saying that I enjoy it here, I get on well with Rebecca Newenham and I love working with the wider team too. But on a practical level, I’ve found the flexibility perfect for my changing needs. I had a young family when I started working for Get Ahead, but the flexible working practices here mean that I could always be at school for sports day or at home if my family needed me. As family life and other commitments change, I’ve been able to take on more responsibility here, like managing the new content on the website. I didn’t have to stick with the same role as my capacity increased. And when I go on holiday, there’s always someone to cover my role so I don’t come back to a nightmare inbox!

I believe that this is a great example of a business knowing exactly what sort of person they want to work for them, and creating a role where that person wants to stay. A strong Get Ahead team member has to be someone who is naturally flexible, because the client work is so varied. To attract a team who thrive on flexibility, Get Ahead has to offer flexibility within its own culture too.

Develop the right employee retention strategy with Get Ahead

If Debra’s insights have made you take a second look at your HR practices, Get Ahead are here to support you. We can advise every stage of HR, from initial recruitment to rewards schemes that make your unique team want to stay. Explore our HR pages to find out more, or follow us on LinkedIn to become part of our online community.

Why is it important take breaks from work? Because it’s good for us! But we’re well aware that argument isn’t enough – our work needs us, particularly when we run our own businesses.

However, taking a break during the summer holidays when our children are at home or we’re going on holiday is important for family harmony and all-round wellbeing. Let’s take a closer look.

Take a break when your children are at home

 “They grow up so fast” is a cliché but it’s also true. How many more summers with your children do you think you have before they leave home? Whatever the answer, it’s fewer than last year.

Many of us were on our career paths before we had our families. But work takes on a new dimension when we become parents. Work matters to parents because we are making money for our families and setting an example to our children. But it’s important that working for our families doesn’t stop us spending quality time with them.

If you’re worried that your business will grind to a halt if you’re not there, or if you’re scared that ends won’t meet if you take a day off to be with your family, we understand. But it’s also a good idea to rationalise your fear – chances are that you can take time off and nothing will go wrong. If you’re still worried, read our interview with life coach Gloria, or our management tips from regional director Hazel.

Take a break to go on your summer holiday

Whether or not you have a family, taking a complete break once in a while is important. No one knows better than you how hard you work, but you can’t keep it up indefinitely.

Taking a break from work is important for your health, but it also benefits your productivity. In truth, it’s almost impossible to work “all the time.” And the longer we work without a break, the less work we get done.

Most business owners notice how much they get done in their first week back after a holiday. Their heads are clear and they’ve regained their sense of proportion. The situation that seemed like an insurmountable problem hasn’t disappeared; it’s just no longer a problem or insurmountable.

Why take a break in the summer?

Summer is a lovely time to take a break and spending time in the sunshine has lots of physical and mental health benefits.

Sunshine gives us vitamin D for healthy teeth and bones. And if you struggle with sleep, exposure to sunlight will help reset your natural rhythm and remind your body of the difference between day and night.

Sunshine is good for mental health too. It encourages our body to release serotonin, aka “the happy hormone.” (Incidentally, our bodies also release serotonin when we eat chocolate, dance and hug people so try and work some of those activities into your holiday too!)

Of course, the sun’s rays can be harmful to skin so remember to put on your sunscreen before topping up your health and happiness!

Get Ahead can help you take breaks from work

The Get Ahead team have helped countless business owners get away from it all for a week or two in the summer. From back-office support like virtual assistant services, email management and telephone answering, to improving systems so someone else can take the reins, there are lots of ways we can help.

Even if you’re not sure what help you need, talk to your local regional director – they’ll help you unpick whatever’s holding you back and find the right solution for you. Don’t worry if you’ve left it to the last minute – we can set up support for you in as little as twenty-four hours. Explore our site to find out more, or get in touch here.

PS – for more ideas on managing your workload during the holidays, why not follow us on LinkedIn?

How to keep your business running when you go on holiday

How to keep your business running when you go on holiday might feel like an impossible question. Your business is your baby, and no one but you knows how hard you’ve worked to get where you are today. But it’s also important to take a break. Even if you don’t plan on going abroad, it’s a good idea to have Plan B ready to go – you never know when you’re going to fall ill or face a family emergency. 

In this blog, we talk to regional director Hazel about how to find the right team so that your business can survive without you.

Why should my business be able to survive without me?

Hazel: It’s important that you see your business surviving without you as a positive idea. If you can take time away without your business going under, it means you’re doing everything right! When your business survives without you, it doesn’t mean that what you bring to the business doesn’t matter. Instead, it means that you’re a good leader and a good manager who has prioritised putting the right team in place to improve business resilience. 

Your business should be able to survive without you so you can take a break. We all need to take breaks,whether it’s five minutes to look out of the window or a fortnight in the Mediterranean. Breaks make us more productive when we return to work. They also help us retain our sense of proportion and give us a chance to explore what else we have to offer. These are both important protections against burnout. 

I can’t bring myself to trust my staff – what should I do?

Hazel: If you have a team but you don’t feel confident leaving your business with them, it might be time to rethink the way you manage them and consider alternatives. My own background is in HR, and I’m a firm believer in clear job descriptions and company policies so that every member of staff knows what’s expected of them. Similarly, strong performance management means that you can help your staff develop into people you’d be proud to leave your business with. 

If possible, start as you mean to go on, using strategic recruitment planning to ensure that you recruit people with the right skills and personalities. This will mean that the people you recruit will also be the people you trust. Savvy business owners align their recruitment processes with their business plan and appoint the right people to deliver their goals. However, it’s important to remember that skills can be learned but personalities don’t change – pick a team whom you can trust and who trust you too. 

Remember that trust is two-way. Try to develop a culture of trust by modelling reliability for your team and avoiding micromanagement.

And if trust is a serious issue for you, coaching might help. We have business coaches both on the Get Ahead team and in our wider network – please let us know if you’d like an introduction. 

I work alone – who will take up the slack if I’m away?

Hazel: There’s no need for your business to grind to a halt just because you’re on holiday. I always suggest outsourcing or white labelling. An outsourcing agency like Get Ahead will be able to cover your back-office work, and maybe even some of your core business. (Have a look at all our services here to see what we offer)

Alternatively, you could use your network to find someone in your sector who could provide a similar service to your clients while you’re away. With any luck, they’ll return the favour when it’s their turn for a holiday! 

Even if you are the only one who can do the actual work, there’s no reason why you can’t outsource email management, phone answering or social media management so you don’t come home to countless messages. 

Get Ahead helps to keep your business running when you go on holiday

If you think you could benefit from back-office support, outsourced HR services or white label services, we’d love to hear from you. Our regional directors will take the time to learn about you and your business so they can match you with the best business experts for your needs. We always take personalities into account as well as skills, making the best match we can. Explore our site to find out more, or contact your local regional director here.

Working from home during the school summer holidays can be a challenge. With your children at home, it can be hard to focus on work.

But help is at hand! Team Get Ahead have been working from home since well before the pandemic. We’ve put together our top tips for staying on top of paid work during the school summer holidays – read on to find out more.

  1. Keep the children occupied while you work. Work with them to plan activities – this will help you all find something realistic, safe and unlikely to cause an argument. Help your children find the books, plasticene, working felt tips (!), Lego, dressing-up clothes etc so they’re all ready to go and the children won’t interrupt you with questions. We’ve noticed that computer games can lead to a lot of frustration so we try to save them for a time when mum and dad are free to play too. But we also know how difficult it is to manage screen time with our tech-savvy juniors – do what you have to do!
  2. Use a clock and stick to your timetable. Get a clock with clear numbers so you can explain to the children when you’re free and when you’re not. And if you’ve promised you’ll be free when the big hand gets to the six, make sure you’re free!
  3. Book play dates. Fix up with other working parents to have each other’s children over on different days. While this will give you fewer working days, it will mean that those you do get are more productive.
  4. Plan your to-do list. Chunk your work into stuff that can be interrupted and stuff that can’t, and choose when to do what. The calmer and more in control you feel, the calmer your children will be too.
  5. Work when the children are asleep. How you apply this will depend on your children’s ages! If you have tinies, consider working at nap-time or after you’ve put the children to bed. If your children are older, get up early and clear your daily tasks before they wake up.
  6. Share your plans with your partner or whoever supports you. Get the grandparents to save the big day trip to coincide with your online training session. Book important meetings at a time when your partner can take a break to be with the children. If there are two working parents, stagger your work commitments if you possibly can so one of you is always free if the children need you.
  7. Schedule time when you won’t be working. Plan how you’ll use it and stick to the plan. This kind of reliability is reassuring for your children and may lead to better behaviour too. (Disclaimer: there is an element of luck involved too!)
  8. Outsource! If working from home during the school summer holidays leaves you with too much on your plate, we hope you’ll consider outsourcing. Check out our infographic to get an idea of what you could pass on to someone else. Remember, you can outsource almost anything from virtual PA services to social media content writing services . Our regional directors can nearly always track down an expert with the skills your require. 

Working from home during the school summer holidays with help from Get Ahead

Our team has always worked from home – we love the flexibility! We’re always sharing news and views about business ownership and flexible working on our LinkedIn page – follow us to find out more.

Working from home during the school holidays can seem like a real challenge. But the key to finding the balance might lie in your attitude.

For this blog, we’ve caught up with Gloria, one of our VAs who offers life coaching and business planning in addition to back-office support. Read on for her great advice on rethinking work/life balance and overcoming negative mindsets.

Why is working from home in the school holidays such a challenge for parents?

Gloria: It’s a challenge because we care. We love our children and know we should be there for them. But we also know that we’re supposed to be working and earning, both to set a good example to our kids and because there are bills to pay! We often feel pulled in two different directions, and we might feel like we’re letting down both our children and our work.

How can we rethink our working lives to achieve a better balance?

Gloria: The good news is that there are lots of strategies to try. Here are some of my favourites:

  1. Ask yourself what you really want

Start by asking yourself what you really want and what a good summer would look like for you. For example, you might decide that, as well as weekends, you want to have a “family day” every week. Or perhaps you’d rather squeeze all your paid work into two intense days and have the rest of the time free to use however you want. Whatever you decide, say it out loud or write it down. Make it specific. “I’d like more free time,” won’t result in you doing anything; reorganising your diary for a four-day week will.

  • Get your objections in proportion

Once you’ve decided what you want, the little voice in your head will probably start raising objections. It might tell you that your boss will think you’re slack. Or it might tell you that you won’t make enough money if you don’t work every day.

A good way to deal with these objections is to ask yourself whether they’re true. Are you just assuming your boss will hate your plan? Have you actually done the sums that show you won’t make enough?

Try to rationalise your doubts. If you do and you find they have foundation, thank the voice in your head for protecting you! But it’s more likely that you will realise that working a five-day, forty-hour week is just a habit and there’s no reason why you should stick to it. And if that’s the case, let it go.

  • Techniques to let a negative mindset go

Something I have learned as a life coach is that we are capable of any mindset. We can rewire our brains to think in a new way. Yes, we might have learned some negative mindsets during our lives so far, but it is possible to reframe those mindsets and make them positive.

So when it’s time to let go of the idea that we have to do a five-day week, even when it doesn’t work for us, we can use certain techniques to dispel anxiety and put ourselves in the positive frame of mind we need.

By the way, if you spend the summer holiday feeling stressed just because of work and family pressure, these techniques are for you too. Remember, some will suit you and others won’t – just choose the ones that work for you and your family.

Affirmations are repeated words that help you create a sense of internal, emotional safety. Try repeating, “I can do this,” or “My family love me,” or whatever the phrase is that resonates with you.

Try starting the day with meditation. Sit or lie somewhere quiet and place your hands on your tummy so you can feel your body moving as you breathe. Focusing on the breath for a few minutes in the morning can help you feel more focused and positive throughout the day.

Intervene to stop anxiety. Most anxiety is forward looking, suggesting possibilities that haven’t happened yet. So if you start to feel anxious, try to bring yourself back to the present. A good way to do this is to use your senses – find one thing each for sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. This exercise will ground you and might help you regain your sense of proportion.

Go outside! Walk barefoot on the grass and reconnect yourself with something bigger than you. It’s a beautiful world, and so much bigger than your child spilling a drink or a tricky spreadsheet formula.

And lastly, one for the whole family! Work together to write down what is going wrong…and then rebalance it by writing down what is going right. You’ll quickly see that the positive column is a lot longer than the negative one. This can go a long way to making us feel better. When we work, we set a positive example to our children. But we also set a positive example when we show our vulnerability. Writing a gratitude list is a great way to teach emotional literacy to our children (which might mean fewer interruptions too!).

Support for working from home during the summer holidays

If you need business support, Get Ahead are here to help. Gloria offers coaching and business planning alongside more traditional VA duties. She has helped many business owners to find direction as well providing them with valuable back-office support. Explore our site to find out more, or contact your local regional director here.

When you work alone, it can be difficult to give your clients your full attention while also driving business development. However, with the right attitude and priorities, it is completely possible! Read on for our top business growth ideas for solopreneurs.

What are the barriers to business development for people who work alone?

When we work alone, it’s really difficult to scale up our businesses. We have limited capacity, and once all our working time slots are full, there are no more hours available for us to earn from. This means that marketing, cold calling and other business development approaches probably won’t deliver what we need, because our businesses aren’t scalable.

On the other hand, we want to grow our businesses. No business owner is prepared to stay put forever. Instead, we need to take courage and think differently!

Top business growth ideas for solopreneurs

  1. Be so good they can’t ignore you!

If we’re going to grow, we have to be unquestionably, unapologetically good at what we do. This puts us in a strong position to charge a higher rate. It can also help us establish ourselves as thought leaders, helping us to build a reputation that can help us launch other revenue streams that do not place demands on our time.

  • Remember that your expertise is valuable

Whatever we do, we probably find it enjoyable and easy – that’s why we do it! But remember too that the reason there is a market for our services is because not everyone can do what we do. Our knowledge and expertise have value.

Once we’ve established this mindset, it’s easier to see other ways we can share our expertise and grow our businesses too. Could we accept a speaking engagement? Better yet, could we accept two speaking engagements? That way, we can say almost the same thing to two different audiences and earn twice the revenue for one-and-a-half times the input.  

  • Create other revenue streams

We’ve established that regular work is limited by the number of hours we have available. But that doesn’t mean we can’t generate income in a way that doesn’t eat into our time. For example, collating expertise into a book enables us to earn from book sales while we are doing our regular client work. Depending on our business, we could sell branded products, or develop paid-for content too.

  • Offer packages

Creating a package of top services is a great way to move away from the hourly-rate model that is holding back our business growth. For example, if you offer web design, consider offering web design and hosting as a package and gain a regular monthly income from it. Packages usually mean better service for your client because they have peace of mind knowing that everything is covered. And it’s good news for your business growth too – more money goes into the business on a regular basis while still leaving you time to do what you love.

  • Work with other people

Even with these ideas, there will still come a time when we cannot keep doing everything ourselves. When this happens, it’s time to accept help. Some business owners choose to employ staff. Others choose to outsource the tasks they find most challenging (see previous remarks about no one being good at everything!) – this frees them up to focus on their core business.

Outsource business development services

If your business would benefit from extra support, we hope you’ll consider Get Ahead. Many of our clients are in the scale-up phase of business growth, using outsourced support as an affordable solution as they grow. Explore our site or follow us on LinkedIn to find out more.

Hotel digital marketing covers everything from your website to social media – any kind of marketing you do online, essentially! One of the most important areas of digital marketing for hotels and holiday rentals is review management.

In this blog, our digital marketing expert Mel explains why reviews matter and explains ideas for getting guests to leave reviews. She’ll also share tips for how to manage reviews once you’ve received them.

Why do hotel and holiday rental reviews matter?

 

Mel: Arguably, reviews matter more in the hospitality industry than anywhere else. This is because people usually go on holiday to somewhere new – that’s part of what makes it a holiday! What this means is that your guests have to rely heavily on reviews to help them make the decision about whether or not to stay at your hotel.

If the potential guest finds it’s a toss up between two hotels, they’re going to choose the one with the most positive reviews.

Remember, every interaction is an opportunity to show your personality. Reviews will give potential guests an idea of what to expect…and so will the way you reply.

How can I encourage guests to leave reviews?

Mel: Ask them! Most people love to be asked – they feel great having their opinion valued. Asking also shows that you’re confident in your services – let your confidence shine out!

A good time to ask is when guests check out. The sooner they leave the review, the more honest and specific it is likely to be. You could have a QR code on the front desk for guests scan – that way, they can leave their review while waiting for their taxi.

How do I manage reviews of my hotel or holiday rental?

Mel: Naturally, we all want a lovely collection of five star reviews! However, we also need to be realistic. Not all reviews are going to be positive – some might be mixed and others downright bad.

Working in digital marketing, I’ve noticed that every single review is an opportunity to show how good you are at what you do. Even a bad review gives you the chance to reply and show how good your customer service and problem-solving skills really are.

  1. How to deal with positive reviews

These are the easier ones to deal with! Even though they usually require less attention, it’s still a good idea to take time to reply and thank the reviewer for their praise. This shows your upbeat side, and also demonstrates that you love interacting with people – two characteristics to make a future guest feel welcome.

  • How to deal with negative reviews

Mixed or negative reviews always take more time to deal with. Summon your inner strength and try not to take them personally. Instead, try to see them as opportunities to show how well you deal with problems.

The most important things to do are reply politely and appropriately as soon as you can, and try and get the conversation away from the review site so you don’t end up having an awkward discussion in public. If you can, use the phone or email to discuss the problem instead. Try and remain professional and don’t get into an argument.

If you learn anything valuable from the negative review, let the reviewer know that you appreciate their feedback and will be making changes. Take the opportunity to show the original reviewer and any future guests that you listen, you care and you solve problems effectively. You might well be able to turn a negative situation into a positive one!

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to have negative reviews taken down. Most review sites, including the biggest ones like Google and Facebook, will only take down a review that is unreasonable. Resist the urge to turn off the “leave a review” option if you get a bad review. Instead, continue asking people to leave reviews and let the good ones dilute the effect of a few bad ones.

Outsource your hotel digital marketing and review management

Another review management solution is to outsource it. Let a digital marketing expert like Mel deal with the reviews from her own home while you concentrate on delivering a fantastic experience to the guests who are with you right now.

A huge advantage of having a remote worker manage the reviews is that they look at them as an outsider. It’s easy to take reviews personally, and fixate on one bad one even if you’ve also had twenty good ones! But a remote marketing expert can help you regain your sense of proportion, as well replying to the straightforward reviews and prompting you to address the more complex ones.

Why not explore our social channels to find out more about what Get Ahead has to offer? And to find out more about outsourcing your hotel digital marketing, talk to your local regional director today.

PS – we’ve put together our top resources for hotel owners in one ebook – download it here!