Brian Pasch will be conducting a seminar on Automotive Reputation Management at the 8th Digital Dealer Conference and I hope you can attend.  As part of Brian’s preparations for the seminar we wanted to share a strategy that is important to consider before starting an IRM program.

Here’s an excerpt from Brian’s IRM workbook:

I am often asked how to deal with DUPLICATE directory listings for your business on popular directories like Google Maps and consumer review sites like Yelp, Insider Pages or CitySearch.  It is not uncommon for a business to have multiple entries on the same website if:

1. Your business has moved during the past 10 years.
2. Your business has gone through a name change.
3. Someone added a new listing without checking for previous entries
4. Someone has purposely added the business multiple times with variations on your business name.

Duplicate Entries Are Not Good

Leaving duplicate entries on the same website dilutes your Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process and may trigger the website owner to ban both accounts if they feel you are spamming their index.   Duplicate entries that a consumer may find via organic search or by searching a review website should be removed.

To find duplicates, try these steps using Google search:

1. Search Google for your business name + the name of the review site
2. Search Google for your business phone number + name of the review site
3. Search Google for your OEM brand, city  + name of the review site
4. Search or your business name inside of the website using their search tool.

So, if your dealership name is Brickell Honda, you would test for duplicates on InsiderPages.com by going to Google and typing as a search these three phrases:

1. brickell honda insiderpages
2. 866-645-7878 insiderpages
3. honda miami insiderpages

The process for removing duplicate entries varies by website.  Google Maps has an easy tool to report duplicate or erroneous map entries.  Other websites like Yelp, have a reporting process that requires a few more steps.  Invest the time in making sure all your public directory listings are correct. 

Review All Public Directory Listings

When you review your business listings, here are some suggestions:

1. Make sure you have a tracking number on the most popular websites, like Google Maps, and the review websites that show on Google Page One and Page Two for your dealership name.
2. Make sure your website address is correct
3. Make sure that you have selected the proper business category “tag” for the services you offer.
4. Make sure there are no spelling errors.
5. Make sure you take advantage of any sites that allow you to load photos or videos to your listing page.

Once all the most effective IRM websites are de-duped, record the links to all your business profile pages in a file that can be used to for IRM letters, icon placement for your primary website or to be used in a Reputation Management Portal (RMP). 

Checking What Consumers Are Saying

By having a single document that has all your profile page links, it is a basic ad no-cost way to see what has been written about your business online.  Setup a procedure where someone on your team visits these profile pages to ensure that no complaints have been posted that you are not aware of.

Setting up Google Alerts is another free tool to notify you in real-time when anything is posted online with your dealership name. However ,in case you miss some alerts, checking your manual list will be a second round of checks and balances for your overall social media strategy.

There are paid services that automate this process and save you the manual work but not everyone has extra money to spend.  So you have no excuse, other than time, not to check your current business listings and clean them up if they have duplicates on the same website.

See You In Orlando

At my DD8 seminar I will demonstrating the most effective strategies, policies and procedures to create powerful Internet Internet Reputation Management (IRM) campaign, which should be an integral part of your social media strategy.  Public review websites is one of the most powerful social media tools that consumers have decided are valuable so you can’t ignore them!

Car dealers who want to implement an effective Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process at their dealership should plan on attending Brian Pasch’s seminar at the 8^th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando.  The conference runs from April 20^th through the 22^nd and will attract the top dealers in the country who are passionate about digital marketing.

Brian will educate dealers on how to create an effective reputation management strategy that empowers the dealership’s customers to share their positive experiences online.  With Google consolidating consumer’s reviews on Google Maps, car dealers can no longer ignore what consumers are saying online.

More importantly, if dealers are not proactively asking their satisfied customer to post their reviews online, the only comments that most dealers will see will be critical.   Brian’s research has shown that as positive reviews increase, so do calls and leads from a Google Maps listing.

Brian will walk attendees through the processes and procedures to establish a strong IRM program as well as leveraging new IRM ideas that include Reputation Management portals (RMP).

For additional information on the seminar schedule and how to register for the 8^th Digital Dealer Conference, visit:  http://www.digitaldealerconference.com

Today consumers have tremendous power to write and express their opinions online.  This power is sometimes abused and car dealerships can be attacked without a fair chance to respond or rectify the complaint.  Another source for concern for car dealers are ex-employees who have decided to attack their former employer online.

In these cases, employees decide to hang out the employer’s dirty laundry, that most companies, have in the public eye.  In the automotive industry, consumers would be hard pressed to put in perspective some of the behinds the scenes “language”  or strategies crafted by car dealers.  

Former employees use this knowledge to paint their former employer as a bad person, a liar or characterizations that are much worse.

Car Dealer Reputation Management

Car Dealer executives and owners need to have a proactive Internet Reputation Management campaign in place to defend their good name.  In the summer of 2009 we were approached to help one automotive executive fight back against the unsubstantiated claims of online bloggers, many of which were former employees.  Five months later, the results of our Automotive Reputation Management strategies are paying off.

When you do a search for Carol Grossinger, on Yahoo and Bing, the first page of search results now display the good works Caroline is doing in the community as well as leading her business.  This summer there were multiple attacks on Caroline’s reputation that appeared on Yahoo and Bing Page One search results.  That has been corrected by the IRM team at the Pasch Consulting Group.

10 out of the 10 organic listings for Carol’s name on Yahoo and Bing now properly represent her integrity, business success and her charitable work in the community.

In Yahoo and Bing, we have a complete Page One Management (POM) success story and you can see that from the screen shots below:

Google and Rip Off Report Website

On Google we have 9 out of the 10 organic listings on Page One updated with positive news except for the infamous “RipOffReport.com” website.  Google and this website have a long history of high rankings and this site is challenging to remove from Page One.  It will be pushed off of page one over time but it is not a fast process for some posts.

When stubborn posts like this “compliants” site are on Google Page One, we have to employ even stronger measures to promote our clients reputation.  The owner of the RipOffReport.com has allegedly been extorting cash from companies with negative posts for years and has been tied up in many lawsuits that allege the same.  There is no rational discussions with the staff at the RipOffReport.com; their business is tied to being on page one for company name or executive name searches.

The good news is that we are making progress as you can see from the screenshot below; the negative website is now under the fold when before it was #2 on the first page.  The photos were never there before we started and new videos that we will be adding will also help in 2010.

If you or your automotive dealership has been attacked by former employees or disgruntled consumers, give the IRM team at Pasch Consulting Group a call.  You can ask for Jessica Guida, IRM specialist or Brian Pasch, CEO and founder of the company.  We will review your specific situation and help you implement a proactive Internet Reputation Management (IRM) solution.