Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 19, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 25 N ot too long ago, my team posted an article on our site outlining how we helped one of our clients – an HVAC company based in Malden – rank in Google's coveted Local 3 Pack. The Local 3 Pack is a top-spot on results pages that includes a company's reviews, direc- tions to their business and more. If you get in that 3 Pack, you're bound to get qualified traffic funneled to your site. The breakdown of how we got our client into the 3 Pack in just a few days is pretty extensive, but what I wanted to do here was give you some action- able highlights so that you, too, can get more positive reviews which, in turn, will increase your chances of being fea- tured in that Local 3 Pack. 1) Set up Google My Business page There are a ton of places to build reviews for your business. But for our purposes – getting our clients' ranking to improve on Google – it made sense to focus energy on boosting Google Reviews. For that you need to set up a Google My Business page. Getting set up takes a few minutes. 2) Segment your contacts into 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . … O p e n i n g a b r e w e r y By AiVi Nguyen AiVi Nguyen is a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey and a member of Bowditch's Craft Brewers Industry Group. Reach her at anguyen@bowditch.com. K N O W H O W How to get positive online reviews for your company W ork betrayals – such as mis- management of layoffs, execu- tive-level crime, or a leader taking credit for someone else's efforts – erode trust. Research by the Stowe, Vermont-based Reina Trust Building Institute, which specializes in restoring workplace trust, says "90 percent of employees report that they feel the effects of eroded trust on a daily basis." It's an emotion that affects turnover, productivi- ty and more. Here are some ways to earn back trust in the workplace. Be vulnerable. Be human. When your team hears you say things like, "I might be wrong," or "I don't know the answer," they see that you are not bul- letproof, that you have vulnerabilities. "People who have a high need to defend what they did wrong instead of admitting their mistake are not trust- ed," says a blog article by Peter Barron Stark Cos., a management consulting company. Vulnerability builds transpar- ency, which builds trust. Seek ways to give support. "Share key information and insights to help employees feel involved and 'in the know,'" say workplace trust consultants Dennis and Michelle Reina at an article at BusinessKnowHow.com. It helps for team members to see how they can move ahead in a broader context, and how they can shift from finding blame to solving problems. Seek support for yourself, as well, from a mentor or coach. Create a safe space. A leader should bring themselves into the problem of trust deterioration. "Trust requires the individual to feel as though they are operating in a safe environment and have the full support of their leader," said David DeWolf at Fortune.com. "In addition to setting the tone … I dem- onstrated a willingness to be part of the solution … they began to gain confi- dence that I wasn't just beating them up, but rather committed to finding a solution. This made it safe for others to participate," he said. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: R e b u i l d i n g t r u s t 10) Choose your name and logo carefully. The end goal is to be able to trademark your identity. In order to do that, you have to be distinguishable from others. Do your research and be creative. 9) Size. Be Goldilocks. Like the three bears' beds, successful breweries come in all different sizes. Be honest with yourself about how big you want to get and how big you think you'll get. 8) Location. What are the zoning restrictions at the location you are looking at? Is there room to grow? Is there enough parking? Pick a city or town keen on the idea of a new brewery. 7) Lease or own. There are pros and cons to each. If you opt to lease, go over the lease with a fine-toothed comb. Make sure the landlord is someone you can get along with, someone you can imagine working with for five to 10 years. 6) Financing. Whether you are dipping into your 401(k), asking your friends and family for loans, seeking investors, or applying for a bank loan, whatever you think your budget is, increase it by 20 percent. Things cost more than you think. 5) Timing. You will not open the brewery as early as you think you will. Plan ahead as to how you will keep your lights on during the process. 4) Food. Its common sense to feed people who are drinking, whether it's from your onsite kitchen, food trucks, or delivery from local restaurants. 3) Keep your circle tight. Make sure everyone on your team is for the team and not themselves. Successful breweries have trade secrets. A formal contract defining rights and responsibilities between the owners is an absolute necessity. 2) Do business with professionals who understand breweries. Starting a brewery is different than starting other businesses. Deal with lawyers, accountants, banks and insurers who know the ins and outs. 1) Make friends with other brewery owners. The craft beer industry in Massachusetts is welcoming and collegial. Join the Craft Brewers Guild. Reach out to owners you admire to pick their brain. BY KHAM INTHIRATH Special to the Worcester Business Journal W past customers If you're savvy with email marketing, you may already have separate lists for past and current customers, as well as leads. If you don't, no worries. Take some time to go through your old con- tacts, and move your past customers into their own list. In fact, take it one step further – only add happy/satisfied customers into your Kham Inthirath is the founder and president of InThink, a Worcester marketing agency focused on helping local businesses find and connect with their target audiences. Reach him at kham@inthinkagency.com. W past customers list. This minimizes the chances of negative reviews. Pro tip: You'll want to use an email marketing software for this job. We rec- ommend MailChimp for most local businesses (the free version is all you'll likely need). 3) Send an email to your past (happy) customers Here's where being savvy with mar- keting and words matter; and we break it down into detail on our site. But you want your email to sound like it's com- ing from, well, you. Don't overdo the marketing lingo. Be straightforward. A good subject line might be, "Mind letting us know what you thought of our work?" Then, you want the rest of your email to be short and sweet. Ask your custom- ers to help support local businesses by leaving you a review. Then, give them the link to the page where they can leave your Google review. It's not actu- ally that easy to find that link, so if you struggle, let us know. We can help. 4) Monitor your reviews Lastly, monitor your reviews. Address any that are negative, and promote all that are positive (on your Facebook page, for example). If you do get a lot of positive reviews, your business will very likely rise in the Google ranks, perhaps all the way into that coveted Local 3 Pack. W

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