#use that as leverage in any argument and its the easiest win

[3-aem]

fking sucks as a female engineer i have to literally go through all the documentation for a subject just to be like i read the docs here’s where ur wrong bc me going ‘my understanding is-‘ by itself has historically not been enough to persuade Anyone.

[c0smicheaux]

Seventh House Planet Placements

Sun-

People who have their sun in the seventh house of their natal chart crave relationships with people. Their need to grow and shine in their own self-expression is provided through one-to-one interactions with other people. These chart holders see themselves more clearly when they are relating with other people. Masters at attracting people into relationships, they are also extremely skilled at negotiating with them and know how to get what they want from people. Because their own needs are served by relating with other people, seventh-house suns can't help themselves from seeking out interactions with people. Seventh-house sun chart holders can accomplish a great deal in life because they know how to manipulate people. However, this position can be frustrating because they rely on other people for their ability to shine in the world. They are often very complimentary toward people. Seventh-house suns are acutely aware of their leverage in relationships and are never afraid to use this leverage to get their way. The more mature seventh-house suns are good at using this leverage without the other person being aware of it, but less mature chart holders are more transparent. The seventh-house sun position can produce a person who enjoys relationships so much that only a few are not enough to satisfy them. They can be fickle about partners because new partners inspire them and allow them to see themselves in new ways.

Moon-

Seventh-house moons unconsciously form relationships with people in order to maintain their own emotional stability. They may want to care for other people or they may expect other people to care for them, but the expectation for emotional needs to be met through relationships is always there. In business, these can be people who expect associates to serve them. Or, a seventh-house moon may be skilled at serving others by partnering up with others to give legal counsel or by contributing valuable business skills. These chart holders need relationships with other people in order to feel comfortable with their own lives. Interactions with partners comfort them. Even if the interactions are combative, they still serve their need to move through their life within the vehicle of a relationship with another person. It's the interaction and the partnership that are needed rather than any specific person. This is why seven-house moon chart holders can be fickle in their love relationships. They are looking to get their own needs satisfied and there may always be someone who can do this better than their current partner. Add this to the fact that their expert skill at attracting and negotiating with people is unconscious, so that they don't even have to try to excel at it, and you have a person who can easily float from one relationship to the next. Those with a seventh-house moon, or Cancer on their descendant often look for relationships with Cancer-like people who are emotional, caring and sensitive.

Mercury-

This is a beneficial placement. One-to-one relationships are not taken overly seriously and there is not a likelihood for hurt feelings. Rather, the chart holder with a seventh-house Mercury will approach these relationships with a slightly detached and analytic style. Problems are discussed rationally and finding solutions to problems is always the goal instead of engaging in power struggles or emotional games. People who have Mercury in their seventh house have a light approach to one-to-one relationships. They enjoy conversation and prefer to keep the topics varied. People with Mercury in their seventh house or Gemini on their descendant are often attracted to relationships with Gemini-like people who are detached, verbal and rational.

Venus-

An extremely beneficial placement, Venus in the seventh house gives the chart holder an expectation for enjoyment in one-to-one relationships. A seventh-house Venus has finesse in relationships and treats relationships tenderly but not emotionally. People with this placement look for the best in people while trying to ignore the negative qualities in others. Because seventh-house Venus people treat relationships with tenderness and respect, they are generally treated well in return. This is the gift of the seventh-house Venus. Venus in the seventh house also knows how to be attractive. It is an excellent placement for marketing and sales professions as these people know what people want and how to win them over. Superior skills in compromising and negotiating are also found with a seventh-house Venus. Those with Venus in their seventh house or Libra on their descendant find Libra-like people attractive who are gracious, tactful and fair-minded.

Mars-

Those with Mars in the seventh house often find themselves in power struggles in one-to-one relationships because they need to exert their will in their relationships. Mars is the planet of "will" and when it is in the seventh house of "relationships", the chart holder's need to exert their will usually comes at the expense of another person. They actually use relationships as vehicles for the expression of their will. In other words, they get want they want out of life through one-to-one relationships. Likewise, they expect other people to be equally interested in fulfilling their own needs and agendas. Put all of this together and it is obvious how seventh-house Mars people can be aggressive, demanding and argumentative in one-to-one relationships. However, if they are able to use restraint and patience, seventh-house Mars chart holders can make powerful negotiators who can gain successes and gains through one-to-one associations. Those with a seventh-house Mars or Aries on their descendant are attracted to Aries-like people who are aggressive and confident.

Jupiter-

In the seventh house, Jupiter brings its happy-go-lucky attitude into one-to-one relationships. These chart holders keep a very loose grip on people in relationships and expect to be granted a great deal of freedom in return. People with Jupiter in their seventh house want relationships that are free from drama or heavy emotional garbage. Easy conversation about non-personal topics are preferred. There are low expectations in terms of responsibilities and obligations in relationships with seventh-house Jupiter people. Going days or weeks without contact is not taken as an insult. People with Jupiter in their seventh house want the freedom to make their own rules and schedules in relationships. They don't want expectations about the frequency or depth of interactions. This easy-going, freedom-loving style often leads to multiple marriages, friendships and business partnerships that fizzle out due to neglect. Jupiter in the seventh house can take relationships so lightly that they lose people they didn't intend to lose. Care should be taken with this position not to let a need for freedom cause great losses in relationships. People with Jupiter in their seventh house or Sagittarius on their descendant are attracted to Sagittarius-like people who enjoy freedom and a light-hearted attitude.

Saturn-

A tendency toward an overly serious outlook on relationships is found with a seventh-house Saturn. So much so, that these people may attempt to avoid getting locked into one-to-one relationships. There is often a feeling that every interaction must go well otherwise the seventh-house Saturn chart holder is a loser. This type of self-imposed stress in relationships can eventually lead these chart holders to avoid relationships because of the fear of failure. Other times, these people choose to associate with older people. This makes the relationship easier because any fault found in the chart holder can be blamed on innocent immaturity. Or the older person can take the leadership position and any errors in the interaction can be blamed on them rather than the seventh-house Saturn person. Those with Saturn in their seventh house often marry people older than them for these reasons. However, as these seventh-house chart holders mature, their confidence and wisdom grow and they may leave their older partners in search of more equal relationships. These people often find more success in relationships later in life. Seventh-house Saturn people or those with Capricorn on their descendant are attracted to Capricorn-like people who are serious about life and are willing to care for their partners.

Uranus-

A tendency to feel suddenly trapped in relationships and partnerships is often found with a seventh-house Uranus. These chart holders can hold a great deal of frustration at bay until it just becomes too much to push aside. Then, they explode and run for their freedom. People with Uranus in their seventh house resent partners who try to give them boundaries. They refuse to be controlled, but they also offer their partners a great deal of freedom. Uranus in the seventh house has a detached feeling and emotional drama is not addressed. The easiest way to lose a seventh-house Uranus partner is to suffocate them with emotional drama. A one-to-one relationship or partnership based on trust and loose boundaries is the only happy relationship with a seventh-house Uranus. Those with Uranus in their seventh house, or Aquarius on their descendant are attracted to Aquarius-like people who are detached and unemotional.

Neptune-

Unclear boundaries are the hallmark of a seventh-house Neptune. Often, the reasons behind any one-to-one relationship are unclear. The rules about intimacy are cloudy. The communication is often foggy, and expectations are distorted. Often, there is one person who serves the other in relationships with a seventh-house Neptune. One person may also believe they constantly have to sacrifice for the other. Interactions can feel lopsided, with one person feeling used. However, a seventh-house Neptune chart holder can offer true compassion in relationships. Real emotion is valued and honored. Feelings are real for these chart holders. They are never discarded as trivial or unnecessary. Rather, these chart holders can provide empathy in relationships and care that is driven by love rather than duty. Seventh-house Neptune people, or people with Pisces on their descendant are often attracted to Pisces-like people who are sensitive and compassionate.

Pluto-

A suspicious, intense and untrusting nature is common when Pluto is in the seventh house. These chart holders will try their best to decipher their partner's motives in any interaction. Acutely aware of the subtleties of human relationship, seventh-house Pluto chart holders are patient and probing. They will not get involved in a friendship, love relationship or business partnership unless they feel satisfied that they have sufficiently examined the person and have a complete understanding of their purpose and intentions in the relationship. Seventh-house Pluto chart holders are also sensitive to which person in an interaction holds the most power, and if it isn't them, they will try to win it. Any person is a possible threat, so everyone is treated that way. Seventh-house Pluto people, or people with Scorpio on their descendant are attracted to Scorpio-like people who are careful and intense.

Source; southfloridaastrologer dot com

[kittenofanarchy]

Choleen Part 2

“How do we keep getting into these situations?” “Eleven years of friendship and I still don’t know.”

             As is the standard when going out with Choleen, we could not have a good ending to the night. This Tuesday was no different. Hanging out at the Hairy Dog, one of those places that we shouldn’t have been in, but Chol had friends in the Aryan Brotherhood who kept Darby off our backs. Chol like playing on the pool tables there, just taking the good folks of Charming’s money. She was good and most of the regular knew this fact, but there was always someone new who just didn’t take the warnings that were handed out. The first game went as was standard with Chol losing and pretending to be a cute girl just wanting to play a bit of pool. The regulars just turned away from what would become a train wreck in another game or two. She was dressed in a pair of Skinny jeans you would think were painted on. They framed her butt just right and showed off a bit of her thigh muscles when she moved. The sweater she was wearing helped with the act she was putting on, it was a pale blue that offset her hair and was slightly baggy hanging off her slim frame. All this was paired with what one would think juxtaposed the rest of the outfit, were her steal toed combat boots. She was sipping a glass of whiskey, this must’ve been her eighth or ninth. I lost track a few drinks ago, the locals liked to buy her drinks hoping it would make the torture of unsuspecting souls end faster and without a fight. Some weeks it worked, days like today it didn’t look like it.

             The second game was wrapping up with Chol losing once again, she was on her eleventh or twelfth drink now. Playing up the semi drunk twenty something year old she was. This was where things got dicey, more so when I sat near the bar where the bartender would leave me under the watch of locals when he went to break the fight up after calling Charming Police. This was such a common occurrence the locals didn’t move most days. It was true though this happened so often that it wasn’t worth bothering with. They warned the locals that she scammed.

             Game three was going about how it was supposed to Chol was winning and the newcomer was getting pissed. He was about to lose whatever he put on the table, when she started to get in a fight with him I would move towards the table where the money was and grab it before anyone else could and move back towards the bar fast. This was going to happen soon from the looks of it, she was down to three balls, whereas he seems to have almost all of them. He took his turn and, in his anger, shot the ball off the table which managed to hit a local. This fight may not start with her from the looks of it, but maybe I was also wrong because the local just threw it back to Choleen and the game continued, or maybe he knew that Chol would win whatever fight came her way. She sunk the last few balls she needed to and called the eight ball in what I would call a trick shot, she made it. The new guy got all red in the face, indicating rising blood pressure. Hands balling into fists, the sign of anger. Finally, the tightening of his shoulders, neck and facial muscles, there was the fight. Having seen enough of these start I could pinpoint the signs before they even moved.

             The dude launched towards Chol who still had her stick in her hands, fists raised and aimed for her face. I moved fast, grabbing the money before he could notice and landing back at the bar before the full brawl started. The bartender was already calling the cops but wouldn’t step in just yet. He would let her beat the shit out of the dude before stepping in. He understood the game we played, hell he had fallen for it once or twice. Chol had pushed the guy away using the stick as leverage, though it looked like the guy had gotten at least one good swing in because her eye brow was split. The stick was thrown to the side, she didn’t need and assault with a weapon charge, but the CCTV would show that the guy hit her first this was now self-defense. Though we also wouldn’t be pressing charges, this was all part of the game.

             She let him come at her again before landing a hit of her own to his face which sent him stumbling back, it was clear that she was stronger now and that was when the bartender stepped in. A few of the locals had to as well because the newcomer was not backing down from this fight. Chol did as soon as the bartender got between them knowing that the cops were on their way. Sure, enough they pulled up just as the newcomer was settled down away from Chol.  In walked Deputy Chief Hale, resident asshole cop, who hated anyone even closely associated with the Sons of Anarchy. He sent his partner over to the newcomer who was still spitting and hissing like a wet cat left out in the rain. Turning back to Chol who was being cuffed, Hale’s eyes landed on me, “Cleo why am I not surprised?” he stated plainly, “Another night of swindling unsuspecting people?”

             “They’re all warned. Isn’t that right Tank?” I asked the man that I was sitting next to who just nodded his head, some other locals backing him up. Hale knew the deal around here, all were warned, it was their fault if they didn’t listen. “We going down to the station?” I questioned, as I didn’t want to stand here all night.

             “Yes. You know the deal.” He muttered taking Choleen out to the car, she would be processed, but no one would be pressing charges. We would still keep the money, and no one would be the wiser.

             As if on cue, “Where’s my money! It was on the side of the pool table!” he tried to get over to the table, but the other cop was faster and stronger. She pulled him out the door before he could get anywhere. As she wrestled him into the car, the locals got bored of the situation and moved back to their tables or stools and focused back on drinking.

             “Anyone?” Hale asked, he knew where it was, but wouldn’t get anywhere with anyone. “OK. I guess its just gone.” He muttered, walking Chol out to the other car that had pulled up. I went after them. “Cleo you riding with us or got a car here?” he asked before getting into the front of the squad car.

             “I’ll take Chol’s car” I pointed to the matte black car sitting away from all the others. It was a gift from Clay when she turned sixteen and had graduated high school. I followed behind them to the station where I waited for them to put Chol into an interview room. Once she was set up in one I would be able to sit with her until she was let go. Though I hoped they wouldn’t call Gemma again, last time was not pretty. They put her in the room and I just got up and walked in which made the dude that came in with her sputter, he didn’t know how things worked in this small town. The Sons ran the town and those associated with them could basically do what they want within reason.

             We waited about an hour while I watched Chol throw knives that she had hidden in her boots at the door. One that had seen plenty of abuse at this point. I tapped her shoulder when I spotted Unser. Sure, enough he came into the room not realizing that the door was full of knives, how she fit that many in her boots never seemed to make sense to me. “How do we keep getting into these situations?” he asked, he looked tired. I felt bad for the man, he went through a lot dealing with the Feds that were lurking around at every turn and the mayhem that the Club continued to cause, and well Chol wasn’t the easiest person to deal with.

“Eleven years of friendship and I still don’t know.” I told him with a smile. “You called anyone to get her out of here?” I asked, Chol could sit here all night if they let her.

“I tried getting a hold of the Club house and TM, but nobody is answering the phones currently. Though again it is late at night.”

“Trust me. I am aware, but we both know that someone will notice her absence at some point and this place is always the first stop.” Chol was just sitting in the chair staring at the knife in her hands.

Unser looked at her finally, “How is it that you always have a knife with you when you end up in here!” he looked to the ceiling. “Where do you hide them?” he asked, placing his hands on his belt. She just sat there, this was a side effect from being in the IRA. She never said anything when in the station, nor did she say much when any officer was around for that matter now that I think about it. Though I could see the small pout that she had at being talked about. He turned to walk back out the door and saw that there were more knives buried in the door, “Really!” he started taking them out of the door, “I just had this fixed from that last time you mutilated it!” He finished taking them all out of the door and took them with him, “You can have them back when someone comes to pick you up” he muttered closing the door behind him. As soon as the door shut another knife was buried in it.

“Hey, you don’t need to be angry” I told her placing a hand on her shoulder. “We will be out of here as soon as he gets ahold of someone.” She sat back, and we waited. Finally, I could hear someone coming back towards us, I was sure that it was Unser and someone else.

In walked Gemma who was the last person that I wanted to have come pick us up, last time this happened Chol went off on her own for a few days after all because there was an argument over what happened and how not ok it was. “Ready?” her hand was placed on her hip, holding her purse on that wrist and she just oozed anger. Chol just stood up and went to the other side of the door picking her knife back out of it and holding a hand out to Unser. She wanted the rest of them back, but he just pointed to Gemma. Eyebrow quirked she turned out the door, “Thanks for calling” was thrown out behind her. Chol just glared at her back before following her out to where the cars were. I handed her the keys and watched her drive away without me. I probably wouldn’t be seeing her for a few days while she drove up and down the state just trying to get away from whatever was bothering her.

[uk-news-talking-politics]

The Brexit story we're not talking about

By Ian Dunt

For the next few weeks it'll be wall-to-wall Tory leadership elections. There are no drugs which could eradicate the horror of what this entails. The candidates are bottom drawer. They are so bottom drawer it's like someone detached it from the chest, tore up the floorboards, hid it underneath and then banged in some nails to make sure no-one ever found it.

And yet still they come, new ones every day. Last night it was Mark Harper, the immigration minister who resigned a few years back after admitting he could not find the documentation for his cleaner. He was praised as a man of integrity. She was arrested at her own daughter's wedding. Apart from that moment of pronounced moral bleakness, he has no accomplishments.

There are a few isolated examples of better quality people, but they have no chance of success, very often on the basis that they are quality people. If you have a vaguely functional head on your shoulders, or a basic sense of ethical responsibility, you would not encourage the notion of no-deal. But if you don't encourage no-deal, your chances recede. The party itself has gone insane, and that lunacy infects the behaviour and character of those who want to run it.

It's going to go on for a long time and it's going to be grim. It'll be like spiritual quicksand. The longer you stay watching it, the harder it'll be to restore your moral composure. In the worst case scenario, they will work themselves into an arms race on Brexit, until any sensible policy after their selection is impossible. In the best case scenario - and this really would be a victory - they will simply waste all the precious time we have as we trundle along to the October 31st deadline.

But there is something else going on, which will win far less coverage, but could prove more decisive overall. This is the under-reported story of the manoeuvres within Remain. The most prominent example right now is the Liberal Democrat leadership election, which will pit Ed Davey against Jo Swinson.

A YouGov poll overnight, rather incredibly, showed the party beating all competitors on 24%, next to 22% for the Brexit party, 19% for the Conservatives and Labour, and eight per cent for the Greens. These figures are all close to the margin of error, they're probably anomalous, and even if they're not they may just reflect a temporary sense of momentum coming out of the elections. But they show what the party is capable of, if nothing else, and how much possibility there can be in moments of political volatility.

Whoever becomes party leader will face some big choices. They are both under pressure to rule out a coalition, and both will probably do so, just to instantly put to bed the remaining irritation over their partnership with the Tories. In actual fact, the Liberal Democrats have quite a good story to tell about coalition. The years of Conservative-only rule which followed have been so catastrophic they serve to highlight exactly how important it was to have a moderate party restraining them. But regardless, the view is what it is and it isn't likely to change much.

Ruling out a coalition makes it harder to influence or stop the Brexit process through cooperation with Labour. Given the state of the two main parties and the current febrile chaos of British politics, the chances are that we're in hung parliament territory for some time to come. And that means that other opposition parties having influence over Jeremy Corbyn is the easiest way to imagine Brexit fundamentally changing.

That doesn't have to be a coalition, of course. The Tories have managed to just about stay in power using a confidence-and-supply arrangement with the DUP, although admittedly at the moment there is no confidence and even less supply. But the next Liberal Democrat leader could find themselves with a decisive role to play, trying to leverage Labour into as Remain-friendly a position as possible in exchange for their support.

The requirement for cooperation goes much deeper than just the Lib Dems. Whichever way you look at the next few months, a general election or second referendum becomes increasingly likely. The next prime minister won't be able to get rid of the backstop because of Brussels. And they won't be able to execute no-deal because of parliament. So they are likely at some point to reluctantly go to the country in some capacity. What Remainer politicians and campaigners do then will be essential.

Their track record so far has not been good. They failed to work together on the European elections. They initiated, agreed, and then, at the last minute, ruined a cooperation pact for the Peterborough by-election. The arguments for and against that pact, in that precise circumstance, were perfectly sound. What was astonishing was watching it all be conducted so ineptly.

The rhetoric has also been poor. Change UK candidates seemingly had no fire in their belly. And the Liberal Democrat European election campaign, although packaged with a commendably blunt slogan, was not particularly memorable on its own terms.

There are now some tentative signs of improvement. Change UK MPs look much more open to working with Lib Dems after a bruising election campaign. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price yesterday called for urgent meetings between Remain parties. Both Lib Dem candidates are making welcome noises.

The crucial background story of the next few months will be whether Remainers can stitch together a viable cooperative mechanism that allows them to maintain their individual tribal voices while harnessing the collective muscle of Remain voters, and then put it to work at a general election or referendum. That is about organisation at all levels - from the grassroots to parliament - and, most importantly, messaging. It will not be covered much by the press. All eyes will be on the Tory leadership process. But it could prove the most decisive issue in the Brexit saga over the months to come.

[riichardwilson]

How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management?

Advance Your Agency is a brand-new BrightLocal series, designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge and advice necessary to take your agency operations to the next level. 

This month we focus on review management – a key component of local SEO Company success.

Local SEO Companys know just how important online reviews are when it comes to gaining prominence in local search. 

According to Moz’s most recent Local Search Ranking Factors Study, review signals make up around 15% of local pack factors. Put simply, having a high quantity of recent, diverse, high-quality reviews means Google’s local search algorithm is more likely to favor your business and surface it for relevant search queries.

As an agency, though, it can be difficult to explain to clients just how important review management is and what the benefits could be to their businesses.

For example, how many times have you spoken with clients who believe that online reviews will just come flooding in on their own? If only things were that simple, eh?! 

In order to help your clients succeed in local search, you’ll first need to get buy-in on a solid review generation and management strategy — and that all begins with education.

In the first issue of our Advance Your Agency series, I’ll teach you just how to educate your clients on the benefits of review management. And by the end, you’ll be able to inform even the most skeptical merchants of why they need reviews.

Contents

Review Management Explained 

What is review management?

Where should you get reviews?

How to Educate Clients on Review Management

The Worst-case Scenario

Missed Opportunities

Industry Relevance

The Facts About Review Management

Answering Clients’ Questions

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

“Our business is one of many locations, how can we deal with review management at scale?”

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. what can I do?”

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

“My customers don’t do business online. do I still need reviews?”

Takeaways

Conclusion

Additional Resources

Review Management Explained

What is review management?

Firstly, if your clients aren’t already aware, you’ll probably want to educate them on what review management is in the first place.

Review management generally consists of four key components:

Generating reviews

Monitoring reviews

Responding to reviews

Leveraging reviews.

It is sometimes referred to as ‘reputation management’, although more often than not clients will refer to review management simply as ‘bad reviews’, ‘online reviews’, or just ‘getting better reviews’ — and it can often be useful to mimic this language when talking to your client, in an attempt to demystify review management from the get-go. Whether it’s in pitch decks or phone conversations, always try to mirror the language of your client. (Not sure where to start with a review management pitch deck? Take a look at our free, white-label templates.)

Where should you get reviews?

Reviews can be gained on any site that suits your client’s business. For example, a hotel would want to generate reviews on TripAdvisor, while a lawyer would find reviews more useful on Justia, and so on. Targeting niche review sites is certainly important — after all, you’ll want your client’s business to appear anywhere that customers may be searching for them.

But, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus primarily on Google reviews.

Why? Well, it’s more or less a given that all local businesses will benefit from generating reviews on Google My Business — first and foremost because this is the place that customers are most likely to see first. Say I was to search “plumbers near me”, the first thing that will appear will be the local pack, complete with Google My Business reviews for plumbers — you guessed it – near me.

Secondly, GMB reviews are important because Google is naturally going to favor its own reviews above third-party sites, and therefore building reviews via Google is more likely to boost your placement in the local pack.

With these reasons in mind, focusing on Google Reviews will be by far the easiest sell.

How to Educate Clients on the Benefits of Review Management

There are near hundreds of stats I could (and most likely, will) share with you about the importance of reviews, but when it comes to appealing to clients, you’re going to want to play on the emotional factor of reviews. Any agency can spew out a handful of facts about reviews, but that should come later, once you’ve established the real-life impact reviews can have.

The Worst-Case Scenario 

First, level with your client; explain to them what not having an effective review management strategy could do to their business.

Let’s use an example of what could happen when a client receives a bad review.

Here, I’ve found a recent low-rated review from a New York-based restaurant:

Now ask your client, what’s the worst outcome that can come from getting a review like this? First and foremost, you’ve got an unhappy customer – they’re not going to visit your place of business again, put any money in your hands, or spread any positive news to their friends. 

But, beyond that, this customer is acting as an active deterrent to any other potential visitors. In fact, they explicitly say “Go eat somewhere else”. Not exactly a glowing review, right? And so, in the worst-case scenario, you’re losing out on potentially hundreds of customers, which means lost profit.

Well, while there’s not a lot you can do to correct this customer’s bad experience (in the words of Cher, if only we could turn back time!), with the help of review management you can improve this outcome drastically. 

If the restaurant provided a response to this negative review (it hasn’t), apologizing for the customer’s negative experience, offering to look into the issue for them, and providing some kind of incentive to return, then not only might they win over a lost customer, but they’d also be showcasing their great customer service to anyone who sees the review.

Think of it as damage control. No business is perfect, and even if your client’s business is running like a well-oiled machine, they’re likely to encounter a fair few negative reviews over time. Responding to reviews in a timely manner means you’re going to limit the amount of damage that negative feedback can do.

When explaining this scenario to your client, don’t be afraid to use one of their real-world reviews as an example. And even better, if you can compare the results with a client who has taken up review management, can you explain how it improved their results or helped them to reach their goals? Taking every opportunity to back up your argument with evidence is the masterstroke that will win you business.

Missed Opportunities

If your client isn’t quite so worried about receiving negative reviews, then you’ll want to appeal to them based on the opportunities they might be missing. 

How could review management take their business to the next level? What are they missing out on by not managing online reviews?

Here, I’ve used a search local to me, “plumbers near me” — and for context, I’m based in Brighton, UK.

Now, here there’s a plumber ranking in the top spot. But as a consumer, am I going to ring them? To give them my hard earned money and custom? Not a chance!

The position in the local pack might sway me if I’m looking for a low-stakes purchase like lunch, but when it comes to industries that present more risk to me if I choose unwisely, such as plumbing, I’m going to pick the plumbing business that can prove that it has the best reputation, the one that leaves a flood (pardon the pun) of happy customers in its wake. And that’s the one with the best review rating.

So, even though the business is ranking in the second position, on this occasion my custom will be going to AC Plumbing, rather than Small Job Plumbing.

If Small Job Plumbing was your client, what would you say to them? They’ve just missed out on business for the sole reason that they’ve not got enough positive reviews. This is a prime example of opportunities missed due to neglecting review management.

Once again, explaining this scenario to a client using real-world examples of their search rivals will only make it more effective. Do they have a competitor that they just can’t seem to shake? Compare the two businesses’ review profiles and see who comes out on top. How good would your client feel knowing that not only that they’ve come out on top in rankings but they’ve also beat their competitors in the process? 

These are the kinds of examples that are really going to appeal to your client, so where possible, always relate it back to their own feelings and goals – you start with the emotional argument then build towards the rational.

Industry Relevance

Although I believe that review management is important for all businesses, there are definitely some businesses that will need reviews even more than others. And you’ll want to explain this to your client in a way that appeals to their specific industry.

For example, YMYL (your money, your life) businesses are much more likely to need reviews in order to gain the trust of consumers.

If you’re dealing with clients who operate in YMYL industries such as health, finance, or business, then you’re going to need to drive this fact home even more – without review management you will lose out on customers.

Again, ask your client to put themselves in the consumers’ shoes. Would you contact a lawyer, a medical professional, an account, who didn’t have a shining review profile? 

Using the search query “Immigration lawyer Texas”, almost every single ranking business has hundreds of reviews with an average of 4-5 stars. Chances are, if your client doesn’t have a high review volume and star rating in an industry like this, neither Google nor consumers are going to give them a second glance. Sure, it’s a packed market, but without reviews, your clients can’t even enter the ring, let alone perform the knockout blow.

In short, if you’re speaking with clients in YMYL sectors, it’s vital to emphasize that review management is essential.

When looking at industry relevance, it’s also worth thinking about industries that are more likely to receive positive reviews. For example, Kick Point Inc’s President, Dana DiTomaso, has found that any business relating to pets is going to get heaps more positive, and more detailed, reviews than other industries.

Think about it. People love their pets, so of course, they’re going to leave rave reviews if they have a positive experience. And equally, if they have a bad experience, they’re also going to use several paragraphs to explain why no one should ever visit that business again. 

Looking at a search for a Seattle-based pet grooming company, each business has hundreds of super detailed reviews. And the negative ones are just as in-depth.

As such, if your client operates in an industry like this — one where people are likely to be more passionate, for example — they’ll need to be extra-vigilant with review management. A negative review could mean lost business for years to come.

Each client’s industry will offer different benefits of review management, so, along with explaining the wider benefits of online reviews, you’ll want to focus on these more niche examples, too. Think about what you, as a consumer, want to see when you’re making a local search for your client’s business type. Putting yourselves in the consumer’s shoes and making a reasonable argument from their perspective will only enhance the case for review management.

The Facts About Review Management

Once you’ve laid the groundwork — sharing relevant examples, appealing to your client’s emotion, and highlighting the overarching importance – you’ll probably want some stats and cold, hard evidence to support your points. This way you’re ensuring you appeal to clients who want to hear a story as well as those who just can’t get enough graphs and charts.

As always, it’s important to align the content of your pitch to what your client’s goals are, so you don’t waste time on sharing statistics that don’t help your argument.

Do they want to rank better in local search?

Do they want more conversions (website clicks, calls, etc.)?

Or do they need to do some good old-fashioned reputation management (managing and responding to negative reviews)? Depending on what goals you identify with your client, your approach will likely differ.

For example, a business wanting more conversions might want to know how reviews correlate with website clicks. Alternatively, clients only interested in ranking higher will need information on local ranking factors.

So, familiarize yourself with these stats, all of which come from reputable sources of research (including yours truly!)

Online Reviews Influence Consumers’ Actions

Our Local Consumer Review Survey showed that a whopping 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and what’s more, after reading a positive review, 32% of consumers say they’ll go directly to the business’s website. 

If that doesn’t scream “conversion metric”, I don’t know what does!

Online Reviews Lead to Website Clicks

Again, highlighting the conversion power of reviews, our Local Services Ads Click Study found that review ratings are the biggest driver of clicks in local SERPs. So, need more site traffic? Get yourself some reviews!

Plus, with the rise of zero-click searches, review ratings are one of the key differentiators to help your client stand out in the local pack. Even if they’re ranking in the top three, think about it: is a customer more likely to click the business with 200+ 4-star reviews, or the one with just a handful?

Online Reviews Lead to Sales

Is your client looking to make more sales? Well then, they might like to know that, according to the Spiegel Research Center, the purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with zero reviews. 

Similarly, Location3’s research shows that improving your review star rating by 1.5 could equal as many as 13,000 more leads.

Of course, these numbers will differ based on your client’s industry and other factors, but nonetheless, are they willing to risk missing out on these potential gains?

Online Reviews Build Trust

If your client is more concerned with building consumer trust, they’ll probably want to know that 91% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, and that showcasing reviews on your website increases consumer trust.

Consumers Need High Review Ratings to Commit

As consumers continue to navigate a world filled with spam and fake reviews, they’re growing increasingly skeptical. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 35% of consumers will not use a business with less than a four-star rating; consumers read an average of 10 reviews before trusting a business; and 58% of consumers view recency as the most important review factor (Source: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019).

So, without a regular stream of high-rated reviews, your client will be limiting their potential buyers by a great deal. 

Consumers Don’t Trust Outdated Reviews

You might also encounter clients who agree that “yes, reviews are important”, but also insist that their two-year-old, five-star review profile is sufficient to win the business of today’s skeptical consumer market.

Well, to that we say, almost half of consumers will only pay attention to reviews written within the past two weeks. 

That means getting a fresh stream of reviews should be among your clients’ top priorities. Having a shiny five-star review profile doesn’t mean a whole lot if it’s not up to date.

Responding to Negative Reviews Increases Visits

Responding to negative reviews is valuable for a whole host of reasons, as we discussed earlier, but it might be worth telling your client that as many as 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to its negative reviews. So if your client isn’t responding to those bad reviews, they could be missing out on yet more footfall. 

Prepare to Answer These Questions

As a marketing agency agency or consultant dealing with local business reviews management, there are likely to be a few queries that pop up time and time again. Here, we’ve provided a series of review-related questions you can expect to encounter, and some tips to help you answer them.

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

Here, the answer will vary depending on the goals you’ve determined with your client. But, put simply, you should care about reviews because:

They’re a local ranking factor

They build consumer trust

They help with conversions

You can’t afford not to 

“I manage multiple business locations; how can we deal with review management at scale?”

This will be a common query if you’re dealing with multi-location businesses. The likelihood here is that this client is already feeling overwhelmed. After all, the bigger the business, the more internal hurdles and restrictions there are likely to be. 

Here, the answer is simple. Generating reviews for your multi-location business is non-negotiable. If your competitors are doing it (which they almost certainly are), then you need to do it too. 

As an agency, you can do things to help here, such as providing your client with the right tips, tactics, and tools, but however they choose to execute it based on their business structure, review management needs to be done. 

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

Every once in a while you may encounter a client who’s actually doing okay, and generating a steady stream of positive reviews. Regardless, that doesn’t mean review management should be entirely neglected, it just means there might be different benefits at play.

Ask your client, “Don’t you want to know what’s being said about your business?”. Review management is just as much about listening to customers as it is looking good on Google. Being proactively involved in review management not only means being able to listen to feedback, but it also means having more control of the conversation. 

What are people saying about your brand when they think you’re not listening? And how can you influence the conversation?

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. What can I do?”

Let’s face it — there are some industries that are going to struggle with online reviews more than others. I can’t imagine many people eagerly reviewing their DUI attorney publicly, can you? 

If that’s the case for your client, you’ll have to work more closely together to determine a successful review strategy that works for their vertical. In a situation like this, it’s key to illustrate that though the project may be more challenging, it’s also more likely to be even more rewarding.

If you’re in an industry where your competitors aren’t getting many reviews either, then having just a handful more reviews could be the difference between you getting chosen over them.

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

There’s always one! Some clients may want you to work wonders and magically remove all of their negative reviews from years’ past. But sadly, not only would that be against most sites’ (definitely Google’s) guidelines, it’s also not possible.

Though it might be tempting to shield your client from the truth, it’s really important to be honest and transparent with your clients here. Do not promise to delete their negative reviews! Instead, work on responding to them, building more positive reviews to push the negative reviews down, and bringing that average star-rating up to something to be proud of.

“My customers don’t do business online. Do I still need reviews?”

Your current customers may come to your storefront to do business with you, but that doesn’t mean they’re not online. And more importantly, it doesn’t mean that other potential customers aren’t going to find them online.

That said, there can still be plenty of value found in taking tactics offline. Google My Business even provides a marketing agency kit, so businesses can create in-store prompts for reviews and showcase customer feedback in store. 

So, businesses can still benefit from in-store conversions from online reviews and can encourage reviews from in-store customers, too. 

Takeaways

Appeal to your client’s emotion: how can reviews transform their business, their quality of service, their lifestyle, their day-to-day?

Highlight the competition: show your client that their closest competitor is doing review management, and they need to, too

Be honest: don’t promise to transform a client from position #10 to position #1 overnight

Do your homework: understand the industry your client is working in and what review sites will resonate most with them

Explain the facts: use reputable research statistics to support your claims

Understand your client’s goals: have a clear idea of what your client wants to achieve with review management

Don’t be afraid to go offline: if clients think review management won’t suit their business or audience, find out the methods that will work for them – even if that means taking marketing agency offline

Conclusion

Having a review management strategy in this day and age is absolutely necessary to achieve success in local search — whatever your client’s unique goals may be. Your client needs to know that if their competitors are doing it, they should be too. 

If you use the process above, I’m confident that you’ll be able to win over even the most apprehensive client, and easily sell them on the endless benefits of online review management.

Resources

If you’re looking for more supporting material to help you educate clients on the importance of online reviews, we’ve got you covered.

BrightLocal: White-label pitch decks

BrightLocal: 40 Online Review Statistics for 2020

Google My Business: Help getting reviews on Google

BrightLocal: Online reviews live Q&A

BrightLocal: How to Sell and Deliver Reputation Management

BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019

Moz: Local Search Ranking Factors

BrightLocal: Online Reputation Management Survey

Spiegel Research Center: How Online Reviews Influence Sales

BrightLocal: Impact of Review Ratings on CTR

Location3: Positive Google Reviews Improve Paid Search Conversion Rates

Harvard Business School: Reviews, Reputation and Revenue

ReviewTrackers: Online Review Survey

PatientPop: Online Reputation Survey

GatherUp: Online Reviews Study: Restaurants and Reviews

Harvard Business Review: Replying to Customer Reviews Results in Better Ratings

We’ll be back next month with another Advance Your Agency to help take your organization to the next level.

If you’re interested in receiving Advance Your Agency, and other BrightLocal content, direct to your inbox, you can sign up here.

And don’t forget to let us know your experiences with review management in the comments below! 

The post How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management? appeared first on BrightLocal.

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How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management?

Advance Your Agency is a brand-new BrightLocal series, designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge and advice necessary to take your agency operations to the next level. 

This month we focus on review management – a key component of local SEO Company success.

Local SEO Companys know just how important online reviews are when it comes to gaining prominence in local search. 

According to Moz’s most recent Local Search Ranking Factors Study, review signals make up around 15% of local pack factors. Put simply, having a high quantity of recent, diverse, high-quality reviews means Google’s local search algorithm is more likely to favor your business and surface it for relevant search queries.

As an agency, though, it can be difficult to explain to clients just how important review management is and what the benefits could be to their businesses.

For example, how many times have you spoken with clients who believe that online reviews will just come flooding in on their own? If only things were that simple, eh?! 

In order to help your clients succeed in local search, you’ll first need to get buy-in on a solid review generation and management strategy — and that all begins with education.

In the first issue of our Advance Your Agency series, I’ll teach you just how to educate your clients on the benefits of review management. And by the end, you’ll be able to inform even the most skeptical merchants of why they need reviews.

Contents

Review Management Explained 

What is review management?

Where should you get reviews?

How to Educate Clients on Review Management

The Worst-case Scenario

Missed Opportunities

Industry Relevance

The Facts About Review Management

Answering Clients’ Questions

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

“Our business is one of many locations, how can we deal with review management at scale?”

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. what can I do?”

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

“My customers don’t do business online. do I still need reviews?”

Takeaways

Conclusion

Additional Resources

Review Management Explained

What is review management?

Firstly, if your clients aren’t already aware, you’ll probably want to educate them on what review management is in the first place.

Review management generally consists of four key components:

Generating reviews

Monitoring reviews

Responding to reviews

Leveraging reviews.

It is sometimes referred to as ‘reputation management’, although more often than not clients will refer to review management simply as ‘bad reviews’, ‘online reviews’, or just ‘getting better reviews’ — and it can often be useful to mimic this language when talking to your client, in an attempt to demystify review management from the get-go. Whether it’s in pitch decks or phone conversations, always try to mirror the language of your client. (Not sure where to start with a review management pitch deck? Take a look at our free, white-label templates.)

Where should you get reviews?

Reviews can be gained on any site that suits your client’s business. For example, a hotel would want to generate reviews on TripAdvisor, while a lawyer would find reviews more useful on Justia, and so on. Targeting niche review sites is certainly important — after all, you’ll want your client’s business to appear anywhere that customers may be searching for them.

But, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus primarily on Google reviews.

Why? Well, it’s more or less a given that all local businesses will benefit from generating reviews on Google My Business — first and foremost because this is the place that customers are most likely to see first. Say I was to search “plumbers near me”, the first thing that will appear will be the local pack, complete with Google My Business reviews for plumbers — you guessed it – near me.

Secondly, GMB reviews are important because Google is naturally going to favor its own reviews above third-party sites, and therefore building reviews via Google is more likely to boost your placement in the local pack.

With these reasons in mind, focusing on Google Reviews will be by far the easiest sell.

How to Educate Clients on the Benefits of Review Management

There are near hundreds of stats I could (and most likely, will) share with you about the importance of reviews, but when it comes to appealing to clients, you’re going to want to play on the emotional factor of reviews. Any agency can spew out a handful of facts about reviews, but that should come later, once you’ve established the real-life impact reviews can have.

The Worst-Case Scenario 

First, level with your client; explain to them what not having an effective review management strategy could do to their business.

Let’s use an example of what could happen when a client receives a bad review.

Here, I’ve found a recent low-rated review from a New York-based restaurant:

Now ask your client, what’s the worst outcome that can come from getting a review like this? First and foremost, you’ve got an unhappy customer – they’re not going to visit your place of business again, put any money in your hands, or spread any positive news to their friends. 

But, beyond that, this customer is acting as an active deterrent to any other potential visitors. In fact, they explicitly say “Go eat somewhere else”. Not exactly a glowing review, right? And so, in the worst-case scenario, you’re losing out on potentially hundreds of customers, which means lost profit.

Well, while there’s not a lot you can do to correct this customer’s bad experience (in the words of Cher, if only we could turn back time!), with the help of review management you can improve this outcome drastically. 

If the restaurant provided a response to this negative review (it hasn’t), apologizing for the customer’s negative experience, offering to look into the issue for them, and providing some kind of incentive to return, then not only might they win over a lost customer, but they’d also be showcasing their great customer service to anyone who sees the review.

Think of it as damage control. No business is perfect, and even if your client’s business is running like a well-oiled machine, they’re likely to encounter a fair few negative reviews over time. Responding to reviews in a timely manner means you’re going to limit the amount of damage that negative feedback can do.

When explaining this scenario to your client, don’t be afraid to use one of their real-world reviews as an example. And even better, if you can compare the results with a client who has taken up review management, can you explain how it improved their results or helped them to reach their goals? Taking every opportunity to back up your argument with evidence is the masterstroke that will win you business.

Missed Opportunities

If your client isn’t quite so worried about receiving negative reviews, then you’ll want to appeal to them based on the opportunities they might be missing. 

How could review management take their business to the next level? What are they missing out on by not managing online reviews?

Here, I’ve used a search local to me, “plumbers near me” — and for context, I’m based in Brighton, UK.

Now, here there’s a plumber ranking in the top spot. But as a consumer, am I going to ring them? To give them my hard earned money and custom? Not a chance!

The position in the local pack might sway me if I’m looking for a low-stakes purchase like lunch, but when it comes to industries that present more risk to me if I choose unwisely, such as plumbing, I’m going to pick the plumbing business that can prove that it has the best reputation, the one that leaves a flood (pardon the pun) of happy customers in its wake. And that’s the one with the best review rating.

So, even though the business is ranking in the second position, on this occasion my custom will be going to AC Plumbing, rather than Small Job Plumbing.

If Small Job Plumbing was your client, what would you say to them? They’ve just missed out on business for the sole reason that they’ve not got enough positive reviews. This is a prime example of opportunities missed due to neglecting review management.

Once again, explaining this scenario to a client using real-world examples of their search rivals will only make it more effective. Do they have a competitor that they just can’t seem to shake? Compare the two businesses’ review profiles and see who comes out on top. How good would your client feel knowing that not only that they’ve come out on top in rankings but they’ve also beat their competitors in the process? 

These are the kinds of examples that are really going to appeal to your client, so where possible, always relate it back to their own feelings and goals – you start with the emotional argument then build towards the rational.

Industry Relevance

Although I believe that review management is important for all businesses, there are definitely some businesses that will need reviews even more than others. And you’ll want to explain this to your client in a way that appeals to their specific industry.

For example, YMYL (your money, your life) businesses are much more likely to need reviews in order to gain the trust of consumers.

If you’re dealing with clients who operate in YMYL industries such as health, finance, or business, then you’re going to need to drive this fact home even more – without review management you will lose out on customers.

Again, ask your client to put themselves in the consumers’ shoes. Would you contact a lawyer, a medical professional, an account, who didn’t have a shining review profile? 

Using the search query “Immigration lawyer Texas”, almost every single ranking business has hundreds of reviews with an average of 4-5 stars. Chances are, if your client doesn’t have a high review volume and star rating in an industry like this, neither Google nor consumers are going to give them a second glance. Sure, it’s a packed market, but without reviews, your clients can’t even enter the ring, let alone perform the knockout blow.

In short, if you’re speaking with clients in YMYL sectors, it’s vital to emphasize that review management is essential.

When looking at industry relevance, it’s also worth thinking about industries that are more likely to receive positive reviews. For example, Kick Point Inc’s President, Dana DiTomaso, has found that any business relating to pets is going to get heaps more positive, and more detailed, reviews than other industries.

Think about it. People love their pets, so of course, they’re going to leave rave reviews if they have a positive experience. And equally, if they have a bad experience, they’re also going to use several paragraphs to explain why no one should ever visit that business again. 

Looking at a search for a Seattle-based pet grooming company, each business has hundreds of super detailed reviews. And the negative ones are just as in-depth.

As such, if your client operates in an industry like this — one where people are likely to be more passionate, for example — they’ll need to be extra-vigilant with review management. A negative review could mean lost business for years to come.

Each client’s industry will offer different benefits of review management, so, along with explaining the wider benefits of online reviews, you’ll want to focus on these more niche examples, too. Think about what you, as a consumer, want to see when you’re making a local search for your client’s business type. Putting yourselves in the consumer’s shoes and making a reasonable argument from their perspective will only enhance the case for review management.

The Facts About Review Management

Once you’ve laid the groundwork — sharing relevant examples, appealing to your client’s emotion, and highlighting the overarching importance – you’ll probably want some stats and cold, hard evidence to support your points. This way you’re ensuring you appeal to clients who want to hear a story as well as those who just can’t get enough graphs and charts.

As always, it’s important to align the content of your pitch to what your client’s goals are, so you don’t waste time on sharing statistics that don’t help your argument.

Do they want to rank better in local search?

Do they want more conversions (website clicks, calls, etc.)?

Or do they need to do some good old-fashioned reputation management (managing and responding to negative reviews)? Depending on what goals you identify with your client, your approach will likely differ.

For example, a business wanting more conversions might want to know how reviews correlate with website clicks. Alternatively, clients only interested in ranking higher will need information on local ranking factors.

So, familiarize yourself with these stats, all of which come from reputable sources of research (including yours truly!)

Online Reviews Influence Consumers’ Actions

Our Local Consumer Review Survey showed that a whopping 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and what’s more, after reading a positive review, 32% of consumers say they’ll go directly to the business’s website. 

If that doesn’t scream “conversion metric”, I don’t know what does!

Online Reviews Lead to Website Clicks

Again, highlighting the conversion power of reviews, our Local Services Ads Click Study found that review ratings are the biggest driver of clicks in local SERPs. So, need more site traffic? Get yourself some reviews!

Plus, with the rise of zero-click searches, review ratings are one of the key differentiators to help your client stand out in the local pack. Even if they’re ranking in the top three, think about it: is a customer more likely to click the business with 200+ 4-star reviews, or the one with just a handful?

Online Reviews Lead to Sales

Is your client looking to make more sales? Well then, they might like to know that, according to the Spiegel Research Center, the purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with zero reviews. 

Similarly, Location3’s research shows that improving your review star rating by 1.5 could equal as many as 13,000 more leads.

Of course, these numbers will differ based on your client’s industry and other factors, but nonetheless, are they willing to risk missing out on these potential gains?

Online Reviews Build Trust

If your client is more concerned with building consumer trust, they’ll probably want to know that 91% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, and that showcasing reviews on your website increases consumer trust.

Consumers Need High Review Ratings to Commit

As consumers continue to navigate a world filled with spam and fake reviews, they’re growing increasingly skeptical. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 35% of consumers will not use a business with less than a four-star rating; consumers read an average of 10 reviews before trusting a business; and 58% of consumers view recency as the most important review factor (Source: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019).

So, without a regular stream of high-rated reviews, your client will be limiting their potential buyers by a great deal. 

Consumers Don’t Trust Outdated Reviews

You might also encounter clients who agree that “yes, reviews are important”, but also insist that their two-year-old, five-star review profile is sufficient to win the business of today’s skeptical consumer market.

Well, to that we say, almost half of consumers will only pay attention to reviews written within the past two weeks. 

That means getting a fresh stream of reviews should be among your clients’ top priorities. Having a shiny five-star review profile doesn’t mean a whole lot if it’s not up to date.

Responding to Negative Reviews Increases Visits

Responding to negative reviews is valuable for a whole host of reasons, as we discussed earlier, but it might be worth telling your client that as many as 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to its negative reviews. So if your client isn’t responding to those bad reviews, they could be missing out on yet more footfall. 

Prepare to Answer These Questions

As a marketing agency agency or consultant dealing with local business reviews management, there are likely to be a few queries that pop up time and time again. Here, we’ve provided a series of review-related questions you can expect to encounter, and some tips to help you answer them.

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

Here, the answer will vary depending on the goals you’ve determined with your client. But, put simply, you should care about reviews because:

They’re a local ranking factor

They build consumer trust

They help with conversions

You can’t afford not to 

“I manage multiple business locations; how can we deal with review management at scale?”

This will be a common query if you’re dealing with multi-location businesses. The likelihood here is that this client is already feeling overwhelmed. After all, the bigger the business, the more internal hurdles and restrictions there are likely to be. 

Here, the answer is simple. Generating reviews for your multi-location business is non-negotiable. If your competitors are doing it (which they almost certainly are), then you need to do it too. 

As an agency, you can do things to help here, such as providing your client with the right tips, tactics, and tools, but however they choose to execute it based on their business structure, review management needs to be done. 

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

Every once in a while you may encounter a client who’s actually doing okay, and generating a steady stream of positive reviews. Regardless, that doesn’t mean review management should be entirely neglected, it just means there might be different benefits at play.

Ask your client, “Don’t you want to know what’s being said about your business?”. Review management is just as much about listening to customers as it is looking good on Google. Being proactively involved in review management not only means being able to listen to feedback, but it also means having more control of the conversation. 

What are people saying about your brand when they think you’re not listening? And how can you influence the conversation?

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. What can I do?”

Let’s face it — there are some industries that are going to struggle with online reviews more than others. I can’t imagine many people eagerly reviewing their DUI attorney publicly, can you? 

If that’s the case for your client, you’ll have to work more closely together to determine a successful review strategy that works for their vertical. In a situation like this, it’s key to illustrate that though the project may be more challenging, it’s also more likely to be even more rewarding.

If you’re in an industry where your competitors aren’t getting many reviews either, then having just a handful more reviews could be the difference between you getting chosen over them.

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

There’s always one! Some clients may want you to work wonders and magically remove all of their negative reviews from years’ past. But sadly, not only would that be against most sites’ (definitely Google’s) guidelines, it’s also not possible.

Though it might be tempting to shield your client from the truth, it’s really important to be honest and transparent with your clients here. Do not promise to delete their negative reviews! Instead, work on responding to them, building more positive reviews to push the negative reviews down, and bringing that average star-rating up to something to be proud of.

“My customers don’t do business online. Do I still need reviews?”

Your current customers may come to your storefront to do business with you, but that doesn’t mean they’re not online. And more importantly, it doesn’t mean that other potential customers aren’t going to find them online.

That said, there can still be plenty of value found in taking tactics offline. Google My Business even provides a marketing agency kit, so businesses can create in-store prompts for reviews and showcase customer feedback in store. 

So, businesses can still benefit from in-store conversions from online reviews and can encourage reviews from in-store customers, too. 

Takeaways

Appeal to your client’s emotion: how can reviews transform their business, their quality of service, their lifestyle, their day-to-day?

Highlight the competition: show your client that their closest competitor is doing review management, and they need to, too

Be honest: don’t promise to transform a client from position #10 to position #1 overnight

Do your homework: understand the industry your client is working in and what review sites will resonate most with them

Explain the facts: use reputable research statistics to support your claims

Understand your client’s goals: have a clear idea of what your client wants to achieve with review management

Don’t be afraid to go offline: if clients think review management won’t suit their business or audience, find out the methods that will work for them – even if that means taking marketing agency offline

Conclusion

Having a review management strategy in this day and age is absolutely necessary to achieve success in local search — whatever your client’s unique goals may be. Your client needs to know that if their competitors are doing it, they should be too. 

If you use the process above, I’m confident that you’ll be able to win over even the most apprehensive client, and easily sell them on the endless benefits of online review management.

Resources

If you’re looking for more supporting material to help you educate clients on the importance of online reviews, we’ve got you covered.

BrightLocal: White-label pitch decks

BrightLocal: 40 Online Review Statistics for 2020

Google My Business: Help getting reviews on Google

BrightLocal: Online reviews live Q&A

BrightLocal: How to Sell and Deliver Reputation Management

BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019

Moz: Local Search Ranking Factors

BrightLocal: Online Reputation Management Survey

Spiegel Research Center: How Online Reviews Influence Sales

BrightLocal: Impact of Review Ratings on CTR

Location3: Positive Google Reviews Improve Paid Search Conversion Rates

Harvard Business School: Reviews, Reputation and Revenue

ReviewTrackers: Online Review Survey

PatientPop: Online Reputation Survey

GatherUp: Online Reviews Study: Restaurants and Reviews

Harvard Business Review: Replying to Customer Reviews Results in Better Ratings

We’ll be back next month with another Advance Your Agency to help take your organization to the next level.

If you’re interested in receiving Advance Your Agency, and other BrightLocal content, direct to your inbox, you can sign up here.

And don’t forget to let us know your experiences with review management in the comments below! 

The post How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management? appeared first on BrightLocal.

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Delray Beach SEO

Via http://www.scpie.org/how-can-i-educate-my-clients-on-the-benefits-of-review-management/

source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/how-can-i-educate-my-clients-on-the-benefits-of-review-management

[laurelkrugerr]

How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management?

Advance Your Agency is a brand-new BrightLocal series, designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge and advice necessary to take your agency operations to the next level. 

This month we focus on review management – a key component of local SEO Company success.

Local SEO Companys know just how important online reviews are when it comes to gaining prominence in local search. 

According to Moz’s most recent Local Search Ranking Factors Study, review signals make up around 15% of local pack factors. Put simply, having a high quantity of recent, diverse, high-quality reviews means Google’s local search algorithm is more likely to favor your business and surface it for relevant search queries.

As an agency, though, it can be difficult to explain to clients just how important review management is and what the benefits could be to their businesses.

For example, how many times have you spoken with clients who believe that online reviews will just come flooding in on their own? If only things were that simple, eh?! 

In order to help your clients succeed in local search, you’ll first need to get buy-in on a solid review generation and management strategy — and that all begins with education.

In the first issue of our Advance Your Agency series, I’ll teach you just how to educate your clients on the benefits of review management. And by the end, you’ll be able to inform even the most skeptical merchants of why they need reviews.

Contents

Review Management Explained 

What is review management?

Where should you get reviews?

How to Educate Clients on Review Management

The Worst-case Scenario

Missed Opportunities

Industry Relevance

The Facts About Review Management

Answering Clients’ Questions

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

“Our business is one of many locations, how can we deal with review management at scale?”

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. what can I do?”

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

“My customers don’t do business online. do I still need reviews?”

Takeaways

Conclusion

Additional Resources

Review Management Explained

What is review management?

Firstly, if your clients aren’t already aware, you’ll probably want to educate them on what review management is in the first place.

Review management generally consists of four key components:

Generating reviews

Monitoring reviews

Responding to reviews

Leveraging reviews.

It is sometimes referred to as ‘reputation management’, although more often than not clients will refer to review management simply as ‘bad reviews’, ‘online reviews’, or just ‘getting better reviews’ — and it can often be useful to mimic this language when talking to your client, in an attempt to demystify review management from the get-go. Whether it’s in pitch decks or phone conversations, always try to mirror the language of your client. (Not sure where to start with a review management pitch deck? Take a look at our free, white-label templates.)

Where should you get reviews?

Reviews can be gained on any site that suits your client’s business. For example, a hotel would want to generate reviews on TripAdvisor, while a lawyer would find reviews more useful on Justia, and so on. Targeting niche review sites is certainly important — after all, you’ll want your client’s business to appear anywhere that customers may be searching for them.

But, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus primarily on Google reviews.

Why? Well, it’s more or less a given that all local businesses will benefit from generating reviews on Google My Business — first and foremost because this is the place that customers are most likely to see first. Say I was to search “plumbers near me”, the first thing that will appear will be the local pack, complete with Google My Business reviews for plumbers — you guessed it – near me.

Secondly, GMB reviews are important because Google is naturally going to favor its own reviews above third-party sites, and therefore building reviews via Google is more likely to boost your placement in the local pack.

With these reasons in mind, focusing on Google Reviews will be by far the easiest sell.

How to Educate Clients on the Benefits of Review Management

There are near hundreds of stats I could (and most likely, will) share with you about the importance of reviews, but when it comes to appealing to clients, you’re going to want to play on the emotional factor of reviews. Any agency can spew out a handful of facts about reviews, but that should come later, once you’ve established the real-life impact reviews can have.

The Worst-Case Scenario 

First, level with your client; explain to them what not having an effective review management strategy could do to their business.

Let’s use an example of what could happen when a client receives a bad review.

Here, I’ve found a recent low-rated review from a New York-based restaurant:

Now ask your client, what’s the worst outcome that can come from getting a review like this? First and foremost, you’ve got an unhappy customer – they’re not going to visit your place of business again, put any money in your hands, or spread any positive news to their friends. 

But, beyond that, this customer is acting as an active deterrent to any other potential visitors. In fact, they explicitly say “Go eat somewhere else”. Not exactly a glowing review, right? And so, in the worst-case scenario, you’re losing out on potentially hundreds of customers, which means lost profit.

Well, while there’s not a lot you can do to correct this customer’s bad experience (in the words of Cher, if only we could turn back time!), with the help of review management you can improve this outcome drastically. 

If the restaurant provided a response to this negative review (it hasn’t), apologizing for the customer’s negative experience, offering to look into the issue for them, and providing some kind of incentive to return, then not only might they win over a lost customer, but they’d also be showcasing their great customer service to anyone who sees the review.

Think of it as damage control. No business is perfect, and even if your client’s business is running like a well-oiled machine, they’re likely to encounter a fair few negative reviews over time. Responding to reviews in a timely manner means you’re going to limit the amount of damage that negative feedback can do.

When explaining this scenario to your client, don’t be afraid to use one of their real-world reviews as an example. And even better, if you can compare the results with a client who has taken up review management, can you explain how it improved their results or helped them to reach their goals? Taking every opportunity to back up your argument with evidence is the masterstroke that will win you business.

Missed Opportunities

If your client isn’t quite so worried about receiving negative reviews, then you’ll want to appeal to them based on the opportunities they might be missing. 

How could review management take their business to the next level? What are they missing out on by not managing online reviews?

Here, I’ve used a search local to me, “plumbers near me” — and for context, I’m based in Brighton, UK.

Now, here there’s a plumber ranking in the top spot. But as a consumer, am I going to ring them? To give them my hard earned money and custom? Not a chance!

The position in the local pack might sway me if I’m looking for a low-stakes purchase like lunch, but when it comes to industries that present more risk to me if I choose unwisely, such as plumbing, I’m going to pick the plumbing business that can prove that it has the best reputation, the one that leaves a flood (pardon the pun) of happy customers in its wake. And that’s the one with the best review rating.

So, even though the business is ranking in the second position, on this occasion my custom will be going to AC Plumbing, rather than Small Job Plumbing.

If Small Job Plumbing was your client, what would you say to them? They’ve just missed out on business for the sole reason that they’ve not got enough positive reviews. This is a prime example of opportunities missed due to neglecting review management.

Once again, explaining this scenario to a client using real-world examples of their search rivals will only make it more effective. Do they have a competitor that they just can’t seem to shake? Compare the two businesses’ review profiles and see who comes out on top. How good would your client feel knowing that not only that they’ve come out on top in rankings but they’ve also beat their competitors in the process? 

These are the kinds of examples that are really going to appeal to your client, so where possible, always relate it back to their own feelings and goals – you start with the emotional argument then build towards the rational.

Industry Relevance

Although I believe that review management is important for all businesses, there are definitely some businesses that will need reviews even more than others. And you’ll want to explain this to your client in a way that appeals to their specific industry.

For example, YMYL (your money, your life) businesses are much more likely to need reviews in order to gain the trust of consumers.

If you’re dealing with clients who operate in YMYL industries such as health, finance, or business, then you’re going to need to drive this fact home even more – without review management you will lose out on customers.

Again, ask your client to put themselves in the consumers’ shoes. Would you contact a lawyer, a medical professional, an account, who didn’t have a shining review profile? 

Using the search query “Immigration lawyer Texas”, almost every single ranking business has hundreds of reviews with an average of 4-5 stars. Chances are, if your client doesn’t have a high review volume and star rating in an industry like this, neither Google nor consumers are going to give them a second glance. Sure, it’s a packed market, but without reviews, your clients can’t even enter the ring, let alone perform the knockout blow.

In short, if you’re speaking with clients in YMYL sectors, it’s vital to emphasize that review management is essential.

When looking at industry relevance, it’s also worth thinking about industries that are more likely to receive positive reviews. For example, Kick Point Inc’s President, Dana DiTomaso, has found that any business relating to pets is going to get heaps more positive, and more detailed, reviews than other industries.

Think about it. People love their pets, so of course, they’re going to leave rave reviews if they have a positive experience. And equally, if they have a bad experience, they’re also going to use several paragraphs to explain why no one should ever visit that business again. 

Looking at a search for a Seattle-based pet grooming company, each business has hundreds of super detailed reviews. And the negative ones are just as in-depth.

As such, if your client operates in an industry like this — one where people are likely to be more passionate, for example — they’ll need to be extra-vigilant with review management. A negative review could mean lost business for years to come.

Each client’s industry will offer different benefits of review management, so, along with explaining the wider benefits of online reviews, you’ll want to focus on these more niche examples, too. Think about what you, as a consumer, want to see when you’re making a local search for your client’s business type. Putting yourselves in the consumer’s shoes and making a reasonable argument from their perspective will only enhance the case for review management.

The Facts About Review Management

Once you’ve laid the groundwork — sharing relevant examples, appealing to your client’s emotion, and highlighting the overarching importance – you’ll probably want some stats and cold, hard evidence to support your points. This way you’re ensuring you appeal to clients who want to hear a story as well as those who just can’t get enough graphs and charts.

As always, it’s important to align the content of your pitch to what your client’s goals are, so you don’t waste time on sharing statistics that don’t help your argument.

Do they want to rank better in local search?

Do they want more conversions (website clicks, calls, etc.)?

Or do they need to do some good old-fashioned reputation management (managing and responding to negative reviews)? Depending on what goals you identify with your client, your approach will likely differ.

For example, a business wanting more conversions might want to know how reviews correlate with website clicks. Alternatively, clients only interested in ranking higher will need information on local ranking factors.

So, familiarize yourself with these stats, all of which come from reputable sources of research (including yours truly!)

Online Reviews Influence Consumers’ Actions

Our Local Consumer Review Survey showed that a whopping 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and what’s more, after reading a positive review, 32% of consumers say they’ll go directly to the business’s website. 

If that doesn’t scream “conversion metric”, I don’t know what does!

Online Reviews Lead to Website Clicks

Again, highlighting the conversion power of reviews, our Local Services Ads Click Study found that review ratings are the biggest driver of clicks in local SERPs. So, need more site traffic? Get yourself some reviews!

Plus, with the rise of zero-click searches, review ratings are one of the key differentiators to help your client stand out in the local pack. Even if they’re ranking in the top three, think about it: is a customer more likely to click the business with 200+ 4-star reviews, or the one with just a handful?

Online Reviews Lead to Sales

Is your client looking to make more sales? Well then, they might like to know that, according to the Spiegel Research Center, the purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with zero reviews. 

Similarly, Location3’s research shows that improving your review star rating by 1.5 could equal as many as 13,000 more leads.

Of course, these numbers will differ based on your client’s industry and other factors, but nonetheless, are they willing to risk missing out on these potential gains?

Online Reviews Build Trust

If your client is more concerned with building consumer trust, they’ll probably want to know that 91% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, and that showcasing reviews on your website increases consumer trust.

Consumers Need High Review Ratings to Commit

As consumers continue to navigate a world filled with spam and fake reviews, they’re growing increasingly skeptical. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 35% of consumers will not use a business with less than a four-star rating; consumers read an average of 10 reviews before trusting a business; and 58% of consumers view recency as the most important review factor (Source: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019).

So, without a regular stream of high-rated reviews, your client will be limiting their potential buyers by a great deal. 

Consumers Don’t Trust Outdated Reviews

You might also encounter clients who agree that “yes, reviews are important”, but also insist that their two-year-old, five-star review profile is sufficient to win the business of today’s skeptical consumer market.

Well, to that we say, almost half of consumers will only pay attention to reviews written within the past two weeks. 

That means getting a fresh stream of reviews should be among your clients’ top priorities. Having a shiny five-star review profile doesn’t mean a whole lot if it’s not up to date.

Responding to Negative Reviews Increases Visits

Responding to negative reviews is valuable for a whole host of reasons, as we discussed earlier, but it might be worth telling your client that as many as 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to its negative reviews. So if your client isn’t responding to those bad reviews, they could be missing out on yet more footfall. 

Prepare to Answer These Questions

As a marketing agency agency or consultant dealing with local business reviews management, there are likely to be a few queries that pop up time and time again. Here, we’ve provided a series of review-related questions you can expect to encounter, and some tips to help you answer them.

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

Here, the answer will vary depending on the goals you’ve determined with your client. But, put simply, you should care about reviews because:

They’re a local ranking factor

They build consumer trust

They help with conversions

You can’t afford not to 

“I manage multiple business locations; how can we deal with review management at scale?”

This will be a common query if you’re dealing with multi-location businesses. The likelihood here is that this client is already feeling overwhelmed. After all, the bigger the business, the more internal hurdles and restrictions there are likely to be. 

Here, the answer is simple. Generating reviews for your multi-location business is non-negotiable. If your competitors are doing it (which they almost certainly are), then you need to do it too. 

As an agency, you can do things to help here, such as providing your client with the right tips, tactics, and tools, but however they choose to execute it based on their business structure, review management needs to be done. 

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

Every once in a while you may encounter a client who’s actually doing okay, and generating a steady stream of positive reviews. Regardless, that doesn’t mean review management should be entirely neglected, it just means there might be different benefits at play.

Ask your client, “Don’t you want to know what’s being said about your business?”. Review management is just as much about listening to customers as it is looking good on Google. Being proactively involved in review management not only means being able to listen to feedback, but it also means having more control of the conversation. 

What are people saying about your brand when they think you’re not listening? And how can you influence the conversation?

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. What can I do?”

Let’s face it — there are some industries that are going to struggle with online reviews more than others. I can’t imagine many people eagerly reviewing their DUI attorney publicly, can you? 

If that’s the case for your client, you’ll have to work more closely together to determine a successful review strategy that works for their vertical. In a situation like this, it’s key to illustrate that though the project may be more challenging, it’s also more likely to be even more rewarding.

If you’re in an industry where your competitors aren’t getting many reviews either, then having just a handful more reviews could be the difference between you getting chosen over them.

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

There’s always one! Some clients may want you to work wonders and magically remove all of their negative reviews from years’ past. But sadly, not only would that be against most sites’ (definitely Google’s) guidelines, it’s also not possible.

Though it might be tempting to shield your client from the truth, it’s really important to be honest and transparent with your clients here. Do not promise to delete their negative reviews! Instead, work on responding to them, building more positive reviews to push the negative reviews down, and bringing that average star-rating up to something to be proud of.

“My customers don’t do business online. Do I still need reviews?”

Your current customers may come to your storefront to do business with you, but that doesn’t mean they’re not online. And more importantly, it doesn’t mean that other potential customers aren’t going to find them online.

That said, there can still be plenty of value found in taking tactics offline. Google My Business even provides a marketing agency kit, so businesses can create in-store prompts for reviews and showcase customer feedback in store. 

So, businesses can still benefit from in-store conversions from online reviews and can encourage reviews from in-store customers, too. 

Takeaways

Appeal to your client’s emotion: how can reviews transform their business, their quality of service, their lifestyle, their day-to-day?

Highlight the competition: show your client that their closest competitor is doing review management, and they need to, too

Be honest: don’t promise to transform a client from position #10 to position #1 overnight

Do your homework: understand the industry your client is working in and what review sites will resonate most with them

Explain the facts: use reputable research statistics to support your claims

Understand your client’s goals: have a clear idea of what your client wants to achieve with review management

Don’t be afraid to go offline: if clients think review management won’t suit their business or audience, find out the methods that will work for them – even if that means taking marketing agency offline

Conclusion

Having a review management strategy in this day and age is absolutely necessary to achieve success in local search — whatever your client’s unique goals may be. Your client needs to know that if their competitors are doing it, they should be too. 

If you use the process above, I’m confident that you’ll be able to win over even the most apprehensive client, and easily sell them on the endless benefits of online review management.

Resources

If you’re looking for more supporting material to help you educate clients on the importance of online reviews, we’ve got you covered.

BrightLocal: White-label pitch decks

BrightLocal: 40 Online Review Statistics for 2020

Google My Business: Help getting reviews on Google

BrightLocal: Online reviews live Q&A

BrightLocal: How to Sell and Deliver Reputation Management

BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019

Moz: Local Search Ranking Factors

BrightLocal: Online Reputation Management Survey

Spiegel Research Center: How Online Reviews Influence Sales

BrightLocal: Impact of Review Ratings on CTR

Location3: Positive Google Reviews Improve Paid Search Conversion Rates

Harvard Business School: Reviews, Reputation and Revenue

ReviewTrackers: Online Review Survey

PatientPop: Online Reputation Survey

GatherUp: Online Reviews Study: Restaurants and Reviews

Harvard Business Review: Replying to Customer Reviews Results in Better Ratings

We’ll be back next month with another Advance Your Agency to help take your organization to the next level.

If you’re interested in receiving Advance Your Agency, and other BrightLocal content, direct to your inbox, you can sign up here.

And don’t forget to let us know your experiences with review management in the comments below! 

The post How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management? appeared first on BrightLocal.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-can-i-educate-my-clients-on-the-benefits-of-review-management/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-can-i-educate-my-clients-on.html

[scpie]

How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management?

Advance Your Agency is a brand-new BrightLocal series, designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge and advice necessary to take your agency operations to the next level. 

This month we focus on review management – a key component of local SEO Company success.

Local SEO Companys know just how important online reviews are when it comes to gaining prominence in local search. 

According to Moz’s most recent Local Search Ranking Factors Study, review signals make up around 15% of local pack factors. Put simply, having a high quantity of recent, diverse, high-quality reviews means Google’s local search algorithm is more likely to favor your business and surface it for relevant search queries.

As an agency, though, it can be difficult to explain to clients just how important review management is and what the benefits could be to their businesses.

For example, how many times have you spoken with clients who believe that online reviews will just come flooding in on their own? If only things were that simple, eh?! 

In order to help your clients succeed in local search, you’ll first need to get buy-in on a solid review generation and management strategy — and that all begins with education.

In the first issue of our Advance Your Agency series, I’ll teach you just how to educate your clients on the benefits of review management. And by the end, you’ll be able to inform even the most skeptical merchants of why they need reviews.

Contents

Review Management Explained 

What is review management?

Where should you get reviews?

How to Educate Clients on Review Management

The Worst-case Scenario

Missed Opportunities

Industry Relevance

The Facts About Review Management

Answering Clients’ Questions

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

“Our business is one of many locations, how can we deal with review management at scale?”

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. what can I do?”

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

“My customers don’t do business online. do I still need reviews?”

Takeaways

Conclusion

Additional Resources

Review Management Explained

What is review management?

Firstly, if your clients aren’t already aware, you’ll probably want to educate them on what review management is in the first place.

Review management generally consists of four key components:

Generating reviews

Monitoring reviews

Responding to reviews

Leveraging reviews.

It is sometimes referred to as ‘reputation management’, although more often than not clients will refer to review management simply as ‘bad reviews’, ‘online reviews’, or just ‘getting better reviews’ — and it can often be useful to mimic this language when talking to your client, in an attempt to demystify review management from the get-go. Whether it’s in pitch decks or phone conversations, always try to mirror the language of your client. (Not sure where to start with a review management pitch deck? Take a look at our free, white-label templates.)

Where should you get reviews?

Reviews can be gained on any site that suits your client’s business. For example, a hotel would want to generate reviews on TripAdvisor, while a lawyer would find reviews more useful on Justia, and so on. Targeting niche review sites is certainly important — after all, you’ll want your client’s business to appear anywhere that customers may be searching for them.

But, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus primarily on Google reviews.

Why? Well, it’s more or less a given that all local businesses will benefit from generating reviews on Google My Business — first and foremost because this is the place that customers are most likely to see first. Say I was to search “plumbers near me”, the first thing that will appear will be the local pack, complete with Google My Business reviews for plumbers — you guessed it – near me.

Secondly, GMB reviews are important because Google is naturally going to favor its own reviews above third-party sites, and therefore building reviews via Google is more likely to boost your placement in the local pack.

With these reasons in mind, focusing on Google Reviews will be by far the easiest sell.

How to Educate Clients on the Benefits of Review Management

There are near hundreds of stats I could (and most likely, will) share with you about the importance of reviews, but when it comes to appealing to clients, you’re going to want to play on the emotional factor of reviews. Any agency can spew out a handful of facts about reviews, but that should come later, once you’ve established the real-life impact reviews can have.

The Worst-Case Scenario 

First, level with your client; explain to them what not having an effective review management strategy could do to their business.

Let’s use an example of what could happen when a client receives a bad review.

Here, I’ve found a recent low-rated review from a New York-based restaurant:

Now ask your client, what’s the worst outcome that can come from getting a review like this? First and foremost, you’ve got an unhappy customer – they’re not going to visit your place of business again, put any money in your hands, or spread any positive news to their friends. 

But, beyond that, this customer is acting as an active deterrent to any other potential visitors. In fact, they explicitly say “Go eat somewhere else”. Not exactly a glowing review, right? And so, in the worst-case scenario, you’re losing out on potentially hundreds of customers, which means lost profit.

Well, while there’s not a lot you can do to correct this customer’s bad experience (in the words of Cher, if only we could turn back time!), with the help of review management you can improve this outcome drastically. 

If the restaurant provided a response to this negative review (it hasn’t), apologizing for the customer’s negative experience, offering to look into the issue for them, and providing some kind of incentive to return, then not only might they win over a lost customer, but they’d also be showcasing their great customer service to anyone who sees the review.

Think of it as damage control. No business is perfect, and even if your client’s business is running like a well-oiled machine, they’re likely to encounter a fair few negative reviews over time. Responding to reviews in a timely manner means you’re going to limit the amount of damage that negative feedback can do.

When explaining this scenario to your client, don’t be afraid to use one of their real-world reviews as an example. And even better, if you can compare the results with a client who has taken up review management, can you explain how it improved their results or helped them to reach their goals? Taking every opportunity to back up your argument with evidence is the masterstroke that will win you business.

Missed Opportunities

If your client isn’t quite so worried about receiving negative reviews, then you’ll want to appeal to them based on the opportunities they might be missing. 

How could review management take their business to the next level? What are they missing out on by not managing online reviews?

Here, I’ve used a search local to me, “plumbers near me” — and for context, I’m based in Brighton, UK.

Now, here there’s a plumber ranking in the top spot. But as a consumer, am I going to ring them? To give them my hard earned money and custom? Not a chance!

The position in the local pack might sway me if I’m looking for a low-stakes purchase like lunch, but when it comes to industries that present more risk to me if I choose unwisely, such as plumbing, I’m going to pick the plumbing business that can prove that it has the best reputation, the one that leaves a flood (pardon the pun) of happy customers in its wake. And that’s the one with the best review rating.

So, even though the business is ranking in the second position, on this occasion my custom will be going to AC Plumbing, rather than Small Job Plumbing.

If Small Job Plumbing was your client, what would you say to them? They’ve just missed out on business for the sole reason that they’ve not got enough positive reviews. This is a prime example of opportunities missed due to neglecting review management.

Once again, explaining this scenario to a client using real-world examples of their search rivals will only make it more effective. Do they have a competitor that they just can’t seem to shake? Compare the two businesses’ review profiles and see who comes out on top. How good would your client feel knowing that not only that they’ve come out on top in rankings but they’ve also beat their competitors in the process? 

These are the kinds of examples that are really going to appeal to your client, so where possible, always relate it back to their own feelings and goals – you start with the emotional argument then build towards the rational.

Industry Relevance

Although I believe that review management is important for all businesses, there are definitely some businesses that will need reviews even more than others. And you’ll want to explain this to your client in a way that appeals to their specific industry.

For example, YMYL (your money, your life) businesses are much more likely to need reviews in order to gain the trust of consumers.

If you’re dealing with clients who operate in YMYL industries such as health, finance, or business, then you’re going to need to drive this fact home even more – without review management you will lose out on customers.

Again, ask your client to put themselves in the consumers’ shoes. Would you contact a lawyer, a medical professional, an account, who didn’t have a shining review profile? 

Using the search query “Immigration lawyer Texas”, almost every single ranking business has hundreds of reviews with an average of 4-5 stars. Chances are, if your client doesn’t have a high review volume and star rating in an industry like this, neither Google nor consumers are going to give them a second glance. Sure, it’s a packed market, but without reviews, your clients can’t even enter the ring, let alone perform the knockout blow.

In short, if you’re speaking with clients in YMYL sectors, it’s vital to emphasize that review management is essential.

When looking at industry relevance, it’s also worth thinking about industries that are more likely to receive positive reviews. For example, Kick Point Inc’s President, Dana DiTomaso, has found that any business relating to pets is going to get heaps more positive, and more detailed, reviews than other industries.

Think about it. People love their pets, so of course, they’re going to leave rave reviews if they have a positive experience. And equally, if they have a bad experience, they’re also going to use several paragraphs to explain why no one should ever visit that business again. 

Looking at a search for a Seattle-based pet grooming company, each business has hundreds of super detailed reviews. And the negative ones are just as in-depth.

As such, if your client operates in an industry like this — one where people are likely to be more passionate, for example — they’ll need to be extra-vigilant with review management. A negative review could mean lost business for years to come.

Each client’s industry will offer different benefits of review management, so, along with explaining the wider benefits of online reviews, you’ll want to focus on these more niche examples, too. Think about what you, as a consumer, want to see when you’re making a local search for your client’s business type. Putting yourselves in the consumer’s shoes and making a reasonable argument from their perspective will only enhance the case for review management.

The Facts About Review Management

Once you’ve laid the groundwork — sharing relevant examples, appealing to your client’s emotion, and highlighting the overarching importance – you’ll probably want some stats and cold, hard evidence to support your points. This way you’re ensuring you appeal to clients who want to hear a story as well as those who just can’t get enough graphs and charts.

As always, it’s important to align the content of your pitch to what your client’s goals are, so you don’t waste time on sharing statistics that don’t help your argument.

Do they want to rank better in local search?

Do they want more conversions (website clicks, calls, etc.)?

Or do they need to do some good old-fashioned reputation management (managing and responding to negative reviews)? Depending on what goals you identify with your client, your approach will likely differ.

For example, a business wanting more conversions might want to know how reviews correlate with website clicks. Alternatively, clients only interested in ranking higher will need information on local ranking factors.

So, familiarize yourself with these stats, all of which come from reputable sources of research (including yours truly!)

Online Reviews Influence Consumers’ Actions

Our Local Consumer Review Survey showed that a whopping 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and what’s more, after reading a positive review, 32% of consumers say they’ll go directly to the business’s website. 

If that doesn’t scream “conversion metric”, I don’t know what does!

Online Reviews Lead to Website Clicks

Again, highlighting the conversion power of reviews, our Local Services Ads Click Study found that review ratings are the biggest driver of clicks in local SERPs. So, need more site traffic? Get yourself some reviews!

Plus, with the rise of zero-click searches, review ratings are one of the key differentiators to help your client stand out in the local pack. Even if they’re ranking in the top three, think about it: is a customer more likely to click the business with 200+ 4-star reviews, or the one with just a handful?

Online Reviews Lead to Sales

Is your client looking to make more sales? Well then, they might like to know that, according to the Spiegel Research Center, the purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with zero reviews. 

Similarly, Location3’s research shows that improving your review star rating by 1.5 could equal as many as 13,000 more leads.

Of course, these numbers will differ based on your client’s industry and other factors, but nonetheless, are they willing to risk missing out on these potential gains?

Online Reviews Build Trust

If your client is more concerned with building consumer trust, they’ll probably want to know that 91% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, and that showcasing reviews on your website increases consumer trust.

Consumers Need High Review Ratings to Commit

As consumers continue to navigate a world filled with spam and fake reviews, they’re growing increasingly skeptical. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 35% of consumers will not use a business with less than a four-star rating; consumers read an average of 10 reviews before trusting a business; and 58% of consumers view recency as the most important review factor (Source: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019).

So, without a regular stream of high-rated reviews, your client will be limiting their potential buyers by a great deal. 

Consumers Don’t Trust Outdated Reviews

You might also encounter clients who agree that “yes, reviews are important”, but also insist that their two-year-old, five-star review profile is sufficient to win the business of today’s skeptical consumer market.

Well, to that we say, almost half of consumers will only pay attention to reviews written within the past two weeks. 

That means getting a fresh stream of reviews should be among your clients’ top priorities. Having a shiny five-star review profile doesn’t mean a whole lot if it’s not up to date.

Responding to Negative Reviews Increases Visits

Responding to negative reviews is valuable for a whole host of reasons, as we discussed earlier, but it might be worth telling your client that as many as 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to its negative reviews. So if your client isn’t responding to those bad reviews, they could be missing out on yet more footfall. 

Prepare to Answer These Questions

As a marketing agency agency or consultant dealing with local business reviews management, there are likely to be a few queries that pop up time and time again. Here, we’ve provided a series of review-related questions you can expect to encounter, and some tips to help you answer them.

“Why should I care about online reviews?”

Here, the answer will vary depending on the goals you’ve determined with your client. But, put simply, you should care about reviews because:

They’re a local ranking factor

They build consumer trust

They help with conversions

You can’t afford not to 

“I manage multiple business locations; how can we deal with review management at scale?”

This will be a common query if you’re dealing with multi-location businesses. The likelihood here is that this client is already feeling overwhelmed. After all, the bigger the business, the more internal hurdles and restrictions there are likely to be. 

Here, the answer is simple. Generating reviews for your multi-location business is non-negotiable. If your competitors are doing it (which they almost certainly are), then you need to do it too. 

As an agency, you can do things to help here, such as providing your client with the right tips, tactics, and tools, but however they choose to execute it based on their business structure, review management needs to be done. 

“We’re doing fine without active review management, so why should I care?”

Every once in a while you may encounter a client who’s actually doing okay, and generating a steady stream of positive reviews. Regardless, that doesn’t mean review management should be entirely neglected, it just means there might be different benefits at play.

Ask your client, “Don’t you want to know what’s being said about your business?”. Review management is just as much about listening to customers as it is looking good on Google. Being proactively involved in review management not only means being able to listen to feedback, but it also means having more control of the conversation. 

What are people saying about your brand when they think you’re not listening? And how can you influence the conversation?

“I work in an industry that doesn’t really get reviews. What can I do?”

Let’s face it — there are some industries that are going to struggle with online reviews more than others. I can’t imagine many people eagerly reviewing their DUI attorney publicly, can you? 

If that’s the case for your client, you’ll have to work more closely together to determine a successful review strategy that works for their vertical. In a situation like this, it’s key to illustrate that though the project may be more challenging, it’s also more likely to be even more rewarding.

If you’re in an industry where your competitors aren’t getting many reviews either, then having just a handful more reviews could be the difference between you getting chosen over them.

“Can you get rid of my negative reviews?”

There’s always one! Some clients may want you to work wonders and magically remove all of their negative reviews from years’ past. But sadly, not only would that be against most sites’ (definitely Google’s) guidelines, it’s also not possible.

Though it might be tempting to shield your client from the truth, it’s really important to be honest and transparent with your clients here. Do not promise to delete their negative reviews! Instead, work on responding to them, building more positive reviews to push the negative reviews down, and bringing that average star-rating up to something to be proud of.

“My customers don’t do business online. Do I still need reviews?”

Your current customers may come to your storefront to do business with you, but that doesn’t mean they’re not online. And more importantly, it doesn’t mean that other potential customers aren’t going to find them online.

That said, there can still be plenty of value found in taking tactics offline. Google My Business even provides a marketing agency kit, so businesses can create in-store prompts for reviews and showcase customer feedback in store. 

So, businesses can still benefit from in-store conversions from online reviews and can encourage reviews from in-store customers, too. 

Takeaways

Appeal to your client’s emotion: how can reviews transform their business, their quality of service, their lifestyle, their day-to-day?

Highlight the competition: show your client that their closest competitor is doing review management, and they need to, too

Be honest: don’t promise to transform a client from position #10 to position #1 overnight

Do your homework: understand the industry your client is working in and what review sites will resonate most with them

Explain the facts: use reputable research statistics to support your claims

Understand your client’s goals: have a clear idea of what your client wants to achieve with review management

Don’t be afraid to go offline: if clients think review management won’t suit their business or audience, find out the methods that will work for them – even if that means taking marketing agency offline

Conclusion

Having a review management strategy in this day and age is absolutely necessary to achieve success in local search — whatever your client’s unique goals may be. Your client needs to know that if their competitors are doing it, they should be too. 

If you use the process above, I’m confident that you’ll be able to win over even the most apprehensive client, and easily sell them on the endless benefits of online review management.

Resources

If you’re looking for more supporting material to help you educate clients on the importance of online reviews, we’ve got you covered.

BrightLocal: White-label pitch decks

BrightLocal: 40 Online Review Statistics for 2020

Google My Business: Help getting reviews on Google

BrightLocal: Online reviews live Q&A

BrightLocal: How to Sell and Deliver Reputation Management

BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2019

Moz: Local Search Ranking Factors

BrightLocal: Online Reputation Management Survey

Spiegel Research Center: How Online Reviews Influence Sales

BrightLocal: Impact of Review Ratings on CTR

Location3: Positive Google Reviews Improve Paid Search Conversion Rates

Harvard Business School: Reviews, Reputation and Revenue

ReviewTrackers: Online Review Survey

PatientPop: Online Reputation Survey

GatherUp: Online Reviews Study: Restaurants and Reviews

Harvard Business Review: Replying to Customer Reviews Results in Better Ratings

We’ll be back next month with another Advance Your Agency to help take your organization to the next level.

If you’re interested in receiving Advance Your Agency, and other BrightLocal content, direct to your inbox, you can sign up here.

And don’t forget to let us know your experiences with review management in the comments below! 

The post How Can I Educate My Clients on the Benefits of Review Management? appeared first on BrightLocal.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-can-i-educate-my-clients-on-the-benefits-of-review-management/

[729renegades]

ARMY OF ONE

Is a Micro-Business the route to your success?

Why do we automatically assume that we need to build huge businesses with million-pound turnovers in order to achieve what we think success is?

Could we actually get all the fulfilment and comfort we need by staying small and keeping hold of our precious freedom?

When you ask any self-employed business owner what attracted them to start up their own business and become their own boss, most likely these three statements would have been made:

I want the freedom to be my own boss and decide when and where I work

I don’t want to feel like I work for anyone else, I’m more than capable of doing it for myself

I can earn far more working for myself than working for an employer

Does that sound familiar to you when you decided to embark on your journey of self-employment?

So why is it, when you speak to most business owners, they claim to be earning minimum wage, (when you consider the sheer amount of hours they work and think about their business).

They also claim to be working for their employees and not the other way around.

Any decent caring employer will feel a certain responsibility to their employees so when a crunch decision needs to be made, more often than not, they will put the needs and security of the employee before their own needs.

But quite often, these are the same employees that the boss will often feel frustrated with because they don’t take the business as seriously as they should.

Is that a matter of perspective or is it a fact?

Why should an employee who trades their time for an hourly rate care as much as the business owner, who, if he runs the business right, will earn far more than the employee?

It’s a dilemma that any employer faces, and not one with an easy answer.

Why do we automatically assume that we need to build huge businesses with million-pound turnovers in order to achieve what we think success is?

There are various schemes that can be used to add incentive to a worker’s day, piece work, bonus, profit sharing, but that process then needs to be designed, communicated, implemented and managed.

This takes the business owner away from the purpose he set out to achieve in his business.

It leaves the business open to the potential of certain employees trying to manipulate the system, or arguments taking place between other workers about who gets the best/easiest/fastest work.

Then you have the issue of sick days and workers personal problems (which always usually become the problem of the boss!).

It’s easy to see how resentment can build and a working environment can quickly become a place of resentment and hostile competitiveness.

So, while the person that is managing all of these challenges tries their best to make sure everyone is happy and fairly compensated, his eye is taken away from the ball.

Other areas such as efficiency or production can slip, there’s only so many hours in a day and dealing with staff can suck them up fast.

Building systems can really help with this, but again, more investment in time and money is required.

So, what’s the answer? – Or more to the point, what’s the question?

Do you want to work for your company, or do you want your company to work for you?

Staying small could be the next BIG thing in business.

Instead of launching headlong into selling more stuff until you reach a breaking point where you need to employ someone, stop and take a minute to consider the implications of that, and set aside any optimistic voice in your head that says, “it will be OK, I’m different….”

You may very well be different, but the chances are that your logic is very similar to the many who have walked this path and continue to do so today.

There’s a very strong possibility that in the future you’ll be the one begrudging the situation that you built for yourself.

So how can you leverage other people who work for themselves, and still get the results you need?

Well, the chances are, you’re going to get better results if you use someone who’s also responsible for their own future earnings, and not someone who sells their time for money regardless of their output or quality.

This also puts you in a strong position if things are not going well.

UK employment law protects employees after they’ve been in a position for 24 months and letting them go if they are not performing becomes a strategic battle. (More employment of HR staff required).

If you use a self-employed supplier and they are not performing, the conversation becomes much easier. They know they either step up, or you find someone else. No contract, no notice period. No guilt.

Tim Ferris describes this process in great depth in his award-winning book, “The 4 Hour Working Week”.

He actually sets up a drop shipping company that works automatically taking sales on his website, and the fulfilment is carried out by various affiliates leaving him to just count the profits and pay his bills.

He claims to have worked from dozens of countries spending an average of 4 hours a week on maintaining this business, allowing him the freedom to travel and be totally in control of his vision of working from a place he chooses, not having a boss and receiving an abundance of earnings

Finding the right affiliates to work with will have its challenges, but someone who works for themselves is going to be far more motivated to deliver on time and at the right level of quality, than someone who knows they just have to clock in and out and they get paid the same.

What if the key to becoming happier and richer is to start thinking smaller not bigger?

There’s no such thing as perpetual growth. Yet that is what traditional business people crave. But what is growth meant to achieve? If Oxford University is so successful, why is there not a branch in Washington D.C.? If a symphony is successful with 120 musicians, why not even more with 600 musicians? “To grow bigger” is not much of an effective business strategy after all.

Richard Semler, CEO of SEMCO partners.

Creating strategic but independent partnerships could be the secret sauce to creating that success that you first dreamed of when you had the vision of running your own business.

It may seem like the wrong time to think about this while you are on the first steps in your new and exciting business, but if you want to keep it exciting and keep a tight grip on your freedom, it might be an avenue worth exploring before it’s too late…….

        from Blog | 729renegades http://bit.ly/2MU9dM9

[cryptswahili]

Judge Orders Craig Wright to Physically Appear in Florida Lawsuit

Craig Wright, the notorious Satoshi Nakamoto claimant, must appear in court on Monday or be held in contempt. The Florida court granted a motion to compel on June 14, mandating Wright to provide a list of all the bitcoin addresses he’s owned prior to December 2013.

Also Read: The Blind Trust Described in the Kleiman vs. Wright Lawsuit Is a Real Head-Scratcher

Craig Wright Must Appear in Florida Court on Monday

A Southern District Court of Florida judge has ordered Craig Wright to appear in Florida on Monday, June 17 or be held in contempt of court. Three days ago, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the barrage of developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit. Wright had described a very complex method of splitting keys using a form of Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) algorithm into a blind trust.

Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, must appear in court on Monday in Florida.

The lawsuit started last year in February as the representatives of the now deceased Dave Kleiman believe his inheritance was misappropriated by Wright. Last month Wright was ordered to produce a list of all the bitcoin addresses he owned as of December 2013. However, Wright hasn’t been so forthright with providing these addresses and has explained to the court that methods used in the so-called blind trust make it complicated for him to obtain.

“Dr. Wright does not know the public addresses of the bitcoin held by the trusts (i.e., the bitcoin mined by Dr. Wright in 2009 after block 70, through 2010),” Wright’s attorneys detailed last week.

Then on June 14, the court handed down a motion to compel, which means the plaintiffs found Wright’s prior discovery responses insufficient. The motion to compel tries to force him to answer by using the court as leverage so he will produce his bitcoin address documentation. Stephen Palley, a lawyer who comments frequently on cryptocurrency cases, explained on Twitter that he believes sanctions are coming if Wright doesn’t comply. “Listen, I have no idea who Satoshi is — I can tell you that the court isn’t buying what this guy is selling though and is creating a strong incentive to settle,” Palley added.

Deciding Whether Sanctions Are Warranted

The latest motion gives Wright much less wiggle room as far as being non-compliant is concerned. Being held in contempt could be a punishable offense or make matters worse for his defense. Furthermore, Wright has also been ordered for both a show and cause hearing and a second deposition on June 28. The order on the plaintiff’s motion to compel uses some strong arguments against Wright’s recent blind trust description involving complex encryption and the SSS algorithm. For instance, the order opens with an in-depth description of encryption and notes that the technique has been used since the time of Julius Caesar. Moreover, it highlights that Wright swore that the encrypted file that contains the public addresses and private keys to the bitcoin he mined requires a combination of himself and the blind agreement’s trustees in order to open the SSS algorithm.

The Kleiman estate wants to compel Wright to comply or they will “seek sanctions for his failure to do so.” The plaintiffs then describe how the SSS algorithm works and how Wright conceded to participate voluntarily in this system, which means he should have some basic understanding of the keys he possesses and the members of the blind trust in order to obtain the funds. The motion to compel order states:

[Wright] has not explained why he cannot obtain and has not obtained, the necessary keys from these third parties. At this point, the record before the Court fails to demonstrate that Dr. Wright cannot through reasonable diligence comply with the Court’s March 14th Order. The Court will allow the parties to develop a full evidentiary record before it decides whether sanctions are warranted.

Some people believe the Kleiman vs. Wright case will produce answers to whether Wright is who he claims to be.

The discussion about Wright’s case has been making the rounds on crypto Twitter and many are curious to see if the case will open up more of this mysterious story. A few digital currency enthusiasts think, however, that Wright’s disciples will believe he is Satoshi no matter how the case turns out.

BSV Cult:

"If Craig wins the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

"If Craig loses the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

If Craig settles the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

Cult confirmation bias in its fullest form.

— Ⓥin Ⓐrmani (@vinarmani) June 14, 2019

Those who don’t trust Wright’s story and think he’s a charlatan are inclined to presume the case may expose him. According to the latest motion to compel, Wright must be physically present in Florida by Monday and explain why he cannot provide a list of addresses. Failure to comply with any of the aforementioned court requests will have consequences either way.

What do you think about the recent developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Court Listener, Pacer, Twitter, and Pixabay.

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely.

The post Judge Orders Craig Wright to Physically Appear in Florida Lawsuit appeared first on Bitcoin News.

[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]

[cryptobrief]

Craig Wright, the notorious Satoshi Nakamoto claimant, must appear in court on Monday or be held in contempt. The Florida court granted a motion to compel on June 14, mandating Wright to provide a list of all the bitcoin addresses he’s owned prior to December 2013.

Also Read: The Blind Trust Described in the Kleiman vs. Wright Lawsuit Is a Real Head-Scratcher

Craig Wright Must Appear in Florida Court on Monday

A Southern District Court of Florida judge has ordered Craig Wright to appear in Florida on Monday, June 17 or be held in contempt of court. Three days ago, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the barrage of developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit. Wright had described a very complex method of splitting keys using a form of Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) algorithm into a blind trust.

Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, must appear in court on Monday in Florida.

The lawsuit started last year in February as the representatives of the now deceased Dave Kleiman believe his inheritance was misappropriated by Wright. Last month Wright was ordered to produce a list of all the bitcoin addresses he owned as of December 2013. However, Wright hasn’t been so forthright with providing these addresses and has explained to the court that methods used in the so-called blind trust make it complicated for him to obtain.

“Dr. Wright does not know the public addresses of the bitcoin held by the trusts (i.e., the bitcoin mined by Dr. Wright in 2009 after block 70, through 2010),” Wright’s attorneys detailed last week.

Then on June 14, the court handed down a motion to compel, which means the plaintiffs found Wright’s prior discovery responses insufficient. The motion to compel tries to force him to answer by using the court as leverage so he will produce his bitcoin address documentation. Stephen Palley, a lawyer who comments frequently on cryptocurrency cases, explained on Twitter that he believes sanctions are coming if Wright doesn’t comply. “Listen, I have no idea who Satoshi is — I can tell you that the court isn’t buying what this guy is selling though and is creating a strong incentive to settle,” Palley added.

Deciding Whether Sanctions Are Warranted

The latest motion gives Wright much less wiggle room as far as being non-compliant is concerned. Being held in contempt could be a punishable offense or make matters worse for his defense. Furthermore, Wright has also been ordered for both a show and cause hearing and a second deposition on June 28. The order on the plaintiff’s motion to compel uses some strong arguments against Wright’s recent blind trust description involving complex encryption and the SSS algorithm. For instance, the order opens with an in-depth description of encryption and notes that the technique has been used since the time of Julius Caesar. Moreover, it highlights that Wright swore that the encrypted file that contains the public addresses and private keys to the bitcoin he mined requires a combination of himself and the blind agreement’s trustees in order to open the SSS algorithm.

The Kleiman estate wants to compel Wright to comply or they will “seek sanctions for his failure to do so.” The plaintiffs then describe how the SSS algorithm works and how Wright conceded to participate voluntarily in this system, which means he should have some basic understanding of the keys he possesses and the members of the blind trust in order to obtain the funds. The motion to compel order states:

[Wright] has not explained why he cannot obtain and has not obtained, the necessary keys from these third parties. At this point, the record before the Court fails to demonstrate that Dr. Wright cannot through reasonable diligence comply with the Court’s March 14th Order. The Court will allow the parties to develop a full evidentiary record before it decides whether sanctions are warranted.

Some people believe the Kleiman vs. Wright case will produce answers to whether Wright is who he claims to be.

The discussion about Wright’s case has been making the rounds on crypto Twitter and many are curious to see if the case will open up more of this mysterious story. A few digital currency enthusiasts think, however, that Wright’s disciples will believe he is Satoshi no matter how the case turns out.

BSV Cult:

"If Craig wins the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

"If Craig loses the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

If Craig settles the Kleiman case, that proves he is Satoshi!"

Cult confirmation bias in its fullest form.

— Ⓥin Ⓐrmani (@vinarmani) June 14, 2019

Those who don’t trust Wright’s story and think he’s a charlatan are inclined to presume the case may expose him. According to the latest motion to compel, Wright must be physically present in Florida by Monday and explain why he cannot provide a list of addresses. Failure to comply with any of the aforementioned court requests will have consequences either way.

What do you think about the recent developments in the Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Court Listener, Pacer, Twitter, and Pixabay.

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section. You can also enjoy the easiest way to buy Bitcoin online with us. Download your free Bitcoin wallet and head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can buy BCH and BTC securely.

The post Judge Orders Craig Wright to Physically Appear in Florida Lawsuit appeared first on Bitcoin News.

[topicprinter]

This is a follow up on the post that /u/FBAThrow made "Step by Step Guide on How to Manufacture Products in China". You can read more about putting your own brand label on already designed products here I stumbled upon /u/FBAThrow's post while sitting in the airport, after returning from a week long trip to Taiwan, and saw that some people were asking about own-design products and how to get them produced. Here we go:Producing and assembling own-design products in ChinaSo how do you set up a complete production line capable of producing tens of thousands of units a year? I will try to answer this question based from our experiences the past two years.Creating a designFirst and foremost: What do you want to produce? This post will not be directly about product design, but I’ll be happy to answer product design related questions as well. Our product is simple and it works (and sells) because of that. The product fulfills the statement that our marketing sells, no more, no less. Its mechanics are fairly simple, using the same key elements that have been used in speakers for almost a 100 years. Nevertheless, it has multiple custom solutions that are not necessarily seen in the industry before. The story this time starts with a complete product. A CAD file containing the entire assembly. With this a BOM (Bill of Materials) is generated, containing part numbers, materials, quantity pr. unit and a row for price (we'll get to that liter). Here is also listed everything from packaging materials to zip ties to screws and glue. Also from the CAD file is generated an assembly guide. In our case our CM was already aware of the general assembly, so this was less needed for them. More on assembly later. Finding a CMSo in your hand you have your CAD file, technical drawings of all parts with relevant drawings (these are more or less relevant depending on what materials and manufacturing processes you intend on utilize. I generally create drawings that contain the basic dimensions, and supplier will often ask for extra dimensions if they need it.), complete BOM and assembly guide. Now comes a three-step rocket: 1. Finding a CM that can (and that you feel safe with) produce your product2. Figuring out what troubles or issues the CM might have with the manufacturing and assembly of your product.3. Figuring out how much you should pay your CM for the product (pr unit and NRE’s) This is very simplified and things can definitely be done differently and in different orders, but this is more or less how we did it. Finding a CM you can trust and believe in, is definitely the most difficult part of the whole process. You need to find someone that can lift the production task, and at the same time have your order be an interesting business case to them. If your order is pennies to them, you have no leverage when they don’t give you enough engineering man hours or if their prices are too high. You also don’t want someone too small that doesn’t have enough resources to move fast, experience with foreign partners and in general meet your demands. Companies often keep their CMs very secret and you should as well when you find yours. Starting from scratch and finding the perfect CM is a difficult task. You should pull as much as you can on whatever network you have. Get to know people within the industry you’re in and find people smarter than you. Find people who have experience rather than theoretical knowledge. When you start screening CM’s you should keep this in mind: how much R&D work are they willing to do? Some are willing to provide engineering resources to help you get through, some are less willing. Get a feeling of this, so you know exactly how/where the handover to them is. This is especially relevant if you have many molded parts, or parts involving more complex processes and advanced materials. In our case we pulled quite a lot on their experience on material choices as well as molding, since we had limited knowledge on this subject. So you’ve found a CM you can trust, and you have perhaps visited them and gotten a tour of the facilities. You have presented them your product and gotten a project manager assigned that you (hopefully) like. Now you have to handover your product so they can give you a ballpark quote on it. When you have the ballpark quote you can start focusing your time and energy on where to improve your design and get it ready for manufacturing. In our case that involved a pretty early handover so we could get a ballpark quote to see how far we were from our targets. Two things are important to keep in mind: how much time do you have and how much cash are you willing to spend? If things have to go quick, it means more visit on site at the factory, express shipping prototypes, etc. If you have more time (and patience) you can do more things via email and WeChat. Do plan at least three trips to the factory doing this handover process. You’ll be fighting two battles and they might work against each other:1. Getting the CM to understand your product and figure out how to produce it.2. Getting the right price for the each component. How to manufacture your productThe better you are prepared and the more knowledge you have on the manufacturing processes, the better you’re able to help them. Getting the right price is a whole topic of its own, but it generally breaks down to 5 topics: 1. Choosing the right manufacturing methodThe manufacturing method should fit your quantity and requirements to CMF and material.2. Choosing the right materialThe material should clearly fit the functionality. Sometimes a CM might choose a material for reasons that are not relevant to you, because they misunderstood something. Be clear about what requirements you have.3. Choosing the right CMFSame as material. Define as much as you can and be sure that the selected material and method can give you the desired result.4. Choosing the right designCan the part be smaller? Have more ribs instead of solid? Be two identical parts instead of one big? Can you skip the part altogether?5. Sacrifice the right items/requirements at the right timeThis is the most difficult one, since it requires killing parts of your baby one by one. Do you really need that extreme temperature requirement? Do you really need that crazy, difficult multi-direction molding? Always hold your arguments up against the mission of your product. Can a sacrifice win something else? For example, aluminum might make your product lighter and allow you to anodize it. On the flipside it's expensive compared to steel. Can you turn around the story and be story of durability instead of weight? To figure out what to focus on, compare your target BOM with the quote you got. Focus on the items that are 5x what you expected and leave those that are 1.5x. All this should be part of your initial handover, but information might get lost along the way or things change during the process due to e.g. price. Always make sure that your requirements are understood and followed down to the smallest screw. Sometimes they can understand a "why", other times you just need to insist. Assume you know the best until proven otherwise. This can be a lot of back and forth. Changing parts, materials and designs that allows your product to actually be manufactured. How much you are willing to sacrifice doesn't have a straightforward answer. Listen to your gut, and be very clear about what your product stands for. Prioritize what makes your product unique and why it sells and skip all the nice-to-haves. Now comes the final quote where you agree on a price. This will be tough, demanding, stressful and difficult. Your CM will do everything to minimize their own risks. Don’t be surprised if they seem to have different ethics than you. Remember that business in China can be very different than in the Western world. ProductionLastly comes setting up the production line and initiating tools. When you’re at this point, it will all make a whole lot more sense, since you’ve now been down into the tiniest details of your product every day the last year or so. I would always suggest trying to be physically present as much as you have time for in setting up the production line. You know the product, you know why you designed it like you did, you certainly know better on how to assemble it the easiest. Be suggestive but clear when helping them. It’s in everyone's interest that the product ships at time, but remember that it’s not you paying the extra salary to the workers if something fucks up. You might have an idea of using robotics, completely dust-free environments or that cool thing you saw Tesla do, but it's them having to pay for it all. To be continued...I think I will let this be it for now. I have two more paragraphs written on how we came to this point, but I’ll wait a bit with them for now. It’s my first time writing stuff like this, but it feels good sharing and helping others. I don’t have any affiliate links or anything, but I would be happy sharing some of the blog posts that have helped us. I also didn’t get too much into specifics to keep it light, but feel free to ask questions about specifics, I’d be happy to answer if I can.Links that helped usThe Illustrated Guide to Product Development by Bolt.ioEngineering Guidelines to Designing Plastic Parts for Injection MoldingIntroduction to Injection Molding by 3dhubsHow to design parts for Injection MoldingAnd my favorite: Fictivs guide to Hardware, covering topics on R&D, Plan, Design, Fabricate, Assemble, and Test. I'm by no means affiliated by any of these blogs.

[cleopatrarps]

Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars

President Trump has asked for a sweeping trade investigation into whether autos imported into the United States pose a threat to national security, a move that could ultimately result in tariffs on foreign-made cars and further strain relations with global allies.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Commerce Department said it had begun an investigation “following a conversation” with Mr. Trump. The announcement followed a statement from the president, in which he said he had instructed the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to investigate imports of cars, trucks and auto parts “to determine their effects on America’s national security.”

“Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a nation,” Mr. Trump said.

In a separate announcement, the Commerce Department said that imports of passenger vehicles had grown from under a third of cars sold in the United States 20 years ago to nearly half today, while employment in the sector had declined. Automobile manufacturing has long been a source of technological innovation in the United States, and the investigation would consider whether the decline of the auto industry threatens to weaken the American economy by reducing research and development in cutting-edge technologies, the statement said.

“There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Mr. Ross said.

The investigation, which will take months, will be carried out under the same legal statute that the administration used to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The statute gives the president broad authority to restrict imports that threaten national security.

Reaction from American trading partners was largely muted after the announcement of the investigation. But one senior European Union official voiced confusion and frustration over the move.

“It would be very difficult to imagine” how automotive imports to the United States “create any sort of threat to the national security,” Jyrki Katainen, a European Commission vice president, said at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday. “It’s very difficult to understand, but we have just now read what has been said, and there is a long journey to the practice.”

In remarks Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump appeared to link the new trade investigation with continuing talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Those negotiations have largely stalled over auto rules, including how much of a car’s content must be manufactured in North America — and in the United States — to qualify for Nafta’s zero tariffs.

The Trump administration has tried to use the steel and aluminum tariffs as a bargaining chip to persuade other countries to voluntarily restrain their metal shipments to the United States or make other trade concessions. The administration may be looking to use the auto tariffs similarly, as leverage to force concessions from trading partners like Canada and Mexico.

“I think your autoworkers and your auto companies in this country are going to be very happy with what’s going to happen,” the president said on Wednesday afternoon as he prepared to board Marine One. “Nafta is very difficult. Mexico has been very difficult to deal with. Canada has been very difficult to deal with. They have been taking advantage of the United States for a long time. I am not happy with their requests. But I will tell you, in the end, we win.”

“Our autoworkers are going to be extremely happy,” he added.

In a Twitter post Wednesday morning, the president also hinted at the pending announcement.

“There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers,” Mr. Trump said. “After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!”

But the proposal drew what appeared to be a swift backlash from the car industry. Some auto industry representatives said they worried that the plan could raise prices for cars and trucks in the United States, and end up leading to a less competitive American industry and fewer choices for American consumers.

“If these reports are true, it’s a bad day for American consumers,” said John Bozzella, the chief executive of Global Automakers, a trade group. “To our knowledge, no one is asking for this protection.”

In an April 2017 memo, the White House described several sectors as “critical elements of our manufacturing and defense industrial bases, which we must defend against unfair trade practices and other abuses.” That included vehicles, along with products like steel, aluminum, aircraft and semiconductors.

The Trump administration has already deemed imports of steel and aluminum a threat to national security, saying foreign metals are degrading the United States’ manufacturing base. It is also considering tariffs on as much as $150 billion of Chinese imports as retaliation for China’s forced coercion of American intellectual property, which the administration has also declared a threat to national security.

Trade experts said a finding by the administration that imported autos pose a national security threat would most likely prompt legal challenges at the World Trade Organization. The European Union, Japan and other allies are already challenging the Trump administration’s claim that imports of steel and aluminum put American national security at risk. Extending that argument to automobiles would probably be met with even greater skepticism.

Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, pointed out that 98 percent of American imports of passenger cars last year came from five American allies: Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

“This is not about national security,” Mr. Bown said. “After the steel and aluminum high, President Trump has now become addicted to tariffs. He is now clearly abusing this national security law simply to get his tariff fix. And this law is the easiest access he has found.”

Mr. Trump has made the auto industry a major focus of his economic policy, seeing carmakers as an example of an American sector weakened by global offshoring.

While carmakers have welcomed some of the measures proposed by the Trump administration, they have chafed at the White House’s approach to Nafta and its steel and aluminum tariffs, which they say will raise prices and ultimately be passed on to consumers. Many auto suppliers also depend on China, with which the White House is locked in a trade dispute, for parts they cannot source in the United States. China recently said it would lower tariffs on imported United States autos as part of a peace offering, but the potential trade war with China has put several companies on edge.

Many inside and outside the auto industry say the administration’s approach could backfire by raising prices for American-made products, potentially slowing sales and encouraging more companies to move abroad.

Phil Levy, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, criticized the idea as “an unusually ill-conceived trade move.”

“It seems to imagine a world in which each country produces its own automobiles and then they swap them back and forth. In fact, we live in a world in which viable auto companies are heavily involved in global supply chains,” he said. “It would harm U.S. consumers at the margin, while undermining the global trading system and inviting certain retaliation.”

Milan Schreuer contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Initiates a Trade Investigation That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

The post Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2xf8RYK via News of World

[newestbalance]

Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars

President Trump has asked for a sweeping trade investigation into whether autos imported into the United States pose a threat to national security, a move that could ultimately result in tariffs on foreign-made cars and further strain relations with global allies.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Commerce Department said it had begun an investigation “following a conversation” with Mr. Trump. The announcement followed a statement from the president, in which he said he had instructed the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to investigate imports of cars, trucks and auto parts “to determine their effects on America’s national security.”

“Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a nation,” Mr. Trump said.

In a separate announcement, the Commerce Department said that imports of passenger vehicles had grown from under a third of cars sold in the United States 20 years ago to nearly half today, while employment in the sector had declined. Automobile manufacturing has long been a source of technological innovation in the United States, and the investigation would consider whether the decline of the auto industry threatens to weaken the American economy by reducing research and development in cutting-edge technologies, the statement said.

“There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Mr. Ross said.

The investigation, which will take months, will be carried out under the same legal statute that the administration used to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The statute gives the president broad authority to restrict imports that threaten national security.

Reaction from American trading partners was largely muted after the announcement of the investigation. But one senior European Union official voiced confusion and frustration over the move.

“It would be very difficult to imagine” how automotive imports to the United States “create any sort of threat to the national security,” Jyrki Katainen, a European Commission vice president, said at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday. “It’s very difficult to understand, but we have just now read what has been said, and there is a long journey to the practice.”

In remarks Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump appeared to link the new trade investigation with continuing talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Those negotiations have largely stalled over auto rules, including how much of a car’s content must be manufactured in North America — and in the United States — to qualify for Nafta’s zero tariffs.

The Trump administration has tried to use the steel and aluminum tariffs as a bargaining chip to persuade other countries to voluntarily restrain their metal shipments to the United States or make other trade concessions. The administration may be looking to use the auto tariffs similarly, as leverage to force concessions from trading partners like Canada and Mexico.

“I think your autoworkers and your auto companies in this country are going to be very happy with what’s going to happen,” the president said on Wednesday afternoon as he prepared to board Marine One. “Nafta is very difficult. Mexico has been very difficult to deal with. Canada has been very difficult to deal with. They have been taking advantage of the United States for a long time. I am not happy with their requests. But I will tell you, in the end, we win.”

“Our autoworkers are going to be extremely happy,” he added.

In a Twitter post Wednesday morning, the president also hinted at the pending announcement.

“There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers,” Mr. Trump said. “After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!”

But the proposal drew what appeared to be a swift backlash from the car industry. Some auto industry representatives said they worried that the plan could raise prices for cars and trucks in the United States, and end up leading to a less competitive American industry and fewer choices for American consumers.

“If these reports are true, it’s a bad day for American consumers,” said John Bozzella, the chief executive of Global Automakers, a trade group. “To our knowledge, no one is asking for this protection.”

In an April 2017 memo, the White House described several sectors as “critical elements of our manufacturing and defense industrial bases, which we must defend against unfair trade practices and other abuses.” That included vehicles, along with products like steel, aluminum, aircraft and semiconductors.

The Trump administration has already deemed imports of steel and aluminum a threat to national security, saying foreign metals are degrading the United States’ manufacturing base. It is also considering tariffs on as much as $150 billion of Chinese imports as retaliation for China’s forced coercion of American intellectual property, which the administration has also declared a threat to national security.

Trade experts said a finding by the administration that imported autos pose a national security threat would most likely prompt legal challenges at the World Trade Organization. The European Union, Japan and other allies are already challenging the Trump administration’s claim that imports of steel and aluminum put American national security at risk. Extending that argument to automobiles would probably be met with even greater skepticism.

Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, pointed out that 98 percent of American imports of passenger cars last year came from five American allies: Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

“This is not about national security,” Mr. Bown said. “After the steel and aluminum high, President Trump has now become addicted to tariffs. He is now clearly abusing this national security law simply to get his tariff fix. And this law is the easiest access he has found.”

Mr. Trump has made the auto industry a major focus of his economic policy, seeing carmakers as an example of an American sector weakened by global offshoring.

While carmakers have welcomed some of the measures proposed by the Trump administration, they have chafed at the White House’s approach to Nafta and its steel and aluminum tariffs, which they say will raise prices and ultimately be passed on to consumers. Many auto suppliers also depend on China, with which the White House is locked in a trade dispute, for parts they cannot source in the United States. China recently said it would lower tariffs on imported United States autos as part of a peace offering, but the potential trade war with China has put several companies on edge.

Many inside and outside the auto industry say the administration’s approach could backfire by raising prices for American-made products, potentially slowing sales and encouraging more companies to move abroad.

Phil Levy, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, criticized the idea as “an unusually ill-conceived trade move.”

“It seems to imagine a world in which each country produces its own automobiles and then they swap them back and forth. In fact, we live in a world in which viable auto companies are heavily involved in global supply chains,” he said. “It would harm U.S. consumers at the margin, while undermining the global trading system and inviting certain retaliation.”

Milan Schreuer contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Initiates a Trade Investigation That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

The post Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2xf8RYK via Everyday News

[party-hard-or-die]

Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars

President Trump has asked for a sweeping trade investigation into whether autos imported into the United States pose a threat to national security, a move that could ultimately result in tariffs on foreign-made cars and further strain relations with global allies.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Commerce Department said it had begun an investigation “following a conversation” with Mr. Trump. The announcement followed a statement from the president, in which he said he had instructed the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to investigate imports of cars, trucks and auto parts “to determine their effects on America’s national security.”

“Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a nation,” Mr. Trump said.

In a separate announcement, the Commerce Department said that imports of passenger vehicles had grown from under a third of cars sold in the United States 20 years ago to nearly half today, while employment in the sector had declined. Automobile manufacturing has long been a source of technological innovation in the United States, and the investigation would consider whether the decline of the auto industry threatens to weaken the American economy by reducing research and development in cutting-edge technologies, the statement said.

“There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Mr. Ross said.

The investigation, which will take months, will be carried out under the same legal statute that the administration used to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The statute gives the president broad authority to restrict imports that threaten national security.

Reaction from American trading partners was largely muted after the announcement of the investigation. But one senior European Union official voiced confusion and frustration over the move.

“It would be very difficult to imagine” how automotive imports to the United States “create any sort of threat to the national security,” Jyrki Katainen, a European Commission vice president, said at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday. “It’s very difficult to understand, but we have just now read what has been said, and there is a long journey to the practice.”

In remarks Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump appeared to link the new trade investigation with continuing talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Those negotiations have largely stalled over auto rules, including how much of a car’s content must be manufactured in North America — and in the United States — to qualify for Nafta’s zero tariffs.

The Trump administration has tried to use the steel and aluminum tariffs as a bargaining chip to persuade other countries to voluntarily restrain their metal shipments to the United States or make other trade concessions. The administration may be looking to use the auto tariffs similarly, as leverage to force concessions from trading partners like Canada and Mexico.

“I think your autoworkers and your auto companies in this country are going to be very happy with what’s going to happen,” the president said on Wednesday afternoon as he prepared to board Marine One. “Nafta is very difficult. Mexico has been very difficult to deal with. Canada has been very difficult to deal with. They have been taking advantage of the United States for a long time. I am not happy with their requests. But I will tell you, in the end, we win.”

“Our autoworkers are going to be extremely happy,” he added.

In a Twitter post Wednesday morning, the president also hinted at the pending announcement.

“There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers,” Mr. Trump said. “After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!”

But the proposal drew what appeared to be a swift backlash from the car industry. Some auto industry representatives said they worried that the plan could raise prices for cars and trucks in the United States, and end up leading to a less competitive American industry and fewer choices for American consumers.

“If these reports are true, it’s a bad day for American consumers,” said John Bozzella, the chief executive of Global Automakers, a trade group. “To our knowledge, no one is asking for this protection.”

In an April 2017 memo, the White House described several sectors as “critical elements of our manufacturing and defense industrial bases, which we must defend against unfair trade practices and other abuses.” That included vehicles, along with products like steel, aluminum, aircraft and semiconductors.

The Trump administration has already deemed imports of steel and aluminum a threat to national security, saying foreign metals are degrading the United States’ manufacturing base. It is also considering tariffs on as much as $150 billion of Chinese imports as retaliation for China’s forced coercion of American intellectual property, which the administration has also declared a threat to national security.

Trade experts said a finding by the administration that imported autos pose a national security threat would most likely prompt legal challenges at the World Trade Organization. The European Union, Japan and other allies are already challenging the Trump administration’s claim that imports of steel and aluminum put American national security at risk. Extending that argument to automobiles would probably be met with even greater skepticism.

Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, pointed out that 98 percent of American imports of passenger cars last year came from five American allies: Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

“This is not about national security,” Mr. Bown said. “After the steel and aluminum high, President Trump has now become addicted to tariffs. He is now clearly abusing this national security law simply to get his tariff fix. And this law is the easiest access he has found.”

Mr. Trump has made the auto industry a major focus of his economic policy, seeing carmakers as an example of an American sector weakened by global offshoring.

While carmakers have welcomed some of the measures proposed by the Trump administration, they have chafed at the White House’s approach to Nafta and its steel and aluminum tariffs, which they say will raise prices and ultimately be passed on to consumers. Many auto suppliers also depend on China, with which the White House is locked in a trade dispute, for parts they cannot source in the United States. China recently said it would lower tariffs on imported United States autos as part of a peace offering, but the potential trade war with China has put several companies on edge.

Many inside and outside the auto industry say the administration’s approach could backfire by raising prices for American-made products, potentially slowing sales and encouraging more companies to move abroad.

Phil Levy, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, criticized the idea as “an unusually ill-conceived trade move.”

“It seems to imagine a world in which each country produces its own automobiles and then they swap them back and forth. In fact, we live in a world in which viable auto companies are heavily involved in global supply chains,” he said. “It would harm U.S. consumers at the margin, while undermining the global trading system and inviting certain retaliation.”

Milan Schreuer contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Initiates a Trade Investigation That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

The post Trump Initiates Trade Inquiry That Could Lead to Tariffs on Foreign Cars appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2xf8RYK via Breaking News

[petershine88]

Easy Games to Play for Fun

770

Change the how and why you play a game online and also make some good cash by doing it. We offer you practical advice on how to do this.

games,gaming,computer games,gambling,casino,casinos,poker,sports,recreation,sports

Get acquainted with a practical guide on the easiest games that you can play online. And once you read this article, you will find that you have at least stopped losing all your money. If you follow the advice well and to the dot, you will also learn how to start winning cash from other players or by beating the casino. Sounds interesting? It is.

Note that the games you must look out for are those where the house edge is very low. If these are hard to find at the casino you have entered, look for those games that depend more on skill than on luck. Some of these include blackjack and poker. The games to avoid because they depend solely on luck are any of the slot machine games such as Caribbean Stud or the regular or progressive slot jackpots. These rely only on luck and the house edge there is against you.

What is a House Edge? Since the casinos and betting establishments are in it for making money, they have created an artificial method to gain leverage over the players. This is what they have termed house edge. What it means is that over and above what you win, the casinos deduct a certain amount for themselves. It is something like insurance but only for them and not for you. But the casinos do not actually do this. Instead, they have inserted these odds into the game winnings so that you do not notice it. When you win, you are paid according to the newly calculated odds and you are no wiser.

For instance, if you walk over to a casino and place a bet of ten dollars on a roulette table. (For arguments sake, let us also suppose it was an American roulette table.) If you win, you should be given three hundred and seventy dollars because the true odds is thirty-seven to one. Instead, you will only get three hundred and fifty dollars according to the odds of thirty-five to one. This is what I was referring to in the previous paragraph. What has happened is that you have lost twenty dollars to the casino as part of the house edge.

Playing Poker: Pick and play this exceptional game because ,here, you are not competing against the house at all. It is other players like you who you are up against. Do battle against them and defeat them for cash. No house edge comes in the way here, but you do pay a small part of the money you win to the casino as a commission. This winning commission is called rake, and its so minute that you do not feel it pinch your pocket.

In addition, this is one of the best games to play if you are good at it and if you have razor-sharp skills. You will be able to mint money like crazy if you can read other expressions and count the cards well. You can also pick from a variety of game variations such as Red Dog Poker and Texas Holdem.

Playing Blackjack: This is one of those games that the casino does not like you playing. If it was up to the betting establishments, they would remove these tables altogether. Why? Because the edge for them is only a half percent! Thus, is you play well by remembering that you have to beat the dealer and not reach 21, you stand a big chance of accumulating a large sum. I also suggest you brush up on your mathematical skills.

If you wish, learn how to count cards, but be careful. Because card counting works, casinos have banned it. All you have to do is count the colored cards (the cards that are ten and above). Then, it will be easier to decide which bet to make and which not to make. Practice again and again at home because you not only have to master this skill but you also have to learn to do it silently so that the casinos do not catch on.

Video Poker: This is a game very much like one of the many regular and progressive slot machines games you will run into at a casino, but it is different. Unlike slots, skill plays a big part in the results, and thus you have a bigger chance of winning than at one of the slot machines.

But, before you begin, glance at the payment structure pasted on the machine. You should make your gaming decisions based on the house odds and payment structures of the machine.

Easy Games to Play for Fun

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from Easy Games to Play for Fun