- CNBC; Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Are customers saying they love you? If they do, it shows; they keep coming back, they recommend you to others, and they are happy to tell others how they feel about you. At yelp, epinions, twitter and hundreds of Web sites every day, customers who are treated well are unabashedly praising companies they, well, love.
“I'm in love with The Container Store - like I go out of my way to try and find a reason to need to go there.” (yelp.com) [Read Entire Article]
- Midlands Business; Monday, October 12, 2009
The customer is making a comeback – slow though it may be. And when he (or she) returns, you're going to notice a change. A big change. FAIR WARNING: How you prepare for the new customer will determine your long-term success.
REALITY: While your customers were away, online has officially taken over. It's the new showroom and comparison shopper. You can chat, or phone in a heartbeat. You can see every option and some you never knew existed. It's fast, it's accurate, and anyone can choose anything, any time of the day or night. [Read Entire Article]
- Business.com; Monday, October 12, 2009
Every day, customers turn more and more to the Web for what they need. And in many cases, what they need is available from a local business; maybe YOUR business. When customers search online for a local solution or supplier, will they find you?
The demand for finding local solutions has made "local search" one of the hottest areas of online marketing that includes local search engines, local search features on major engines like Google and Yahoo, online yellow pages, user recommendation sites suchas Angie's List and a growing list of other local search methods. [Read Entire Article]
- Economist; Thursday, September 17, 2009
A way of designing structures and systems so that they are focused on providing consumers with what they want, rather than on what a company wants them to want
Customer relationship management, commonly known as CRM, is a way of designing structures and systems so that they are focused on providing consumers with what they want, rather than on what a company wants them to want. It usually involves a restructuring of the company’s IT systems and a reorganisation of its staff.
CRM is heavily dependent on a technique called data warehousing, a way of integrating disparate information about customers from different parts of the organisation and putting it together in one huge IT “warehouse”. Dale Renner, once the boss of a data-mining business, said that CRM is something that encompasses “identifying, attracting and retaining the most valuable customers to sustain profitable growth”.
[Read Entire Article]
- Remodeling; Saturday, September 12, 2009
With the newest issue of Angie’s List magazine focusing on contractor licensing, construction and service professionals would be well advised to either a) ensure that all their company’s licenses and registrations are up-to-date, or b) work on getting licensed ASAP if it’s a business step they’ve forgone up to now. [Read Entire Article]
- Remodeling; Friday, September 11, 2009
Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks is in the process of calling on state lawmakers around the country to enact uniform and understandable trade licensing laws. The goal is to create laws that give consumers an assurance that anyone holding a license is qualified to do the job it covers. Hicks is also asking lawmakers to set aside a portion of licensing fees for consumer protection funds so homeowners who are bilked by licensed contractors can recover their lost investments. Hicks will be sending letters to governors across the country outlining the need for better trade licensing laws.
[Read Entire Article]
- The Business Press; Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Across the internet there is a growing number of business reviews websites. Some of the more mainstream sites include Angie's List, Epinions and RateItAll, and then there is the more brutal website RipOffReport.com.
No matter the site, no matter the business, the goal of these sites remains the same. Warn consumers about poor, bad or downright miserable business dealings. Fairly, or unfairly, your ability to successfully build your business may be severely diminished by a bad online review. Even worse, you probably don't know about it. [Read Entire Article]
- Replacement Contractor Magazine; Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Steven Smalley, owner of Exterior Home Improvement, in Indianapolis, doesn't run the traditional print, TV, or radio advertising that most home improvement contractors rely on for sales leads. "I dabbled in it a little bit, threw some money at it," he says, "but it never worked."
Instead, it was referral business generated through networking of one form or another that pushed sales over the $4 million mark last year.
For example, Smalley and seven sales reps sold some $600,000 (15% of total sales) through business networking — participation in various groups, which most contractors think of as "networking."
Another 40% came from Angie's List, the Internet-based, consumer word-of-mouth network. Some 20% came from past customers. Referrals from an informal network of contractors Smalley has cultivated contributed as well. [Read Entire Article]
- INC; Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Angie's List has been named to Inc. Magazine's list of fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. for the second year in a row. Angie’s List is ranked 14th in terms of growth among the other 61 Indiana privately held companies that made the list. Nationally, we’re number 1,100. [Read Entire Article]
- Entrepreneur; Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Reach a younger, hipper market for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.
[Read Entire Article]
- USA Today; Monday, June 29, 2009
Cash-strapped homeowners are trying to cut costs by replacing the kitchen floor or fixing a pipe themselves rather than hiring a contractor. But some are ending up with a trip to the emergency room instead.
Nick Jouriles, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, says he has seen an increase in injuries from do-it-yourself projects in the past year, and he says it's probably the result of homeowners trying to save money in a struggling economy. [Read Entire Article]
- Washington Post; Saturday, May 09, 2009
When Carrie Ansell decided to buy her first house last year, she had absolutely no idea where to start. So she turned to the Web site Yelp.com to peruse what other people had to say about their real estate agents. [Read Entire Article]
- New York Daily News; Monday, April 27, 2009
The ease of using the Web to check whether other customers are satisfied has meant an increasing number of people are turning to sites like Angie’s List. [Read Entire Article]
- MSN.com; Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The best sites for savvier spending...Angie's List. [Read Entire Article]
- Indianapolis Business Journal; Saturday, April 04, 2009
As health care slowly shifts to operate more like retail stores, comments like these have become commonplace on more than 30 physician-rating Web sites, including a subscription service run by Indianapolis-based Angie’s List. [Read Entire Article]