Southern Indiana Living JanFeb 2014

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Spend your money wisely $Story // Loren Haverstock RSH: While I won’t give specifc advice to business owners forecasting the 2014 economy, I will say that the BBB and many of our accredited businesses are holding strong. I understand a lot of business owners have been more conservative considering the current state of the economy, which is understandable. From the BBB’s perspective, we keep moving forward and interest in gaining accreditation through BBB remains steady. Southern Indiana Living chats with Louisville, Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky’s Better Business Bureau’s Vice President of Communications to learn more about business in 2014, and how consumers can protect themselves. SILM: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. RSH: I have worked for the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for the past eight years. I am the Vice President of Communications which encompasses lots of responsibilities. I work with the media to provide information to consumers about current scams and bad businesses to help protect them. I also oversee all of our social media, event planning and speaking events. I like going out and conducting educational seminars on how to protect consumers and their wallets. SILM: How do businesses become accredited with BBB? RSH: First a business must fll out a business profle and submit it to BBB. After that it is up to us to fully vet the company. After being fully vetted, the business is brought before the Board of Directors which must approve their accreditation. The business must abide by the rules and standards set forth by the BBB to gain accreditation. You have to be in business for at least one year. SILM: In terms of new businesses, do you have any advice for someone wanting to open in 2014? January/February 2014 • 16 Reanna Smith-Hamblin A Q&A with the Better Business Bureau’s Reanna Smith-Hamblin SILM: And what about an established business, what kind of insights could you ofer in keeping them relevant and fresh in the minds of consumers? RSH: Go online! Small businesses have traditionally been marketed mostly through word of mouth, but in today’s technology grounded world you have to have a website. Young consumers not only go online to buy your products, but they also read your reviews and post their own. Even if your website is simple it can still be efective. Learn to love social media sites and make sure you have search engine presence, meaning when someone searches for a specifc type of business in your area, your business is the top of the list. SILM: In terms of social media, how can businesses efectively harness this marketing tool without turning consumers of? RSH: Depending on your industry, you may ofer daily tips to consumers or even special pricing deals based on “liking” a post. We are also fnding that consumers love to see the day to day operations in businesses so post pictures or videos of your employees, products, etc. There is a fne line though and you never want to over post. I would suggest no more than three posts a day, one in the morning, one around lunchtime and another around 8pm, the three busiest times of day on social media sites. SILM: What do you think about social media use by consumers either praising or complaining about a business? RSH: I would caution consumers to be completely honest and upfront with a business. If there is a problem call or go into the business to talk to them about it. Anyone can go online anonymously and say anything they want about a business with devastating efects. Many times if a consumer tells a business about a problem when it happens, the staf will fx the problem on the
ER Patients Give Us Soaring Scores. Over 97% of our ER patients were satisfed with our nursing staff’s care and 96% would recommend our ER physicians and staff to family and friends. We are proud to share these satisfaction scores from recent Qualitick surveys. These scores speak highly of our ER team who is trained to treat critical-care and life-threatening situations. Harrison County Hospital -- conveniently located for patients needing quality emergency care in our community. 812.738.4251 • 1141 Hospital Drive NW • Corydon, IN 47112 • www.hchin.org
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Southern Indiana Living JanFeb 2014

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