Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to write a review. If you have a
Speaker 1: special small business in your life, your positive reviews really
Speaker 1: can make a difference. So take two minutes to write
Speaker 1: one and you will help that business out a lot.
Speaker 1: Given how prevalent online reviews are these days, it is
Speaker 1: hard to believe that thirty years ago they just weren't
Speaker 1: a thing. If you wanted to find a good pizza
Speaker 1: place near you, you had to ask people, read reviews
Speaker 1: in local newspapers or magazines if you could find them,
Speaker 1: or look in the phone book to see the advertisements
Speaker 1: and just guess based on the menus and such what
Speaker 1: you would think. Now, of course, anyone under the sun
Speaker 1: can review anything, and that is great in some ways,
Speaker 1: but it also gives the cranky folks among us quite
Speaker 1: a lot of power. That's because most people don't bother
Speaker 1: to write reviews. We're busy. Even if we liked a restaurant,
Speaker 1: or a hair salon or a retail store, we are
Speaker 1: unlikely to sit down at our computers and formulate a review.
Speaker 1: And if we are modestly unhappy, we tend not to
Speaker 1: write a review saying that either. I can see this
Speaker 1: in the statistics for let's say a show like this
Speaker 1: one with more than a million downloads every month, only
Speaker 1: a few people leave reviews on the major podcast sites.
Speaker 1: That is just the way life works. But the fact
Speaker 1: that most people don't write reviews can wind up being
Speaker 1: a problem given that nuh thing moves people to action
Speaker 1: like anger. So if your really great local pizza place
Speaker 1: has an off night, running short on certain items, or
Speaker 1: if maybe too many staff members have called out sick,
Speaker 1: you can get a one star review, staying as the
Speaker 1: most prominent one on Yelp or other places for a
Speaker 1: long time for months. When people look for a pizza place,
Speaker 1: they are going to see that one star review. Now,
Speaker 1: I am not saying the restaurant didn't deserve a one
Speaker 1: star review for that person's experience. The problem is context.
Speaker 1: That is far from the only experience people have at
Speaker 1: that particular restaurant. It is just that the vast majority
Speaker 1: of people don't write reviews. But if anyone can write reviews,
Speaker 1: then you can become the sort of person who writes reviews.
Speaker 1: So why not take a few minutes to write positive
Speaker 1: reviews for the small businesses in your life. If you
Speaker 1: eat somewhere frequently, you obviously like it enough to be
Speaker 1: a repeat customer. So take a few minutes and write
Speaker 1: a review saying that It really doesn't have to be elaborate.
Speaker 1: You can just say something like I order from here
Speaker 1: every Tuesday. I especially love the chicken enchiladas and the
Speaker 1: salsa is always great. Or if you shop at a
Speaker 1: local boutique right great selection and owner Casey is always
Speaker 1: friendly and helpful, highly recommended. When you are looking for
Speaker 1: a special outfit, just write it and post it. That's
Speaker 1: really all there is to it. Then, when people are
Speaker 1: looking for a Mexican restaurant or a special occasion boutique,
Speaker 1: your review will appear alongside whatever random or cranky person
Speaker 1: got inspired to write by something going wrong. You just
Speaker 1: might get it's someone else to try out one of
Speaker 1: your favorite spots. Lots of small businesses could use the business.
Speaker 1: This is a great way to support them in the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your
Speaker 1: questions or anything else, Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.