Storytailer

STORYTAILER LLC
CHAPEL HILL

Archives for July 2013

Did Google Just Hide Your Dealership’s Emails?

By

[UPDATE: I discovered that how Google is determining what goes into the “Promotions & Offers” tab are emails that include CAN-SPAM regulated unsubscribe links. Well, that’s pretty much every dealership in the universe.]

As you may or may not know, Google introduced a new feature to their web-based Gmail interface. Tabs. It’s like a non-spam spam filter. This is what it looks like:

The idea is that it will help people manage their inboxes better by separating different “types” of e-mails. There are four tabs:

  1. Primary: According to Google, the e-mail that you “really, really want” goes there.
  2. Social: This is where Google is going to deliver e-mails from social sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. You know, all of those notifications.
  3. Promotions & Offers: This is where all the e-mails from retailers advertising goes. You know those “sale” e-mails, coupons, etc. (I bet you can’t guess what else will go here.)
  4. Updates: According to Google, this is where “updates, bills and receipts” will go.

What does that mean for dealerships and e-mail marketing? [Read more…]

Google+ Ditches Zagat Ratings, Returns to Consumer Friendly 5-Star Ratings

By

Google can’t seem to make up their minds. That being said, they sneakily introduced a change that I believe most businesses (and consumers) will welcome.

In May of 2012, Google implemented their Zagat rating system which was confusing for both businesses and consumers. The 30-point system just didn’t make sense to most people including, most importantly, consumers.

As you can see by visiting any Google+ local page, they have reverted back to the 5-star rating system. Ultimately, this makes more sense as not only is it easier for the business to understand why their rating is what it is but a consumer intuitively understands what the number “means” in relation to reviews left by other customers.

The biggest thing is that it seems to have been rolled out completely in that the rating now exists inside and outside Google maps and whether you are logged into Google or not and you don’t need to have an upgraded listing as a business owner.

For the score to show, your business must have at least 5 reviews, however.

It isn’t quite updated everywhere yet. It’s still showing the Zagat score in the old version of Google Maps and in Google+ Local search results but I anticipate that this will all be conformed in due time.

I, personally, welcome this about face and think it’s good for both businesses and consumers.

What are your thoughts?

[Note: Thanks to 3GEngagement for the tip!]

Contact Me