It’s now up to 70% cheaper to respond to selected Barks!

We’re cutting prices by up to 70% for pros in 25 of our most promising categories, from acupuncture to vehicle window tinting and more.

Why? Because if you’re a skilled professional in the UK, we believe you should be able to quickly grow your business online with Bark, no matter what industry you work in.

Although we get loads of Barks in these categories, competition for them is relatively low – making them some of the most potentially lucrative services we cater for.

They’re ideal if you’ve thought about registering with us before but weren’t sure it was right for your business, or if you offer similar services already and think it might be worth branching out to attract new customers.

So – whatever services your small business provides – make sure you take a look at this breakdown of most heavily discounted categories today:

Category	Discount	New Price
Acupuncture & Acupressure	50%	3 credits
Business Card Printing	66%	2 credits
Dog Walking	50%	1 credit
Kitchen Tiling	70%	3 credits
Massage Therapy	50%	1 credit
Masseurs	50%	1 credit
Pet Care	50%	1 credit
Pet Sitting	50%	1 credit
Picture Framing	50%	2 credits
Portrait Photographers	50%	5 credits
TV & AV Repair	50%	1 credit
TV Installation & Mounting	66%	1 credit
Upholstery & Furniture Cleaning	50%	1 credit
Vehicle Window Tinting	66%	1 credit

Credits are £1+VAT – so if your company provides vehicle window tinting, for example, you’ll now be saving £2+VAT every time you contact a new customer through Bark.

This change should make using Bark more cost-effective, so you can generate even more business using our service.

As you can see, TV installation, vehicle window tinting and business card printing are now 67% cheaper – and it’s a full 70% less to respond to new kitchen tiling Barks.

But that’s not all, because we’ve also reduced the number of credits you need to respond to Barks by at least a third in another 11 categories:

Category	Discount	New Price
Artificial Turf Installation & Repair	40%	3 credits
Balloon Artistry	33%	2 credits
Bathroom Tilers	40%	3 credits
Bouncy Castle Hire	33%	2 credits
Carpet Repair or Replacement	33%	2 credits
Martial Arts Classes	33%	2 credits
Pet Photography	40%	6 credits
Video Editing	40%	6 credits
Vintage Car Hire	40%	3 credits
Wedding Car Hire	40%	3 credits
Wedding Stylist	40%	3 credits

We review our prices regularly, and are always looking to strike the best possible balance for everyone who uses our site.

So, as our most popular categories continue to grow and generate more revenue, we’ll often look to pass those savings onto you in the form of price reductions like these.

Better yet, if you’re new to Bark, we’ll even give you enough free credits to contact your first customer on us when you register on our site.

Register today to claim your FREE credits

We always make sure new pros who join our service can contact their first client on us. That way you can see first-hand how easy it can be to find new business with Bark, without needing to spend a penny.

Then, if you’d like us to continue to help you grow your business quickly online, you’ll be able to contact every subsequent customer you find through us at our new reduced rates.

Getting started couldn’t be easier – simply click the link below and open a Bark account today to claim your free Bark credits today:

Click here to start growing your business with Bark.

Writing the perfect customer response – secure more business with Bark in 6 easy steps

The first response you send to a customer is far and away the most important. Many people will decide whether or not they’d like to hire you based on this message alone, so it’s essential you get it right.

Making sure your pitch is the best one a client receives is a key part of pitching for new business with Bark, and we want to do everything in our power to help you stand out from the crowd.

So, in this week’s blog post we’re looking at how to write the perfect customer response in six easy steps.

STEP 1: Promote your company

The best sales pitches all have the same basic structure. You start by getting the customer’s attention. Then, you explain what’s unique about your pitch. Finally, once the customer has decided you’re the pro for them, you give them an offer they simply can’t refuse.

That’s why your opening message should stress exactly what experience and qualifications you have that make you perfect for the job. Include links to your website, your online portfolio, customer reviews – and anything else you think might improve your chances of securing the business.

STEP 2: Explain what’s included

Next, make sure the customer knows exactly what they’ll be getting for their money, and explain why your service is great value.

In many industries there are ‘extras’ which sometimes aren’t included as standard. If you’re a photographer, are prints included in your estimate? If you’re a cleaner, will you provide your own products?

If your service costs more than some other providers, explain that’s because you offer a superior service – if you’re cheaper than your competitors, be sure to stress what a good deal you are offering.

STEP 3: Move the conversation forwards

Unless you’re really lucky, the chances are you won’t secure the business from your opening message alone.

Your customer will usually have a few questions they need answering before they’re satisfied that you’re the right pro for the job, so ask them to call you whenever is convenient to discuss things further.

Encouraging the customer to take a look at your previous work and offering to meet them in person to provide them with a bespoke estimate are also good ways to move the conversation forwards.

STEP 4: Give your contact details

Customers you contact through Bark will always be able to reach you via the Bark messenger, and they can get your phone number and email address by clicking the “view contact details” button under your display name.

But to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you, we also recommend including your contact details in the body of your message, so they’re impossible to miss.

STEP 5: Respond quickly

It’s important to respond to new Barks quickly. Our analysis shows that pros who get back to the customers we alert you to right away are twice as likely to secure the business as those who don’t.

So when we alert you to a potential customer you like the look of, it’s best to send them a message right away to register your interest in their business. To help with this, we created our ‘one-click response’ feature – you can find out how it works right here.

STEP 6: Check your spelling!

Finally, once you’ve finished your response we we highly recommend reading it through carefully before you click ‘send’.

A message that contains typos implies you don’t pay attention to detail, and makes people feel you don’t really care about their custom. So it’s always worth checking each message carefully, just to be safe.

Put these steps together and you should be able to craft highly effective responses for your customers – like this example reply to someone with a serious pest problem:

Hi Hans,

Bark just emailed to say you’re in need of pest control, so I thought I’d get in touch to offer you my services.

I’m a BPCA-approved exterminator with 15 years of experience under my belt. In that time, I’ve dealt with everything from ant infestations to escaped Ocelots (don’t ask!), so there really is no job too big or small.

Take a look at my website – www.the-verminator.co.uk – for more info about my experience, qualifications and pricing. If you like what you see, I’ll happily visit your home to take a look at the problem and give you a free quote.

You can reach me any time on 07811 545548 or at theverminator@gmail.com.

Best wishes,
Vincent
07811 545548 | www.the-verminator.co.uk

As you can see, this response explains clearly what services Vincent provides in a way that’s both attention-grabbing and intriguing.

It makes it easy for customers to contact him by phone, email or in Bark Messenger – and it moves the conversation forwards by offering to visit the client’s home to take a closer look at the problem.

Employ these same techniques when responding Barks and we’re confident you’ll be securing even more business with us in no time.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about how we can help you secure more business with our service, we’d love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to team@bark.com or leave a comment in the space below.

From the Hollywood Hills to the Burmese mountains – freelancing secrets from journalists across the globe

In the spring of 2015, Eve Barlow packed her life into suitcases.

She’d had enough of working for someone else. From that day forward, she was going to stand on her own two feet, and focus on projects she was genuinely passionate about. So, she left her job at one of the UK’s most respected music magazines and boarded a one-way flight to LA.

It was a huge step – but having visited the city several times before, she knew there was only one place she wanted be to start her new life.

“The idea of being a freelance music journalist in the City of Angels just seemed like a no-brainer,” she explains. “So a one-way ticket was purchased. I flew by the seat of my pants, and it’s worked out nicely so far.”

She adds: “Working in the NME office was one of the best rollercoaster rides of my 20s and I wouldn’t change the experience for anything. But it’s a challenge to be Deputy Editor of a weekly magazine and also have time to write.”

Here at Bark, we believe taking your career into your own hands is one of the most important things any skilled professional can do. It’s one of the reasons we started Bark in the first place – and if you haven’t already, you can register as one of our pros here.

Since she moved to LA, Eve has the freedom to choose exactly which projects she wants to work on. So we reached out to her to ask what advice she had for aspiring freelancers thinking about going it alone.

“You are your name, and only you can hold yourself up to the quality you’re aspiring to maintain,” she explains. “You’re only as good as the last piece you wrote. That’s a good and bad thing.”

When asked what advice she’d give a young writer trying to get their first paid freelance gig, she says: “Know what you’re good and passionate about covering, make sure you know more than anyone else about that thing, and pitch at the relevant title in a manner that’s going to excite them.”

“Whether it’s unparalleled access, a unique argument or something yet-to-be-discovered, make sure there’s something about your pitch that nobody else could offer,” she adds. “Also, put the time into forging relationships with your editors and people who are going to be able to help you get the stories you need in your field.”

She recalls a recent interview she conducted with a band in the public eye who’d been caught up in an international news story. After it was published, one of the world’s biggest news outlets wanted her to reveal further details she had ‘off the record’ – an offer she ultimately refused.

“You must always remember that your intellectual property is what you’re selling to people and have ownership over,” she explains. “It can be incredibly valuable if it could further a story that’s currently got heat, and if you’re working with the right editorial team they will understand and respect the part you have to play in that.”

Eve’s Los Feliz apartment complex is the sort of setup many young writers can only dream of. But the beauty of working for yourself is that you can put down roots wherever you choose – whether that’s a sprawling American metropolis, or out in the depths of the Myanmar jungle.

“I’ve just come back from a visit to one of the remotest regions of Burma,” says Joshua Carroll, a freelance writer living in Southeast Asia. “A freelance friend and I went with no commission, figuring we’d find stories while there and make a profit on the trip. We were right and it was an amazing experience.”

Travelling by motorbike along precarious mountain ridges, Josh stayed the night at a remote village which gets its water from a brook that trickles into peoples’ homes via a system of elevated pipes made from carved tree trunks.

“The houses cling to the mountainside on stilts, and there is a football pitch on a plateau ringed by distant blue mountain ridges,” he says. “We went there to interview two hunters who were returning their gun licenses in a gesture of solidarity with the depleted wild animal population. I got paid to do that!”

Although Josh has no formal journalistic training, his natural flare for spotting a good story has proved to be all he needed to succeed as a freelancer. He purchased a one-way ticket to Myanmar in 2014, and he’s never looked back.

“For me, not having a boss and motivating myself is the biggest challenge,” he says. “If I don’t pitch, I don’t work and I run low on money pretty quickly. It can be tough to get out of a dry spell.”

“If you haven’t done something you’re proud of for a while, your confidence starts to flag, and that means it’s less likely there’ll be ideas bouncing around in your head – so it can be a bit cyclical at times,” he adds. “Thinking financially helps. If you set a goal of making £X every month, it helps you work in a more disciplined way.”

Speaking about the best way to land your first paid work when you’re just starting out as a freelancer Josh says, for him, the key was simply to enter as many competitions as possible.

“The student journalism award I won led to a string of paid work,” he explains. “Winning stuff is also good for self-esteem, which is vital for keeping motivated – especially in the early stages when you’re likely to face a lot of rejection.”

Josh stressed that to make it as a freelancer, you need to learn to respond to rejection the right way – a sentiment echoed by UK-based investigative journalist Joe Sandler Clarke.

“Research the publication and editor you’re pitching to, before getting in contact. Treat a story pitch like a job interview,” he says. “The most important thing, more important than writing ability and story getting, is to meet your deadlines, be professional and work hard.

“Editors will respect you and ask for you to do more if you’re reliable and capable, more than they will if you’re flakey and brilliant.”

Securing regular commissions is one of the toughest problems all freelancers face, whether you’re a writer living in a remote Asian jungle, or a plumber working in South London.

That’s where Bark comes in. If you’re a skilled professional working in the UK, we’ll find you customers in your area who need your services – whatever industry you work in.

Join today and we’ll even make sure you can contact your first customer on us, you can start growing your business free of charge.

Click here to start growing your business with Bark.

With ‘one-click response’ you’ll never need to pass on a promising Bark again

Speed is important when pitching for business on Bark.

Customers are highly likely to hire one of the first pros they hear from. But we know our best pros are busy, and often out working on jobs when new Barks come in.

So we decided to create a tool you can use to respond to Barks instantly, even if you’re busy with other things when you receive them. It’s called ‘one-click response’ and it lets you save a standard reply you can send when you’re short on time.

An easy way to get more business with Bark

People who place Barks on our site are generally looking to hire a pro as quickly as possible. Looking at the last 100,000 Barks placed on our site, we discovered users are twice as likely to hire pros that respond quickly over those who take longer to respond.

This stands to reason. Once you’ve taken the time to research something and make a decision about it, you’re going to be reluctant to change your mind.

So when you receive an email about a new Bark, it’s a good idea to make sure you respond quickly – and that’s where one-click response comes in. It’s a simple tool that lets you save a standard response you can send to new customers instantly, with the click of a button.

*You can set up your one-click response in your Bark pro dashboard*

You’ll find it in the new ‘one-click response’ tab in your Bark dashboard, and setting it up couldn’t be easier.

The first step is to enter your one-click response into the text box provided. The idea here is to create a generic message you could send to any of your customers. Take your time to get it right and, when you’re happy, enable your response by clicking the ‘save’ button.

Respond instantly, with a single click

Once you’ve enabled one-click response, the rest is easy. You’ll see a new button that says ‘send one-click response’ when we next email to alert you to a potential new customer.

If you’re too busy to respond with a tailored message, click that button and we’ll send your one-click response instantly instead. That way, you can get in and register your interest before the customer picks someone else.

Then later, when you have more time, you can follow-up with a personalised response and estimate.

We hope this new feature useful will mean you never need to pass on a promising job because you’re busy with other things again.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about it, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at team@bark.com or leave a comment below.

Turn bad reviews into great adverts for your company with our new ‘report, remove, respond’ feature

Even the best companies in the world get bad reviews now and then.

No company hits the mark 100% of the time. But what sets the customer service greats apart from some companies we could mention is how they respond when they do get negative feedback.

You see, a well-worded reply can turn even the most scathing review into a shining advert for your company – and our latest update to the Bark website is designed to let you do exactly that.

You can now report abuse, remove duplicate reviews and respond directly to any feedback you receive using the ‘Reviews’ tab in your Bark dashboard.

Today, we’d like to show you how this brand new feature works – and run you through our top tips for using it to handle negative customer reviews should the need ever arise.

Why bad reviews aren’t so bad

According to customer support experts Zendesk, a full 88% of customers make their buying decisions based on reviews. That’s why getting positive reviews on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Bark is so important.

But there is a school of thought in marketing that says a bad review can actually be a good thing.

For one thing, it makes people checking your reviews feel like they’ve “done their homework”, taking them one step closer to deciding whether to pay for your services.

It also helps to legitimise all your good reviews. After all, if you were going to fake them, why would you bother making up a bad one?

Most importantly, it gives you a chance to respond to the feedback and show people how great your company really is.

Remember, when responding to any review your prospects are your real audience. Show them that you care about your customers and they may decide you’re the right pro for them after all.

Here’s how to use our new interactive reviews feature to do just that:

How to effectively combat negative
reviews in three simple steps

Contrary to what many people think, negative reviews actually have the potential to increase the number of sales you make.

It’s all about how you respond to them – and thanks to our latest site upgrade, now you can! Simply log into your Bark account and click the ‘Reviews’ tab to the left of your screen to manage your reviews.

There, you can quickly ask your previous customers to leave you a review, report any abusive ones that come in, and reply to all the feedback you receive directly:

You can now view, report and respond to all your reviews in your Bark profile.

We’ll happily remove any review that’s abusive, or from someone you’ve never actually done business with. But please note that we’ll never remove a review simply because it’s bad.

Of course, we hope you only ever hear from your many satisfied customers. But, if you ever do need to deal with someone who was less than happy with your services, here’s how we recommend you handle it:

Acknowledge the issue and own it – your first objective when responding to any complaint is to communicate that you’re paying attention to the issue. Show anyone who reads the review that when someone has a problem, you listen.
Show that future customers won’t have this issue – next, you should communicate that something has changed and anyone reading this review needn’t worry about the same thing happening to them.
Offer to fix the issue, if possible. Even if you feel like the reviewer is way off the mark, and the problem is with them not you: don’t write that you feel that way. Stay polite and friendly, and suggest that the customer might like to email you directly to resolve the issue.

The important thing is to show anyone who reads this very public conversation that you care about your customers, and are doing everything you can to ensure they receive a superior service.

It’s easy to take negative feedback personally. So perhaps the most important advice we can give is to never send your response in the heat of the moment. Draft your reply, then take a little while to cool off. Come back to it later on with a fresh pair of eyes and make sure you don’t sound too defensive before you click ‘send’.

Of course, the best way to balance out bad reviews is to make sure your happy customers post about their experiences on your Bark profile.

But sticking to these simple guidelines should help you transform any negative feedback you get into glowing adverts for your future customers – which is exactly why we launched our new reviews feature in the first place.

We hope you find this new addition to our site useful! Let us know what you think of it by emailing team@bark.com, or leaving a comment below.

Why we’ve stopped asking for budgets

“There needs to be a way to stop timewasters who ask for a quote without any intention of ever going ahead,” says one Bark pro. “Maybe a guide with realistic budget advice may help this?”

This was a piece of feedback we heard time and again in your responses to our recent Seller Survey. The overwhelming consensus was that we should give people more guidance to make sure they have realistic budgets.

It got us thinking about what we could do to make sure everyone who uses our site knows what things actually cost. We’ve been testing a number of ideas behind the scenes, and today we’re happy to announce what we think is the ideal solution.

It’s called the Budget Estimator, and it essentially simulates the experience of having an expert on hand to let you know what everything costs.

Here’s why it should mean a better experience for both you and your customers:

The problem with letting the
buyer dictate the price

So why were so many people selecting unrealistically low budgets when placing their Barks in the first place? Are they all cheapskates?

We don’t think so. Based on the feedback we get from you and your fellow pros, it looks like most people simply don’t know what things cost – especially when they’re first-time buyers.

For example, you might guess that a 10-shot photo shoot lasting two hours costs less than a 200-shot wedding shoot with album and retouching services. But unless you’re a professional photographer, you probably have no idea what the price difference is.

Some people intuitively consider this when setting their budgets, and get good responses as a result. But, unfortunately, others do not.

So, when presented with a series of prices and not knowing what something is really worth, most people worry about getting ripped off. They think: “I don’t want to be quoted more than I should be, so I’ll choose the cheapest option just in case.”

How we used to ask for Buyer's budgets — *How we used to ask Buyers their budgets*

The upshot of all this was that people tended to select the cheapest option available when placing their Barks, even when that’s not what they really wanted.

This led to a mismatch between what people placing Barks expected to be quoted and what pros like yourself usually charge for their services.

The result was bad for everyone: buyers got fewer responses at higher prices than they were expecting, while pros felt that most Barks weren’t worth their time and didn’t bother responding to them.

Luckily, our new Budget Estimator changes all that…

Now the power is in YOUR hands

Letting our users specify their own budgets clearly wasn’t the way to go. That’s why, starting today, we’ll be doing things differently.

Instead of having people guess what a service costs, we’ll show them what to expect based on what you and your fellow pros usually charge. Here’s how it will work:

Whenever someone submits a Bark, we’ll identify what they’re looking for based on their answers to our questions.
We’ll then cross-reference their request with historic estimates for Barks in the same category and area, and remove any outliers that look far larger or smaller than usual.
Finally, we’ll present the customer with a range of prices to help them work out what they can expect to be quoted.

As you’ve seen, our old system meant people expected unrealistically low estimates because of the “Market for Lemons” effect.

But our new Budget Estimator should give everyone a more realistic idea of what the services they’re looking for actually cost.

You’ll be able to see the guide prices we provide for each of the Barks you receive, so you can consider them before responding.

If you decide to give an estimate that’s less than the industry average, your customers will feel like they’re getting a great deal – and your customers should still be happy to pay more than the industry average in exchange for a premium service.

In short, we believe our Budget Estimator will help educate our users – so you can win more business at higher prices than you might have been able to in the past.

Let us know what you think!

We’ve tested this new website feature thoroughly to ensure it works smoothly for buyers and sellers alike, and we hope it means you can win even more new business thanks to our service.

Please let us know how you’re finding it by emailing our friendly Customer Service team at team@bark.com, or leaving a comment using the form below.

How we give you better leads than Google AdWords – for a fraction of the cost

If you’ve tried growing your business online with Google’s AdWords service, you already know it’s not for everyone.

The costs are increasing year on year. You’re competing with giants like Amazon that will happily spend £34million-a-year on paid search advertising. Even small businesses routinely spend upwards of £6,500-a-month on PPC, according to online advertising experts WordStream.

With some popular keywords costing as much as £38 per click, it’s easy to see why so many people struggle to make this kind of marketing strategy work for their business. It takes great deal of research and technical know-how to get up and running – and that’s where Bark comes in.

We provide an affordable service that sends you better quality leads than you typically get from paid search advertising, at a fraction of the price. That’s why we believe every small business can grow quickly and easily with Bark.com.

Yet some people seem to think we’re more expensive than Google.

So today we’ll show you how we beat AdWords on both quality and price – and why, if you aren’t already, you should start winning new customers with Bark right away.

The real problem with online advertising

The promise of “pay per click” (PPC) advertising is simple: if the people who click on your ads spend more than it costs you to provide your services and run your ads, you turn a profit.

Sounds easy, right?

The problem is, only a very small percentage the people who click your ads actually end up spending any money.

Imagine you’re a DJ looking to promote your services in Manchester. Let’s say you put an ad on Google which costs you 50p per click.

Being fairly tech savvy, your website is decent. But you know a high percentage of the people who click your ad will just be browsing. So, based on what you’ve read online, you expect around 12% of them to ask you for an estimate.

That means you can get 100 clicks for £50, and generate roughly 12 enquiries. That works out at £4.17 per enquiry.

Mind you, not all those enquiries will be useful. You might be busy on the day they need you, their budget might be too small, or they might be too far away for the trip to be worth your while.

But let’s assume 75% of the enquiries you get are for jobs you want to do. So from 100 clicks you receive nine valid enquiries, costing you £5.55 each.

Even though you respond promptly and politely to each of those nine people, only six of them get back to you. Perhaps the other three weren’t really serious in the first place. Maybe they simply forgot to respond. It’s annoying, sure, but these things happen.

You still have six potential customers who have read your quote – and each of which has cost you £8.33. But, of course, most people will shop around to make sure they get a good deal.

In our experience, people like to get 2-5 different quotes before they make a final decision. So let’s assume each of your leads has also contacted two other sellers – giving you a one in three chance of securing the business.

That should translate into two new customers, and an average cost per booking of £25.

Here’s what Bark does differently

Ask a marketer what’s different about Bark and the’ll say we’re “further along the buyer journey” than Bing or Google. What that means is, there are fewer opportunities for the buyer to drop off.

We handle all the PPC for you completely free of charge, and hunt down quality leads for your business using a variety of other techniques.

Then you can see exactly what your potential customers are looking for in advance, from their budget, to when and where they need your services – and everything else you might need to decide if they’re right for you.

Plus, you’ll never waste money on people who aren’t serious about hiring you, as we’ll refund every estimate you give that doesn’t get read.

Now, the average Bark gets just over two responses, and each potential customer may have tried somewhere else too.

You can respond to a DJ Bark for just five credits, which will usually cost you £5 + VAT. So if we assume they’ve contacted two other pros in total, your chance of winning the business is one in three again.

That means, in this example, each booking costs you just £18, and you save 28% compared to what Google would have charged you.

That’s why we believe Bark is a smarter, more effective way to find new customers online – but the story doesn’t end there:

You could save another 30% today

The bottom line here is that, in many cases, using Bark to grow your business can be much better value than other lead finding services.

Of course, every business is different, and it may be that PPC strategies work well for you – and if so, that’s great.

But if you’d prefer not to bother with the hassle and expense of managing an AdWords account, and don’t want to deal with the expense of hiring an agency to do it for you: we can help.

Not only can we often send you high quality leads at a fraction of the cost of Google AdWords, but you can also enjoy extra discounts on packs of Bark Credits – making our service even more profitable.

In fact, if you open a new Bark account today you’ll be able to claim an extra saving of 30% on your first credit pack.

It’s free to sign up, and we’ll start sending you quality leads right away.

So, if you’re not a Bark member already…

Click here and claim your FREE account today.

Four essential steps to getting the perfect customer review

Last week we looked at how our new reviews tool makes asking customers to leave feedback on your Bark profile easier than ever.

We believe getting great reviews is one of the most important things you can be doing to grow your business. But, unfortunately, a lot of the stuff you read online about how you should go about it is just plain wrong. So we’re continuing on the theme again this week.

This time, we’ll run you through four essential steps to help you get great feedback on your Bark profile – and debunk some of the worst myths about how to get reviews online along the way.

Step 1: Ask the right customers

People generally won’t spontaneously leave positive reviews on your site, no matter how great you are. So, if you want them to give you feedback, the first thing you’ll most likely need to do is ask them.

But if it’s good reviews you’re after, asking all of your customers usually isn’t the way to go.

“The right customers are the ones who are getting the most value out of your product,” explains customer support specialist Groove.

“After all, the best reviews don’t just praise a product; they make it abundantly clear exactly who the product is right for.”

You can identify these customers in a variety of ways. For example, if a customer is referring others to your business, then they’re probably very happy with it themselves.

Similarly, if a customer comes to you for repeat business that suggests they like what you do, and are highly likely to write you a good review.

Step 2: Ask at the right time

Good service is all about making peoples’ lives easier.

You come to us because we deal with the expensive and time-consuming business of marketing your business online for you. Similarly, people come to you because you can help them with something they lack the time, skills or inclination to do themselves.

But if you you leave it too long to ask for feedback, customers won’t appreciate having to wrack their brains trying to remember who you are or what job you did for them.

So the second “essential step” is to ask a customer for a review when you’re still at the top of their mind. That way, it’s easier for them to recall what happened and write an honest review.

We recommend sending your review requests within 14 days of completing a job for someone. Or, better yet, if you work in an industry like Personal Training you can simply ask your current customers to post their feedback.

Step 3: DON’T ask for a good review

Contrary to what you might read elsewhere online, you can’t coerce people into leaving good reviews with special offers. It’s not that it’s impossible to get good reviews this way. But it is deceptive – and, more often than not, a stunt like this will backfire.

“Want to know the best way to increase the number of reviews for your business? Just ask.” writes Forbes’ Nellie Akalp.

“Your customers understand how important reviews are to your business, and as long as you provide an excellent product or service, they won’t be annoyed if you ask for a review.”

But, on the other hand, they may well be annoyed if they feel like you’re not really interested in their opinions.

So while you absolutely should be asking for reviews, you should never ask specifically for a good review. Instead, ask for an honest one.

Step 4: Don’t forget the basics

Most importantly, it pays to remember the basics.

There are no shortcuts that will get you tons of reviews overnight. But there is one simple thing you’re probably already doing that will work far better over the long term than anything else.

It’s simple, it’s straightforward – and it works.

You see, the single most important thing you can do to get great reviews on your Bark profile is deliver an outstanding customer experience.

In Oracle’s 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report, the data company cites research that found that 86% of customers will pay more for a better customer experience.

Happy customers help you grow your business in other ways, too. Studies have consistently shown that satisfied customers are far more likely to tell other people about their experiences.

It can be easy to forget that, ultimately, everything your business does boils down to the quality of service you deliver in the first place.

But if you do a great job and have satisfied customers, that’s half the battle. From there, it’s just a matter of remembering to ask them to give their honest feedback while you’re still fresh in their mind.

Stick to these essential steps and you’ll be getting great reviews in no time – and thanks to our brand new reviews tool, asking happy customers to post reviews on your Bark Profile is now easier than ever. You can see how it works here.

Let us know how you get on! As always, you can reach us by email at team@bark.com.

Getting great reviews on your Bark Profile is now easier than ever

It’s Saturday night. You’ve invited friends over for a film and you fancy a takeaway. Someone suggests an Indian, so you type it into Google and five local restaurants pop up.

Which one do you choose?

Well, if you’re anything like us, you go for the one with the biggest number of positive reviews. If other people like it enough to write about their experiences then it must be good.

That’s why we believe getting positive reviews from your customers is one of the best ways to grow your business and attract more customers.

In this week’s Bark Bulletin, we’ll run you through how we’ve made it easier than ever for customers to leave reviews your Bark Profile – and show you how to start getting great reviews right away.

Why nothing beats a
good review

As a small business owner, we’re sure you already know what a powerful thing a good review can be.

Every company will say it’s good, even if it isn’t. But people know they can trust recommendations from their fellow customers.

In fact, one Zendesk survey found that 90% of people say positive reviews influence their buying decisions, and 86% say their decisions are influenced by negative reviews.

To see this for yourself, imagine you’ve just placed a Bark for Driving Lessons and the following two companies give you an estimate:

All other things being equal, most people will opt for the company with the five-star review.

That’s why it’s so important to ask customers to give you feedback on your Bark Profile – and today we’ll show you how.

But before we get to that, there’s one more benefit to getting more Bark reviews we haven’t mentioned yet…

You could get five
stars on Google

If you have a few reviews on your Bark Profile already, you might like to take a moment now to Google yourself and see this feature in action.

It’s one of our favourite features, as it has the potential to really set you apart from any other companies that crop up when a potential customer searches for local services in your area.

As you can see from this entry for one of our top Computer Repairs specialists, your reviews will show up in Google searches as star ratings:

We’re sure you can imagine what a difference a Google star rating could make for your business.

It could give you a real edge over your competitors and significantly improve your chances of getting hired.

So right now, we’re going to show you how to get one of your very own.

Now it’s easier than ever to
get great reviews on your
Bark Profile

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to streamline our reviews process, and now it’s easier than ever.

In fact, you can now request a review in a matter of seconds.

You see, every Bark Pro has their own review code.

It’s a unique web address that takes people directly to the reviews section of your Bark Profile. When they arrive, a pop-up box will prompt them to leave their feedback:

So, to request a review you simply send a message containing your review link to one of your customers.

Anyone who’s used your services can leave a review on your Bark Profile, even if they didn’t find you through Bark.

But remember, recent customers are far more likely to get back to you than older ones – so it’s best to get in touch and request a review within 14 days of completing the job.

Now, your review code is usually hidden away in your Bark Dashboard under your ‘Profile’ tab.

But, to be honest, we reckon it’s a bit of a pain having to dig it out every time you want to ask someone for feedback – so we’ve created a handy tool that makes the process a whole lot easier.

If you have your customer’s email address, it will automatically send them a short message asking them to leave some feedback on your profile page.

You’ll find it in the brand new ‘Reviews’ tab on your Bark Dashboard, and it looks like this:

Better yet, it’s really simple to use…

Whenever you want to request a review from one of your customers, simply enter their email, click ‘invite’ and the reviews tool will do the rest.

That’s really all there is to it!

You can test it out right now by finding the tool in your Dashboard and typing your own email address into the box.

Let us know how you get on. And, as always, if you have any questions send us an email at team@bark.com and we’ll be happy to help.

You’re hired! Join Nick Hewer and Bark.com for a day of SME insight

We’re delighted to announce that Nick Hewer, former right-hand man to Alan Sugar and highly successful businessman is set to join Bark.com on Tuesday, October 6^th, for a day of expert advice and insight into SME success.

Nick Hewer, Kai Feller and Andrew Michael — Nick and Bark.com’s founders

After 10 years on The Apprentice, Nick retired from the show at the end of the last season, and is now working as a consultant for a number of small businesses as he continues to make his mark on the UK’s entrepreneurial scene (as well as, of course, presenting Countdown!).

He’s been working with Bark.com since our inception (here’s him explaining how Bark works back in March) and as part of our partnership, next Tuesday, Nick will be taking part in a live Q&A session on via the @barkteam twitter page, giving budding entrepreneurs and small business owners the chance to have their business queries answered by the man himself.

Kai Feller and Nick Hewer shake hands — The start of a great partnership!

Have a burning question? Let us know using the #AskNick hashtag and we’ll do our best to go through as many as we can. Or, if you just happy to sit back and absorb the insights, tune in from 1-2pm.

If you can’t make it though, not to worry – we’ll also be sharing Nick’s top tips for SMEs on our YouTube channel and via our blog, so watch this space.