Most successful businesses can attest that listing tools are now a necessity more than ever before due to a need for companies to have an online presence. For the best experience with local SEO ranking services, local businesses should aspire to have their name, address, business hours, and phone number continually updated and accurate across review sites and directories. While this can be done manually, the best and most recommended way to manage your listing with ease and optimize your benefits is by using a listing management solution.
The perfect listing solution will positively impact your business in many ways. Since it’s an automated process, listing solutions are more far-reaching and ensure that all your listings are consistent across various vital sites like Yelp, Google My Business (GMB), Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare, and others. You should expect more foot traffic to your store or office from lots of potential customers due to more visibility, which translates to more revenue.
To find the right listing tool for your business means that you need to choose from a range of listing tools in the market. The best one for you will depend on many aspects depending on your business model and other factors such as the tool’s general functionalities. Read on to learn more about choosing the most suitable listing management tool from assessing potential vendors.
- Consider Their Prices
Price is one of the essential considerations business owners should consider before settling for a listing tool. Price shouldn’t be much of an issue if more benefits can accrue to your business in the long run from utilizing a particular listing tool. However, the potential value of the listing tool, which influences the price, is also critical. You’ll want to match all the functionalities offered by the tool with your products or service needs to reap maximum benefits. The best way to do this is by conducting a cost-benefit analysis of your business requirements.
- Get Referrals From Your Business Network
One of the most effective ways to get the most suitable listing management solution is by asking around from your business network or other marketers on sites like Linkedin. Note some of the most popular vendors and research more about them. Identify what their users like or detest about them and analyze them based on your business’s best interest. Some listing management tools may feature functionalities that may be good for your case but not effective for another.
- Compare Product Features
Business listing management solutions employ various tactics to boost findability across multiple review sites, directories, and other vital third-party sites. Your business’s contact information should be solid and accurate at all times to get the best optimization experience with google. The key to getting the perfect fit listing solution services is a listing tools vendor that combines the most crucial functionalities relevant to your business needs. Identifying your most vital business needs is the first step to effectively comparing and choosing the best-fit listing management tool.
- Assess Their Editing Functionality
Competition is stiff for most businesses, and sales or service delivery turnover may be affected significantly by seemingly subtle tweaks and changes on your listing. One of the best features offered by almost all listing vendors is editing and synchronizing data in bulk. A listing tool that provides easy editing and synchronizing abilities will go a long way in ensuring consistency across marketing sites. Besides auto-syncing info, another added functionality that comes with bulk editing saves you lots of time is auto-repricing of products and services.
- Assess Their Customer Support
Reputable listing tool vendors understand the need for expert customer care and support in their services. They should have an elaborate feedback system where you can easily reach them out for any queries related to their listing management solution tools. Since most vendors provide tailored listing services for their customers, effective communication is also crucial for designing the best listing tool for a particular business needs. An important aspect of customer support is how the listing tool quantifies and reports progress. Their reports should be easy to understand and transparent. Ask a potential vendor about their customer support systems in place to get a gist of how effective they may be.
- What are the Shortcomings of Your Current Tool?
If you already have a listing tool from a particular vendor but are not satisfied with their overall performance, it’s pertinent to identify their shortcomings. This will guide you in identifying one with features to tackle the current problems. Be careful not to choose one that will not solve current shortcomings and introduce others.