Office Hours Today Reminded Me Why I Love This Work
Not because of flashy tools.
Not because of clever hacks.
Not because of chasing the next shiny marketing tactic.
But because business owners keep showing up with honest questions about growth, trust, and visibility.
They’re doing good work.
They care about their customers.
They want to build something that lasts.
And yet, many feel stuck.
They’ve tried ads.
They’ve tried social media.
They’ve tried “marketing.”
But the results feel inconsistent.
What became clear in our first Vivid Image Office Hours session is this:
Most businesses don’t have a marketing problem.
They have a trust and visibility problem.
Great service is already happening inside their business.
Happy customers already exist.
But those experiences aren’t being captured, shared, or reflected online in a consistent way.
Which means when someone searches…
They don’t see the full story.
Reputation is the Foundation
If a business wants to become the obvious choice in search results—whether that search happens on Google or inside AI tools reputation has to come first.
Not later.
Not after ads.
Not once “everything else is perfect.”
First.
Online reviews, ratings, and real customer language shape how people perceive a business before they ever click a website or make a call.
They also influence how search engines and AI-powered tools decide which businesses to surface and recommend.
That’s why, in office hours, we focused on reputation management:
- How to generate reviews ethically
- When and how to ask
- How to respond to positive and negative feedback
- How to turn reviews into long-term marketing assets
Because in the Vivid Image Marketing Method and our Customer Activity Roadmap, reputation lives in the foundation layer.
Before tactics.
Before amplification.
Before scale.
A strong foundation makes everything else work better.
What We Set Out to Do in Our First Office Hours
The goal of office hours isn’t to overwhelm anyone with theory.
It’s to slow down, simplify, and build practical systems that real teams can actually follow.
We centered the conversation on one idea:
Simple systems beat clever tactics.
Instead of asking, “How do I get more reviews?”
We asked, “What system can I put in place so reviews happen naturally and consistently?”
That question led us to the most common review and reputation questions business owners ask.
Below are the top ones we covered.
The Top 10 Review & Reputation Questions We Covered
Ask for an experience, not a star rating.
“Would you be willing to share about your experience working with us? It really helps other people feel confident choosing us.”
This sounds human, removes pressure, and encourages authentic responses.
Ask when the experience is positive and fresh.
Good moments:
Right after a successful service
After a thank-you email or invoice
When a customer gives a compliment
After resolving a problem
Avoid asking before work is complete or during unresolved issues.
Use a simple 3-step approach:
1. Ask
2. Immediately send the link
3. Send one reminder 48 hours later
Reminder example: Quick reminder. If you still have a minute, would you mind sharing about your experience? Here’s the link again: [URL]
Each employee:
Identifies 3 recent customers
Sends 2 requests
Targets 1 review per week
Track it simply. Review it weekly. Keep it visible.
Use this formula:
Thank → Personalize → Reinforce
Thanks, Sarah. We appreciate you trusting our team. Helping homeowners feel confident and taken care of is what we strive for.
Don’t argue or defend.
Hi John, thanks for sharing this. I’m sorry your experience didn’t meet expectations. That’s not what we want for anyone. I’d appreciate the chance to talk and make this right. Please contact me at [phone/email].
We don’t have a record of this experience, but we take feedback seriously. Please contact us so we can look into this.
Yes—after it’s resolved.
I’m glad we were able to get this taken care of. If you feel we handled it well, would you consider updating your review to reflect the full experience?
There’s no magic number.
Focus on:
Recent reviews
Steady pace
Detailed language
Responding consistently
Aim for 1–2 new reviews per week.
Use them on:
Website pages
Social media
Google Business Profile posts
Sales proposals
Recruiting pages
One review should be used in multiple places.
A Simple Example of This in Action
During office hours, we discussed a real estate company that had great offline relationships but inconsistent online reviews.
Instead of launching new ads, they built a simple review system:
- Ask recent clients
- Send links immediately
- Follow up once
- Respond to every review
Within a few months:
- Reviews became consistent
- Language became more descriptive
- Visibility improved
- Conversations became easier
Nothing flashy.
They simply captured the good experiences that were already happening.
The Bigger Takeaway
Most growth problems are really system problems.
Great businesses don’t win because they chase every new marketing idea.
They win because they build simple, repeatable systems that capture what’s already working.
Reputation is one of those systems.
Join Us for Office Hours
Office hours are practical, honest conversations about building better systems for growth.
No pitches.
No hype.
No overwhelm.
If you’d like to join a future session, watch for upcoming events or reach out to our team.
We’d love to have you in the next conversation.
