YourBuzz Online: Stand Apart From Your Competitors by Knowing What Customers Say

American Express OPEN today launched YourBuzz, a free tool to help small businesses manage their online presence, learn what is being said about them and their competitors, and connect with customers in the places where they are most vocal—social media. YourBuzz aggregates conversations across highly influential review sites such as Yelp and CitySearch, and social networks such as Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, to ensure listings are accurate, build customer relationships, and mitigate the damage that can be done from poor reviews.

According to eMarketer, social media usage by U.S. small businesses has doubled in the past year, from 12 percent to 24 percent. Many are engaging in multiple social media tactics, from using Twitter as a customer service channel (16 percent) to creating a company profile on social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn (75 percent). Despite the increasing rate of adoption, eMarkerter also reports that only 54 percent of small businesses use social networks to monitor feedback from customers.

YourBuzz is powered exclusively for American Express OPEN by Clickable, an award-winning developer of online advertising solutions. The product is available for all small business owners and not limited to American Express Cardmembers.

Checking In and Dialing Up

With YourBuzz, small businesses can get a consolidated view of what customers have to say about their business across CitySearch, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and other popular websites, and quickly respond when necessary. According to "The Retail Consumer Report,” 85 percent of customers who posted a negative review of a shopping experience and were then contacted by the retailer, wound up taking an action that resulted in a positive outcome for the retailer.

Users will also be able to improve their direct marketing by aggregating customer contact information from the Internet and managing it from YourBuzz, increasing their communication and targeting efforts.

YourBuzz allows Small Business Owners to:

Manage Online Presence

• View existing business listings
• Claim and edit business listings
• Create new business listings

Learn What Customers Saying

• See how you stack up against your competition
• View an aggregation of customer reviews and online mentions
• Respond, re-tweet, take actions or create a new conversation on major social sites
• Get recommendations on different actions to take

Manage Online Connections

• Import customer profiles and contact information to segment direct marketing efforts
• Highlight influencers in your Social Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Market to these contacts directly based on available public information

"With more consumers moving online to research products and make purchases, business owners are increasingly tapping digital marketing to reach them,” says Jay Lee, vice president of Business Apps, American Express OPEN. "Coupling YourBuzz with other marketing efforts – such as paid search and display advertising – will enable small businesses to create an effective digital marketing strategy to manage their brand and grow revenue.”

Online Marketing Tools Help Small Businesses Target Customers

YourBuzz is American Express OPEN’s latest Business App, a suite of software products that help small businesses market their products and services, increase margins and improve cash flow. YourBuzz joins AdManager and SearchManager as part of American Express OPEN’s Marketing Suite, a one-stop-shop for everything small business owners need to know to develop and manage their online marketing efforts. These products and more can be found on the OPEN Business Apps Center.

The Business Apps Portfolio

• SearchManager – An online solution that allows business owners to easily manage paid search and social campaigns across all major search ad networks, including Google Adwords, Microsoft AdCenter (including Yahoo Search Marketing), and even Facebook Ads – via a centralized dashboard.
• AdManager – a start-to-finish, easy-to-use online tool designed to help small businesses create, optimize and target online display advertising campaigns on top ad networks, exchanges and branded publishers, such as DoubleClick Exchange, RightMedia, and AppNexus.
• YourBuzz – a free application designed to help small business owners create, establish and manage their online reputation and brand on listings sites like CitySearch and Yelp in addition to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
• AcceptPay – A web-based tool that allows small business owners to accept online payments and electronically invoice customers – all in one place;
• InsuranceEdge– An online portal that offers small business owners real-time, competitive quotes from some of the nation’s leading insurance carriers;
• FX International Payments – A service that allows businesses to make international wire transfers.
• Ariba Discovery – Ariba Discovery is a next-generation online business matching service that helps buyers and sellers connect quickly and efficiently for new business opportunities.

About American Express OPEN^®

American Express OPEN is the leading payment card issuer for small businesses in the United States and supports business owners with products and services to help them run and grow their businesses. This includes business charge and credit cards that deliver purchasing power, flexibility, rewards, savings on business services from an expanded lineup of partners, and software-as-a-service applications designed to help with cash flow, marketing and business expenses. Learn more at OPEN.com and connect with us at openforum.com, twitter.com/openforum, and facebook.com/open.

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

About Clickable

Clickable is the all-in-one solution that makes online advertising Simple, Sophisticated and Profitable™. Clickable reduces the time and complexity of managing multiple ad networks, such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and Facebook. Clickable is powered by dedicated search and social advertising specialists, along with award-winning PPC bid management and conversion tracking technology. Clickable empowers advertisers to maximize their ROI with complete transparency. That's why customers often say: "Clickable is like having a trusted expert always by your side ensuring success." To learn more, visit www.Clickable.com.