Merchant Circle calls off calling campaign
By Matt McGee on Oct 4, 2006 in Local Search
Merchant Circle, which has been beleaguered for the past week due to a really bad marketing campaign that involved cold-calling unsuspecting business owners with a pre-recorded message alerting them to negative reviews/ratings on the Merchant Circle web site, said tonight on its own blog that the calling campaign is over — and that’s just one thing the company says it’s doing to address what happened last week.
The others involve renaming “reviews” (which could be positive or negative) as “testimonials” (which would generally encourage a positive reply), better responses to upset/concerned business owners, and a promise of more changes based on user suggestions.
Whether all of that will heal the black eye Merchant Circle has remains to be seen.
What I want to comment on briefly is the response from many of the businesses on the receiving end of MC’s phone campaign. Merchant Circle is taking “remove my listing” requests from business owners who don’t want to be on the site. Other business owners on Battelle’s Search Blog talked about filing complaints with their attorney general.
Overreaction is often the easiest response, but the solution is not to remove your listing. The solution is to take control of your information on sites like Merchant Circle — and the many others that also show your business information without needing permission to do so. The solution is to harness the power of user reviews on these sites. The solution is to get out there and find your customers, then participate with them — be part of the conversation.
The solution is not to pull all your listings from these sites because you got an inappropriate phone call. Pulling your listings — like burying your head in the sand — hurts nobody but yourself.
Technorati Tags: local search, small business, online marketing, participation marketing, merchant circle
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7 Comment(s)
By Scott on May 15, 2008 | Reply
They are at it again!!!!! I just got a call from them, after I finally got them to stop calling me three years ago. This time they cahnged the story, but not much. They said a company contacted them to see if I’m a legitimate business, and MerchantCircle needs all my info to verify.
I am a professional photographer, with a massive portfolio online, so there is no way someone is not going to believe I’m a real business.
Someone (BBB?) should permanently put this company out of business.
By Dave on May 24, 2008 | Reply
I get this call all the time at home (church parsonage) and at church…Both numbers are on the DNC list. It is from Merchan Circle. I called back the number and they have an opt out on the message. Wonder if it will really work or not. Anyway, Merchant Circle is…Administrative Contact :
WYBS, Inc.
v86d43fv4t2@networksolutionsprivateregis tration.com
ATTN: MERCHANTCIRCLE.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780
I Just did more research. Network Solutions is the company that owns Merchant Circle.com. The domain name is based out of Herndon Va. I googled the company, and guess what…REAL PHONE NUMBERS!!! Give them a call..here they are
(703) 668-5505, (703) 668-4600, (703) 925-6999
By SC on May 24, 2008 | Reply
Dave, Network Solutions does not own the company, they are simply listed as the registrar, because they are the largest domain management company for the internet. They are really not affiliated at all with Merchant Circle. Network Solutions is very legitimate and VERY large. If you look at any number of millions of website domains, you will find most of them have Network Solutions information listed as the contact info, because NEtwork Solutions gives domain registrars the option to keep information private.
To read more about Network Solutions, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Solutions
By Matt McGee on May 24, 2008 | Reply
By onewhohasbeenliedtotoomanytimes on Jun 8, 2008 | Reply
I do not care how much this company may help some out there, they have blatantly lied to me for years now with the “someone has left you a review on merchant circle bla bla bla”. I havent checked on their for like months now since they have lied all this time. Now I got the same verification message……I googled their site for reviews…..wouldnt you know, still no reviews for me! I refuse to give these liars any of my info no matter how much it can help my business. I refuse to do business with LIARS. I cant even believe people go on there after they have been lied to also. Well in these days, morals really dont matter so I can see them not caring either and go on there to promote their business. Had to vent after I found this article. This company doesnt deserve to be successful. The good ones are struggling while the scammers prosper.
By Dave on Jul 25, 2008 | Reply
Merchant Circle is downright DISGUSTING…their site is really slick, and they’ve obviously invested time/effort into creating something that, if managed properly, could really have been something special.
it’s just disgusting how they are treating their own customers.
By Nick Stamoulis on Jul 26, 2008 | Reply
I have been using Merchant Circle for a year now. I can say they offer a good amount of value with their profile such as:
- helps online reputation
- generates good local exposure
However I have tested their paid listings (with PPC) and have found that it does not bring a good ROI at all…I tested 2 clients (with their permission of course! :o) - a florist and lawyer and then I looked at the PPC visitors they received…not good at all.
Anyway, they might be agressive with their new business developement sales tactics but they are worth having a free online profile.
This is my 2 cents! Thanks!