The attorneys of Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP are pleased to welcome D. Scott Eaby to their expanding legal practice. He will serve new and existing clients from the firm’s branch office at 108 West Main Street in Ephrata. Scott has resided in Ephrata, Lancaster County all of his life, and has proudly served families
Five Practical Tips for Responding to Online Criticism
One of the most common issues I am asked about is what a small business can do about online criticism. Here are five practical tips any business can use to help manage their online reputation.
- Know What is Being Said About You
To effectively manage your online reputation, you need to know what is being said about your business. Keep an eye on the platforms that matter most to you. For a professional services business like mine, that means watching platforms like LinkedIn. But for other businesses Facebook, Twitter, or Amazon might be more important. And almost every business benefits from keeping an eye on Google’s reviews.
And try to keep an eye on what is being said in the news because many online newspapers allow comments to be posted after articles. We use Google Alerts to get automatic email notifications when our firm or attorneys are mentioned online.
- Respond, But Remember You Cannot Argue with Crazy
It is important not to ignore online criticism. But you also cannot argue with a crazy customer. Remember that the primary purpose of responding to an online critique is not to resolve that customer’s situation (more on that below). The purpose is so the rest of the world reading the criticism can see you responded in an empathetic and respectful manner. Use some form of “we are sorry to hear you had a bad experience,” but do not use a stock response. Craft each response based upon the criticism leveled. That shows you are aware of the concern and care about it.
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Business Wellness Checkups
Great article from John Stoner, Partner at RKL! We often have the pleasure of working with John on behalf of our mutual clients and he is truly an expert when it comes to business advisors. His article also highlights the need for business owners to take a look at their performance and critically evaluate
Mikayla Godwin earns Certified Paralegal Credential
Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP is pleased to announce that Mikayla Godwin has earned a Certified Paralegal credential from the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). In addition to being a certified paralegal, Mikayla holds an Associate in Arts in Paralegal Studies from Harrisburg Area Community College and has worked as a legal assistant since
SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon Honors Five Great Success Stories at 2019 Small Business Awards Luncheon
Each year SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon honors five local small businesses for their success. This year’s winners included both for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. It also included new companies and those taking their products and services to another level.
I could tell you about each of the award winners, but the best source of information about them is
Your Small Business is STILL Like Professional Wrestling
Wrestlemania was this past weekend, and Linda McMahon is rumored to be stepping down as the head of the Small Business Administration. I have a rule that when those two things happen in the same week, it is time to link back to my favorite blog post: How Your Small Business is Like Professional Wrestling.
My son and I are still watching wrestling. And there are even more lessons you can learn from wrestling. Here are more to add to the list:
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Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP is pleased to announce that Julia G. Vanasse has joined the firm
Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP is pleased to announce that Julia G. Vanasse (known as “Julie”) has joined the firm’s Family Law practice group. She returns to private practice after serving for almost 20 years as a Lancaster County Divorce Master, where she presided over numerous divorce cases during her tenure. Prior to being appointed
Why Getting a Mentor Should Be Your New Year’s Resolution
I recently attended a SCORE luncheon where the presenter commented that we live in a “VUCA” world. VUCA meaning volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. I’m typically not a huge fan of such corporate-speak, but in this instance I thought it was a perfect distillation of the daily challenges we all face personally and professionally.
There’s no better time than early January to consider your goals for the year. If you’re still debating your top New Year’s Resolution candidate, let me make a suggestion to survive this VUCA world: get a mentor.
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Remembering (even more of) Lancaster’s 2018 Tech Stories
Back in July, Matt Landis updated us on several of the stories confirming Lancaster’s technology sector continued to thrive in 2018. As we close out the year, let’s look at a few more that made the news in our area during the second half of the year!
- Think self-driving cars are still an early-stage
The Junior League of Lancaster’s 16th Annual Author’s Luncheon Featuring Alice Hoffman
Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP is proud to sponsor the Junior League of Lancaster’s 16th Annual Author’s Luncheon featuring bestselling author, novelist and short story writer Alice Hoffman. I am particularly excited about this event because I am an active member of the Junior League of Lancaster and I have the honor of chairing this year’s luncheon.
Ms. Hoffman’s most notable works include Practical Magic, its prequel, The Rules of Magic, and Dovekeepers, a New York Times bestseller.
The Author’s Luncheon will take place on Friday, November 30, 2018 at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. The program starts at noon, but the doors will open at 11:00 AM leaving plenty of time to enjoy a book signing with Ms. Hoffman, raffle, silent auction and cash bar. Tickets for the luncheon are $75.00 ($35.00 for students) and can be purchased on the Junior League of Lancaster’s website.
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