(7) The Importance of Reputation Management and Reviews for Contractors.
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Corey Halstead
Owner, HALSTEAD.
It’s well-established that the most convincing source of marketing information has always been endorsements from your satisfied customers. That’s been true from the dawn of commerce, and it’s just as true in the digital age.
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Your online reviews hold significant sway over your prospects.
According to a 2018 survey by Bright Local, 57% of consumers ignore businesses that don’t have four or more stars. That same survey found 91% of 18- to 34-year-old consumers are as confident in online reviews as they are as personal recommendations—a solid look to the way your future generation of customers will shop.
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Getting Reviews on a Consistent Basis is Critical for Remodeling Contractors.
Review gathering has to be put on an autopilot. It’s the only way to ensure that each and every opportunity for positive online feedback about your company is capitalized on. So how does it look? At the center of the effort sits a software app like Grade.Us (there are many options on the market). You’ll enter the names and email addresses of past customers, and as you get more current with your requests, just serviced customers, too. The software is set up and customized to deliver the messaging that’s right for your brand, and the amount of times and how often you wish to remind the customer to review you. The software sends out an email asking the customer if they had a positive experience with your company. If they select yes, then it directs them to leave a review on the platforms you choose to focus on—likely Facebook and Google. If the customer selects no, then they are directed to email you for a possible resolution.
Getting happy customers to review your business is not easy. Most will not, and that’s just how it goes. But the software sends out reminder emails to those who engaged with the original email especially, so it helps to secure every possible one—and that is the goal. It’s about working it into the processes of your sales and marketing teams.
But the success of this effort, we’ve found, is much less about the software than the project management. Someone has to stay on top of getting the recent customer info in a timely fashion. We do this with our clients through a platform with dedicated accounts and logins for each client, which works great because each time a new entry is added, we get notifications.
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Bad Reviews Will Happen.
The best online reputation strategy is one of offense first, defense second. You will get a bad review—every company does. It is impossible to please everyone all the time. This is the very reason why actively gathering positive reviews all the time, all year long, is so important. When that bad review hits, you want it to be one among many glowing reviews. Because trying to play catch-up after the bad one hits, only means you have to reach out to past customers and drive their attention to that bad review—not fun.
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The good news is that when that bad review comes, you can have your say too.
Some 89% of consumers read businesses' responses to reviews (BrightLocal, 2018), and while that may be a double-edged sword, if you selectively reach out to unsatisfied customers with genuine concern and empathy, that can significantly mitigate what would otherwise be a black mark on your reputation.
