In Part 2 of this series we discussed “Learning to Love Online Reviews.” Now that you’ve learned to love, it’s time to find some reviews to love. Let’s begin by recalling Jefferson Airplane’s suggestion.
Don’t you want somebody to love?
Don’t you need somebody to love?
Wouldn’t you love somebody to love?
You better find somebody to love.
Getting Good Reviews Begins with You
You have to ASK. Remember that drop-dead gorgeous cheerleader you dreamed about in school? Remember how much you wished you could get a date with her? Remember how that never happened? Remember why that never happened?
YOU NEVER ASKED!
What was I thinking?
Now that you are operating a successful home improvement services business, you need a major paradigm shift. It’s probably too late to get the cheerleader, but the time is just right to start asking for satisfied customers to post an online review or two. What will they write? Only they know. What we do know is that if you don’t ask, you should expect to get exactly what you asked for – nothing.
Does that make sense?
Dude! That’s amazing!
Think of Reviews as Lead Generation
Statistics show that nine out of ten consumers read online reviews prior to making a purchase. Let’s rephrase that. Nine out of ten potential leads read online reviews. These are people who are not even on your radar.
If you were in their shoes, looking for someone to add a new room on the house, how likely would you be to choose a business with no reviews as opposed to one with reviews? And how likely would you be to select a business with many reviews as opposed to one with just a few? A recent study (see previous link) revealed that the number of consumers who read in excess of 20 reviews is on the increase.
Let’s apply a bit of deductive reasoning with the following syllogism:
- People are not likely to write a review unless they are asked.
- People who are asked to write a review are more likely to actually write one.
- Therefore, your home improvement business is more likely to get online reviews if you ask for them – AND – the more you ask, the more reviews you are likely to get.
Five Practical Ideas for Getting Good Reviews
- Develop a strategy for asking for reviews when your customers are thanking you for a job well done.
- Ask customers to leave a review on Google or Yelp. Make it easy by providing them with printed instructions on how to do that.
- Include reminders and a direct link to your website’s Reviews page in your emails and direct mail survey campaigns. (If you don’t have a Reviews page, create one.)
Whoa! It’s working! I’m getting reviews!
- Utilize services like Signpost that assist with the ask for review and Whitespark’s Review Handout Generator that provides free How-to templates for posting reviews.
- Ask again and again and again. Then ask again.
Think what could have happened with that cheerleader. She might have said “yes.” Or her boyfriend might have punched your lights out.
Contact us and let us show you more about how to remove worries about home improvement online reviews. Look for the fourth article in this series, “Where Your Reviews Are Found Matters,” coming soon.
