It’s no secret that good reviews are hard to come by, even when you’re doing excellent work. At times you can’t help but wonder if the constant hustle to get them is really worth it. Well, here’s a friendly reminder that it absolutely is – reviews are a big part of generating leads.
Is there a negative review on Yelp that’s keeping you up at night? Maybe they said something unfair, or they were rude, or maybe it was perfectly justified but you’ve since improved upon whatever caused the complaint. Well, fresh positive reviews can push negative ones out of sight and out of mind. Negative reviews discourage leads as much as positive reviews encourage them, so you always need to be working to get the bad words buried under an avalanche of good ones.
Besides the obvious appeal, positive reviews are great for building your brand and reputation. Even if a potential customer has no interest in investing in a major home renovation now, seeing your name bandied about in a positive way may stick in their head when they decide to pull the trigger on a renovation in a year or two. Or maybe their friend will mention that they’re in the market, and your name will come to mind as a recommendation. Having people speak well of your business is never a bad thing.
Third, reviews can often push potential leads into solid sales. Shopping for home improvement isn’t like shopping for new socks – most people are going to take their time and do some real research. If they’re having trouble making a decision, positive reviews can play a huge factor. Everyone says that they’re the best, and reviews help people distinguish the true claims from the bombast.
Finally, search engines love reviews. The single best way to generate more leads is to improve your Google ranking, and Google takes into consideration both the number of reviews you have and the number of which are positive. Good reviews can give you a boost in search results, which can produce more leads, which can lead to more reviews, and so on. It’s a positive feedback loop that you want to be a part of.
The statistics on reviews are stark. 70% of consumers trust online reviews, a number that’s gone up in recent years. A single bad review can cost you as many as 30 potential customers, but 52% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a company’s services. The reason they’re hard to get is the same reason they’re so valuable – competition for them is fierce because they’re a key part of lead generation. It’s a pain, I know, but trust me – few things will make you more proud of your business than having a new customer cite positive reviews as the reason they’re employing you. You might even get a laugh or two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZHwpJ0d_l4
