Rate this post

The most effective sales pages and web copy are sure to convert, but what’s even better? Content that comes straight from the horse’s mouth: customer-generated referrals.

Beyond literal word-of-mouth marketing, online reviews and testimonials are the cream-of-the-crop in customer-generated content. Because when you’re doing your job right, others will want to toot your horn for you.

 

Are testimonials really that important?

We’re not just grasping at straws when we tell you that online reviews are clutch in a buyer’s decision-making process. Take the travel industry, for example. A February release from TripAdvisor shared that a whopping 80% of travelers read at least six to twelve reviews prior to booking a hotel.

The same goes for the service industry. Prior to choosing a contractor, your customer wants to know anything and everything they can about potential providers.

A 2013 local consumer review survey found the following:

  • 85% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses
  • 79% say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
  • 72% have recommended a business via word of mouth in the last year
  • Only 12% said they take no notice of online reviews

Reading online reviews is a natural and critical factor in the decision-making equation. Large projects and contracts up the ante even more.

Where are consumers reading reviews?

There are a slew of top-notch review sites for service professionals:

Angie’s List – You’ve probably seen the commercials. Angie’s List covers over 700 service professions, and boasts over 2 million users reading and leaving reviews.

HomeAdvisor – Hosts over 2 million reviews of prescreened home improvement professionals. Also an excellent resource for DIY improvement, maintenance, and repair.

Google Places – What doesn’t Google do? A natural service for the search engine, Places for Business lets you control the profile info while consumers control the reviews.

Yahoo Local – Yahoo’s service works very similarly to Google Places, giving you exposure to a different set of searchers.

Houzz – Houzz is a go-to resource for home remodeling and design (seriously, it’s easy to get lost in this site for hours!), so it’s only natural that they’d have a “Find a Pro” tab.

 

How to Ask for Online Reviews

Your task: make it as easy as possible for customers to leave reviews and spread the word about you.

To start, make sure you have a profile set up on all of the above sites. For example, Google Places might already have a listing for you, but once you “claim” the business, you can enhance the listing with the correct contact info as well as photos.

Then, it’s time to garner reviews from past and present customers to get the ball rolling! Try this:

Request reviews via e-mail: Create a template with a subject, greeting, thank you, and closing. Then, link to sites where customers can leave a review. Send it to your past customer list, then have it go out automatically to future customers in the days following service. Here’s an example:

Subject: Thanks for your business! Share your thoughts?

Dear Jane Smith:

We’re so happy to have you as a customer of GreenFit! We hope you’re entirely satisfied with the service we’ve provided.

In fact, nothing tickles our fancy more than an honest review from a satisfied customer! Have five minutes? We’d be forever grateful if you’d leave a review on any of the following sites:

Leave a review on Google Places
Leave a review on Angie’s List
Leave a review on HomeAdvisor
Leave a review on Houzz

Garner reviews via review cards: Have printed cards at the ready to pack serious punch by leaving an immediate call-for-reviews with a satisfied customer the day the service is rendered. Use your brief e-mail template copy, then lead them to a landing page on your website that has easy links to review sites. Feeling savvy? Include a QR code. Remember: make it easy!

 

Be the business customers want to review

The first step in gathering online reviews? Providing a service that warrants an excellent referral. Then, make it as simple as possible for customers to share their opinions and spread the word. And finally, our last piece of advice: send out a sincere note of thanks to your newly-appointed marketing team.

Shares
Share This