Review Management - How to Get More Positive Reviews

Whether you’re the most reputable roofing contractor in town or the new street corner hot dog vendor on the block, every company needs reputation management strategies to ensure the integrity of its brand.

And when you’re a business trying to thrive in a field as competitive as the roofing industry, failure to mismanage your online reputation will cost you significant leads and sales in the long run.

Nowhere is this more evident than with online Review Management . Most business owners still associate online reviews with more product or service-based industries, such as restaurants, eCommerce websites, hotels, etc. But the fact remains that the vast majority of consumers in need of home improvement services, such as roof repair or replacement, will base their decision to pursue a roofing contractor’s services based on the online reviews.

Research indicates that online reviews have an impact on purchasing decisions for 93% of consumers. The best way to reach potential customers who are currently typing “roofing contractor near me” into their search engine taskbars, ready to hire your services, is actively managing your online presence, responding to reviews (positive and negative), and implementing a digital marketing strategy.

If you’re putting immense effort, time, and money into the physical and business elements of your roofing company, you should also be applying that same commitment and dedication to maintaining and improving your virtual reputation.

Here are a few essential online review management tips every roofing contractor can use to increase positive reviews, enhance your reputation, and generate more leads and sales.

What Is Review Management?

Let’s begin by outlining the basics of review management and why it should be an essential part of your roofing company’s digital marketing strategy.

Even if your roofing company has a small online presence (or doesn’t even have a website), you’re probably already getting online reviews from previous clients on third-party platforms. Consumers utilize Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, and other sites to leave reviews whether you sign up for them or not!

If your business isn’t monitoring, responding to, and generating more reviews through these immensely popular platforms, your company might look less credible compared to your competitors.

There are three primary ways online reviews impact your brand:

• Credibility: To put it simply, the more overall reviews and higher average ratings score your roofing company generates, the more credible and legit your business comes across.
• Trustworthy: Most people who need roofing services are potentially committing to a significant financial investment to improve their home, so they’re less likely to contact a roofing company that has minimal reviews and an unimpressive online presence.
• Awareness: The more overall and positive online reviews your company can generate, the more visible your company will be in relevant, local search engine results.

In addition to boosting all three of these qualities for your roofing company’s online presence, review management can do wonders for your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). That’s because online reviews generate more content in the eyes of Google, which in turn boosts your local search rankings and ultimately drives more traffic to your roofing website.

How Does Review Management Work?

In a perfect world, every satisfied customer you work with will gladly go online to sing their praises for your roofing company through every online review platform available while posting, sharing, and tweeting their glowing gratitude on their own social media platforms.

In reality, you can’t solely rely on satisfied clients to successfully generate and manage your online reviews.

Generating Online Reviews

The three intentions of effective online review management are to generate, monitor, and respond to all your online reviews.

When attempting to generate more reviews for your roofing website, you can implement any of the following actions into your roofing company’s digital marketing strategy:

• Design a visible, easy-to-use review widget on your website.
• Add a “Reviews” page to your website that showcases previous reviews and encourages customers to leave new reviews.
• Send personalized review requests to all your customers via email or social media posts, or include review links in all forms of online communication.
• Use direct channels of communication (email, social media, etc.) to encourage customers to leave reviews on multiple or differing platforms, such as Facebook, Google My Business, and Yelp.
• Provide incentives for customers to leave reviews, such as coupons or other promotional offers.

These tactics can help generate more reviews for your roofing company and diversify which online review platforms customers are leaving their reviews on.

Monitoring Online Reviews

Once you provide more opportunities and make it more accessible for your customers to generate more online reviews, set a daily or weekly reminder to check them. There are plenty of online review monitoring tools you can utilize, from Google Alerts to third-party apps.

If you want to reduce negative reviews and encourage more positive ones, professional Review Management Software can provide constant monitoring, alerting you to new reviews in real time.

Responding to Online Reviews

Whether it’s a radiant review recommending your roofing services or a scathing letter of contempt, effective online review management requires responding to all online reviews – good or bad. Every online review is an opportunity to reinforce your brand, message, and reputation. Express gratitude for positive reviews, show empathy and compassion for negative reviews, and solicit more feedback from neutral reviews.

It’s inevitable that you'll receive at least one online review that’s unflattering, embellished, or overly dramatic. While it may feel instinctive to defend your roofing company’s reputation with a stern, possibly aggressive response, be aware that your response to every online review will be seen by the general public.

The following dynamics should be instituted into all your responses to negative online reviews:

• Thank them for sharing their feedback
• Apologize for their experience without making any excuses
• Inquire how their satisfaction can be achieved
• Suggest a more personal form of communication (email, phone, etc.) where their disputes can be addressed and resolved
• Conclude your response by advocating for a solution, as well as striving to provide them with a second chance to satisfy their needs

While you may not be able to resolve every issue with every unhappy customer, other potential clients will see your prompt, professional responses to negative reviews, instilling a sense of trust and confidence in your brand.

Professional Review Management Services for Your Roofing Company

For a small business owner, investing your time and energy into online review management may seem like a daunting task to add to your everyday responsibilities – you’re already chasing leads, repairing roofs, and managing your own staff. However, building a positive online reputation will pay off in boosted website traffic, solid leads, and, above all, sales.

If you’re searching for a way to enhance your online visibility and track customer satisfaction, Triton Commerce is here to help! We can create a custom digital marketing strategy that includes reputation management to help you manage your online reviews and generate more leads in the process!