Review Management 101 for Window & Siding Companies

A business’ reputation will follow it wherever it goes. From small ice cream trucks to independent contractors to massive corporations, a public image defines the business to the rest of the masses, and your window and siding business is no different.

Even if you have the best window and siding company business around, that doesn’t mean you lack competition. When you fail to keep a hold of your reputation online, you could be losing a ton of sales to your competitors in the long run.

To keep a clean, honest reputation online, you must utilize Online Review Management. You might assume online reviews only matter for service or product-based businesses like restaurants and hotels, but you’re sorely mistaken. As a window and siding contractor, you are providing a service and installing products into your clients’ homes. And more often than not, people will have plenty to say about almost any kind of service.

Reviews carry a heavy weight that has a great effect on a consumer’s decision. Research suggests that 93% of consumers have their purchasing decisions impacted by online reviews. With so much influence by way of online reviews, managing your online presence is crucial to the success of your digital marketing strategy and your window and siding company’s success.

We know your service pertains to the real world. However, in today’s ever-growing digital era, it’s imperative to manage your reputation in the virtual world. Managing your reviews and reputation online but, by the end of this article, you will have to have confidence to really get the ball rolling.

Welcome to review management 101!

What Is Review Management?

Before you start managing your online reputation, it’s important to know what review management is all about.

Let’s say you’re one of the few businesses that don’t have a company website. If you’ve been in business long enough, it’s almost a guarantee there are opinions about your window and siding outfit. Customers utilize platforms like Facebook, Google My Business, and Yelp to voice their opinion for the masses to see.

If your window and siding company is keeping up with public opinions and responding to them properly, you will begin to look less credible online and in real life.

Here are the three ways online reviews impact your company:

Credibility: The more overall positive reviews your window & siding company receives online, the more credible you will look to potential customers.
Trustworthy: Installing new windows or siding can cost upwards of $10,000. When a customer is searching for that install, they need to know that they will get quality for what they pay for. The best way to establish trust with potential customers is to have plenty of positive reviews for you to show off.
Awareness: More reviews=more relevancy. When you accumulate positive reviews online, Google’s algorithm will begin to favor you on relevant and local searches.

Additionally, online reviews management factors greatly when it comes to your search engine optimization (SEO). Reviews are recognized as content by Google’s algorithm. The more reviews you have online, the more content the algorithm has to judge the legitimacy of your service and your website, driving more traffic to it.

How Does Review Management Work?

Now that you know exactly why online review management is important to your window and siding company’s success, let’s take a look at how it works.

The ideal situation would be every customer who has ever had a positive experience with your service leaving a glowing review online. But the simple fact is, not everyone cares to voice their opinion on your website or other forms of social media.

Although, what’s to stop you from trying?

Generating Online Reviews

The first step for online review management is to generate more reviews about your window and siding service. Sometimes, all it takes for someone to leave a review is a little encouragement!

Here are some tactics to generate organic reviews online:

Create an easy-navigate review widget on your website.
Show off your positive reviews on a webpage dedicated to previous reviews.
Send personalized review requests to all your previous customers.
Use direct channels of communication such as social media or email to reach out and encourage customers to leave a review on your website or other third-party platforms like Facebook or Google My Business.
Offer incentives like coupons or discounts on future service when someone leaves a review.

When you utilize these methods, you will begin to see an increase in reviews online for your window and siding service in no time!

Monitoring Online Reviews

Now that you have online reviews rolling it, it’s time to keep track of them! Monitoring the reviews you receive online about your window and siding business is the next step in the process.

You will want to check for any new reviews daily and weekly at the very least. You can take advantage of online review monitoring tools such as Google Alerts to help keep up with reviews. Additionally, you can utilize professional Review Management Software to help you respond to reviews almost instantly!

Responding to Online Reviews

Now that you have started generating more reviews online and have the means to keep an eye out for them, it’s time to formulate the proper response.

Of course, with positive reviews, express your gratitude and thank them for their kind words. On the other hand, negative reviews require a different approach.

It’s impossible to satisfy 100% of your customers throughout your career. Some people are just plain unsatisfied with the best work. You can’t control when someone leaves an unflattering review, but you can learn the right way to respond.

Here are some effective ways to respond to a negative review:

Gives thanks for sharing their feedback.
Apologize for their negative experience.
See if there is anything you can do to turn their disappointment into satisfaction.
Suggest to speak with them on a more personal platform such as email or phone to has out their grievances.
Advocate for a resolution and never make excuses.

Receive Professional Review Management With Triton Commerce

You may now understand the importance of online review management. However, are you thinking it may be hard to execute this management whilst running your window and siding business? Call on Triton Commerce!

Our marketing experts are passionate about assisting small businesses with web design and digital marketing strategies, including online review management.