Review Management 101 for Home Remodelers
It doesn’t matter whether you’re the best home improvement contractor around or a modest local food truck – every business needs a reputation management strategy to help maintain brand integrity.
With all the other home remodeling businesses out there, it can be complicated to stay competitive, so every mention of your business on the internet matters. Not taking responsibility for your reputation online can quickly lead to a dip in sales and leads.
This is where online review management comes into play!
Some business owners believe online reviews only apply to product-based services such as restaurants and hotels. However, the majority of consumers who need home remodeling services base their decisions on what they see online from reviews.
Research shows that a business's reviews have an impact on 93% of purchase decisions for customers. Having a consistent and extensive digital marketing strategy that creates an engaging presence online is one surefire way to reach consumers looking for home remodeling services using keywords like "home remodelers near me."
Your home remodeling company's physical and business aspects take time, money, and effort, and your online reputation requires no less amount of dedication. So here are a few management strategies that can help generate more leads, enhance your reputation, and increase your positive reviews.
The Basics of Review Management
A review management process should be an essential part of your digital marketing strategy, and there are some basic outlines any business can apply.
If you already have a small presence online, you probably have at least a handful of reviews from previous clients on various platforms. It's not uncommon to find them on Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, or other sites you may not be aware of.
If you are not taking the time to respond to these reviews and monitor what is being said about your company, it makes your business seem less credible – and that you aren't interested in improving your online presence.
There are many ways reviews can impact your reputation, from how trustworthy you appear to potential customers to how high you rank in search engines.
Awareness
Word of mouth still matters, but it happens online more often than not. The more reviews you have on your website and other platforms, the more opportunities to boost your brand awareness.
Plus, the higher the number of (legitimate) reviews your company has, the happier that makes Google. Even if some of those reviews are negative, having more can help your rank in local search engine results.
Credibility
The higher your rankings and scores on review sites, the more legitimate your business appears to potential customers and search engines alike.
Trust
In the home remodeling field, most customers will be making a relatively significant financial investment in your services, and they expect to be satisfied with the results. The more trustworthy and reliable your company looks online, the more apt you are to get business!
Review Management How-Tos
Wouldn’t it be amazing if every happy customer went to your website and left a stellar review about their experience with your home remodeling company, then shared and tweeted about it on all the various social media platforms?
We can dare to dream!
The reality is that even the most satisfied clients won't always leave a review to help generate higher rankings, so you’ve got to put in the work to motivate your audience.
How to Generate Online Reviews
Effective review management requires generating, monitoring, and responding to all reviews. When we talk about generating online reviews, the idea is to make leaving a review as easy and accessible as possible for your customers.
There are different strategies you can use to generate reviews, including:
- Creating a “Leave a Review” widget on your website that is easy to use
- Adding a page on your site that showcases reviews and encourages future customers to leave one
- Contacting customers via email or on social media requesting a review
- Using social media and email to encourage customers to leave reviews
- Offering incentives such as coupons or promotions in exchange for a review
How to Monitor Your Reviews
When reviews are coming in from multiple online platforms, it’s not hard to understand why business owners have a hard time keeping track – especially if you’re trying to do it all “manually.”
Utilizing tools such as Google Alerts or introducing professional review management software can provide constant monitoring of reviews in real time.
How to Respond to Online Reviews
Regardless of whether your reviews are good or bad, having an effective online review management system will help you respond to all of them. Yes, even the really painful ones!
Try to think of each review as an opportunity to foster your business growth. Using compassion and authenticity for negative reviews, gratitude for positive reviews, and taking the time to get feedback from neutral reviews can make all the difference in your business’s reputation.
Accept the fact that it’s just not realistic for every review to be positive. And that yes, it will require a bit of work, but responding to the negative reviews tactfully will help prevent an unflattering depiction of your company.
Here are some tactics you can use when responding to negative online reviews:
- Always thank them for their feedback
- Refrain from making excuses and apologize for what they have experienced
- Ask how you can bring them satisfaction
- Offer to personalize the experience through email or phone
- Look for a solution and to provide them a second chance for a better experience
Even if you cannot resolve the situation with the unhappy consumer, future clients will see that you are trying to fix the problem. This attentiveness will help give them a sense of trust that you are present and willing to work through any issues.
Get Professional Review Management for Your Remodeling Business
After understanding all that's required to implement a professionally managed review system for your online reputation, it can feel like an overwhelming task when combined with your daily activities. Between ordering materials, running your job sites, and remodeling homes, you might feel like you don't have the time. However, maintaining your online reputation will pay off by bringing future leads that can convert to sales.
If you're searching for ways to help promote and build your online reputation through a proven management system Triton Commerce is here to support you! We offer custom-built strategies to help streamline your online reviews and generate more leads for your home remodeling business.
We understand what it takes to build a company's reputation through enhanced strategies, so contact us today for your free Digital Marketing Plan!