ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

Getting quality reviews from customers is essential for maintaining a positive online reputation in the construction industry. Here are some tips for getting good reviews:

Make sure your customers are happy with their experience.

This, of course, is the most important reputation management component of all. Always make sure your customers are happy with their experience with your business! This means providing quality service and products, and going the extra mile to ensure that your customers are satisfied. Because if they are not, no matter how sophisticated reputation management tools you may have, nothing will eventually be able to prevent your reputation from going down the drain.

Always ask customers to leave a review after they’ve had a good experience.

When a customer has had a good experience with your business, be sure to ask them to leave a review online. Don’t “forget” to do it! This is important! And don’t take it personally. Don’t be shy! It’s not about you bragging about your what hell of a good job you’ve done, nor is it about asking someone else to flatter you. This is pure business! Your business literally depends on that! Think of it as of a formal business requirement, just like any other paper work you need to do to maintain your company in business. This will help boost your reputation and show other potential customers that you are a trustworthy business. And the reputation you build this way will render you business legit in the eyes of the prospective customers, much more than any legal paperwork would ever do.

But this doesn’t mean that your request has to be formal and cold. You will not get a very high response rate this way. It is not because people are rude or uninterested. They are just busy! You have to make it sound special – the way only a human to human can do – to make it cut through the daily clutter.

Always personalize your ask!

Like, for example, creating a special video, personally thanking them for being your customers, letting them know how great it was to work with them and asking them to write a review for your company. Or, best of all, do the same in person!

It would also help to explain to your customers, to educate them on why reviews are so important for your business! If they understand the true weight of their positive review for the success of your business, they might just be much more willing to support you, especially if they really like what you have done for them, and they way you have done it!

Make it easy for customers to leave an online review.

When asking customers to leave a review, make sure it’s easy for them to do so. Make the process as simple as possible for them. This generally means providing clear instructions on how to leave a review, and making it easy for them to find the right place to do so. You can provide a link to your website or your Google business profile page where reviews can be left. Sometimes it’s even worth building a dedicate landing page just for reviews, where customers are offered the choice of leaving reviews on whatever platform they are familiar with or feel comfortable contributing to.

It even pays back to think in terms of finding the customer with your review writing request where they are most likely to be found. If, for example, you mostly communicate with them on the phone, they should receive a link with review instructions on the phone with the ability to do it right there.

Another way you can make it easier both for your customers and for your own business is to prepare review templates, containing all the necessary structure elements for the review. With time you will start finding out that you need very specific things mentioned in these reviews, not gust general remarks, even if they are very positive. You will need future customers to know what exactly your clients like about working with you, do they appreciate the speed with which you work, do they like the quality, the attitude… You need to make sure all important aspects are mentioned in these reviews, so they cover a broad range of assessment for your business.

Respond to negative reviews promptly and politely.

It’s also important to respond promptly and politely to any negative reviews. This shows that you care about your customers’ experience, and that you’re willing to work hard to make things right. Negative reviews can be damaging to your reputation, but responding positively can help mitigate the damage.

In general, you should always try to target mostly Satisfied Customers. But no matter what you do, those negative reviews will inevitably pop up. And that’s OK. No business is perfect, and no customer is perfect either. But it’s important to respond to these reviews promptly and politely. Thank the customer for their feedback and try to resolve the issue they had. This shows other potential customers that you are willing to listen to feedback and improve your business.

If you do receive a negative review, be sure to respond promptly and politely. Most customers will appreciate your efforts to resolve the situation. By following these tips, you can maintain a positive reputation online and protect your business from negative publicity.

And as a principle,

You should engage with your existing reviews, positive and negative alike.

One of the effective ways to encourage clients to write reviews is to engage with the ones who have already written reviews. Engagement is contagious. It might prompt people who are generally not inclined to give reviews, to jump in and leave their comment – to confirm, contradict or comment on the existing dialogues. As a rule of thumb, a simple “thank you” reply goes a long way.

Sometimes it helps if you offer an incentive in return of a positive review. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re asking some of their time, so it makes sense to offer them something back. These incentives can be in the form of discount for future or present services/products, or a free gift, among others.

Something else that matters a lot as it comes to receiving reviews is sending the request at the right time! Timing can be everything in these matters. So when is the right time? Generally, it should be shortly after the job is done, so the experience is still fresh in the client’s mind. But sometimes it shouldn’t be too close! Especially for services that need the test of time to prove quality or to show results. Think about that too – you know best which ones need immediate charging and which ones should wait for a while, and program you requests accordingly.