Why Commercial Cleaning Companies Need Online Reviews
Before you buy almost anything, chances are good you turn to Google and see what others say about the product or service. You're not alone. In fact, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
This begs the question, do you know what your customers are saying about you?
Before hiring a commercial cleaning company, facility managers or building owners typically search online to find companies available in their area. The majority of people do this using Google. The number and quality of a company's reviews plays an important role in how it appears in those search-engine results. What's more, customer reviews increase the click-through rate to your website by 17%, according to Google.
Online reviews are becoming even more important as millennials (18-35 year olds) are taking on more leadership (and decision-making) roles. According to a Bright Local study on local business reviews, more than half of people in this age group will look to your social media and online reviews before making a purchasing decision.
Want to stand out in search results? You'll need great online reviews.
What people say about you online may feel beyond your control. That's true to some degree, but there are things you can do to encourage positive reviews. Here are three tips to help.
1. Regularly seek client feedback
It's important to ask customers for feedback on a regular basis, even if the results are not as good as you'd like. These insights are your best opportunity to gauge your clients' experiences and to build stronger relationships.
Soliciting feedback should be a routine part of your client relations process. Consider asking whenever you invoice, or perhaps make it a separate step in the billing cycle. Ask at least a few times a year, or even as often as once a month.
When you receive positive feedback, you'll learn which aspects of your business are most noticeable to your clients. It's also an opportunity to pass along encouragement to your staff and pump up morale.
Unfortunately, people are more likely to write reviews or share their experiences on social media after a negative interaction with a business. Asking for feedback on a regular basis can help you resolve many potential problems before they escalate.
2. Ask for a testimonial
When a client shares a positive experience about your service, thank them and ask if you can use the comment as a testimonial on your website and in marketing campaigns. Make sure you have this in writing; it's not legal to use someone's endorsement without their permission.
Take things one step further by asking if they'll leave an online review. The best time to ask for a review is when your client is happy. Make this as easy as possible. Send them an email reiterating what they said, and give them the link where you'd like them to leave the review.
Here is an example of an email we sent to customers using our automated system, More Reviews Now (see more about automating the process in the next section).
While you can simplify this process by giving customers some suggested words for the review, you cannot leave a review for them. Customers must post their own reviews.
Generally, the best place for these reviews is Google. Social media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn) or review sites (Angie's List, Yelp) are also great places to direct happy customers. If you're hoping they'll leave the review in more than one place, provide all the links and let them know it's okay if they simply copy and paste their review into each location.
Before asking people to leave reviews, however, make sure you've completed a company profile on each. As an example, you can learn how to create a free Google business listing here. For sites like Yelp, Angie's List, Yahoo! Local Listings, and more, just search “how to create a business listing on…” to find simple step-by-step directions.
3. Automate the process
Busy BSCs often don't have time to ask for and monitor reviews. If that sounds familiar, you may want to invest in a tool to simplify the process. More Reviews Now is a reputation management tool that automates customer feedback and monitors online reviews.
You manage the system through an online control panel, allowing you to solicit feedback from your customers via email. If you receive negative feedback, you'll be notified and given the information you need in order to connect with that client. If you get excellent feedback, your customers' positive comments are automatically added to the testimonials page of your website. Customers are also given the opportunity to post positive reviews on the online review sites you choose.
What's more, More Reviews Now also uses rich snippets , which Google can use to identify your testimonials page as a “Review” page. See example below of how Google uses rich snippets code to add stars to your search results. The green arrow shows that Google has treated this web page on the client's site as a review page like Google and Yelp.
4. Be Leery of Incentives
Finally, many companies wonder whether they need to incentivize customers to leave reviews. It can work, but many customers are happy to leave positive reviews for good service without reward. They just need to be asked.
If you choose to give a discount or freebie in exchange for reviews, be careful. Making the incentive conditional on positive feedback can land you in ethical and potentially legal hot water
In the digital age, online reviews continue to become more important. They help your company stand out from the competition and land new business.
Looking for an easier way to request feedback from customers and turn it into an online review at the same time?
More Reviews Now is a customer feedback and online review system that:
- automatically asks your customers for feedback
- automatically posts positive testimonials to your website
- prevents bad online reviews
- encourages happy customers to leave online reviews on your favorite review sites like Google, Facebook, Angie's List, Better Business Bureau and more
- and tracks it all in your private tracking area online!
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