Trying to build a company without building solid reviews is like trying to hold water in your hands for longer than 30 seconds. It just eventually trickles away no matter how hard you try.
These days, reviews are like a social trust score that everyone can find if they look hard enough.
If someone does a google search for your business and sees you lined up next to your competitor, it isn’t hard to figure out which one they are going to choose.
The consumer has all the power
Unfortunately for you as a business owner, most times the consumer has all the power. They can threaten at any time to go to Google, Facebook, or the BBB to leave you a bad review.
That’s why you need to have a process in place to make sure that doesn’t happen.
After you have completed a service, sold a product, or done any sort of business with a consumer, you NEED to have contact with them shortly after.
In most cases this should be a phone call, however in some cases this would be weird or unnecessary and email works too.
The contact should be made after the consumer has enough time to properly review the service or product they paid for. Let’s take for example, a carpet cleaning service.
A call should be made 1-2 hours after the service was completed
“Hello ___, I am calling from ABC carpet cleaners, our technician just finished up and I wanted to make sure everything was completed to your satisfaction.”
“Oh everything was perfect, they were prompt, professional, and provided quality service.”
“That’s excellent, I’ll be sure to let the cleaner know they did a great job. Would you mind leaving a review about your experience?”
Just like that, easy peasy.
If your service is good, you should have a lot of calls go just like that. But you may occasionally have a bad one.
“Hello ___, I am calling from ABC carpet cleaners, our technician just finished up and I wanted to make sure everything was completed to your satisfaction.”
“As a matter of fact it was a terrible experience. Your technician was late and sloppy. It was nothing like I was led to believe.”
“I am so sorry to hear that, thank you for telling me this so I can make sure this doesn’t happen again. How can I make this right to make sure you are treated fairly?”
**IMPORTANT**
Always allow the customer a chance to express their frustration and propose a solution. You may be surprised that they will make some very reasonable requests.
Create a hard and fast policy for dealing with bad experiences. Offer discounts, free future cleanings, or free add ons. Avoid full refunds and always work to maintain trust.
If someone threatens to leave you a bad review
Tell them these exact words:
“Now that’s not going to help you, and it sure won’t help me. I’m happy to help you make this right.”
Do everything to take their threats and call them out immediately. Label them as threats and express to the customer that there are better ways to get what they want.
Where to gather reviews
Google is the king of reviews these days. They go up right next to your search results and are displayed front and center. You can send your customers a link that directs them to leave a review right away.
BBB
The Better Business Bureau is a thorn in every business owner’s side. They often hold accounts hostage and it’s very difficult to contest unreasonable reviews.
Trust Pilot
Trust Pilot is like a new version of BBB that is much more business owner friendly. They have cool site integrations and allow for custom review tracking processes. Beware, it is pretty pricey.
Facebook is another important place to consider building solid reviews. While they may not be as important as Google reviews, many prospective customers will still check your Facebook profile.