Your reputation is one of the most important aspects of the profession, but also one of the most nuanced and complex to manage. Making clients happy will make for a progressively better reputation over time, but handling your reputation online has its own set of challenges.
But, in many ways, it’s also easier.
Why are reviews so important?
Your reputation is of crucial importance to your success, and reviews are basically receipts of your good reputation that other potential clients can refer to when looking to work with you.
In short, you’re much more likely to land a job if a client finds your website or social media profile and sees that other people have had a great experience working with you. If they see a bunch of unaddressed negative reviews however, the chances drop dramatically.
Website reviews
Displaying reviews on your website is always recommended for contractors, as you can open a dedicated section for clients to share their experiences.
For websites, however, there’s a simpler way to make reviews more organized and professional – instead of opening a section for anyone to say whatever they please, instead ask for reviews from your customers that you can then display on your website. This process of getting reviews on demand makes sure they are well-written and properly displaying without chaos, retaining a positive appeal to your website.
However, this doesn’t mean you should hide from negative reviews – that’s what social media profiles are for.
Social media profiles
Obviously, you want at least a Facebook page for your business, since they have great tools for advertising your business and making sure people can find it. They also have a dedicated review section where anyone can leave a comment, and here, it’s important this section is always open to the public.
Trying to hide or delete bad reviews makes for a terrible reputation, as people will surely notice and make sure others know this is your approach to negative feedback.
Instead, do your best to ensure a positive review, encourage customers to leave a positive review after a job is done, and be sure to reply to negative reviews (we’ll get more into it below).
Getting more positive reviews
A surefire way to stack dozens of positive reviews is to simply ask for them. If a client had a good experience with you, they surely won’t mind leaving a 5-star review for your business.
But of course, you have to give them a good experience in the first place. Take a look at other businesses similar to yours and whatever negative reviews you can find – this will cue you to the most common reasons why people leave negative feedback so you can avoid it. A common complaint, for example, is leaving a mess of materials on the customer’s home (meaning they had to clean it), or cigarette butts on the lawn.
Avoid these and other common mistakes and you’re much less likely to receive unnecessary negative reviews.
Handling negative reviews
The best way is to always be prompt in replying. A negative review is already bad, but it’s not the end of the world – now a negative review that remains unaddressed means you don’t care about what customers think, and that can kill your reputation.
Apologize for the bad experience and attempt to make amends with the customer. If you can get them to forgive whatever mistake they claim you’ve made publicly, you’re in a good place.
However, you may have situations where the client is making claims that don’t add up in an attempt to make you look bad. In that case, reply with the facts, quoting dates, agreements, and inconsistencies they might be throwing your way – always politely. The point here is to show other potential customers reading that you did the right thing and will always remain a reasonable professional.
Take the first step towards growing your business today and start receiving leads that will make you money. — Sign up with homeyou!
Comments