Online reviews: how to get more, and what to do with a bad one
For a local service business, reviews do the job a salesperson would. A new customer reads them before calling, and often chooses between two businesses on that alone. Yet most satisfied customers never leave one. The reason is not that they were unhappy. Nobody asked them.
Ask every time, at the right moment
The best moment is right after the job, while the customer is pleased and the work is in front of them. A short, direct question works: "If you're happy with the work, a quick review would really help us."
Follow it with a message that contains the direct link. Every extra step between the request and the review form loses people.
Make asking a routine. If every job ends with a request, reviews arrive steadily instead of in rare bursts.
Make it easy to write
Many people do not know what to say. A gentle prompt helps: "It helps others if you mention what we did and how it went." Reviews that mention the job ("replaced our water heater the same day") are more useful to future customers than "great service."
Never offer payment or discounts for reviews, and never write them yourself. Review sites remove them, and customers can usually tell.
Answer every review
Reply to good reviews with a short thank-you that mentions the job. It shows future customers there is a real person behind the business.
When a bad one arrives
It will happen. How you reply matters more than the review itself, because future customers read your answer.
- Wait before replying. Do not answer while you are angry.
- Thank them and acknowledge the problem. Even if you disagree, recognize their experience.
- Do not argue the details in public. Offer to put it right and give a way to reach you directly.
- Keep it short and polite. A calm, professional reply often makes a better impression than the review.
If you fix the problem, many customers will update their review on their own.
If a review is fake, from someone who was never a customer, report it to the review site with whatever evidence you have.
Use what they tell you
Reviews are free feedback. If several mention the same thing, such as arrival times or how the site was left, that is something to fix. Good reviews tell you what to keep doing, and which crew members customers mention by name.
The routine
- Ask every customer at the end of every job
- Send the direct link straight away
- Thank every reviewer
- Answer bad reviews calmly, briefly and with an offer to fix it
- Look for patterns and act on them