Not many things can promise a 60% conversion rate, and even a handful of 5-Star customer reviews can do wonders for your sales leads. Having a solid base of good reviews will encourage customers to also leave a review. The question then becomes how you can stimulate your review section on Google.  

While there are many review sites out there, Google Maps is simply the king and that is where you should focus on. The Google ecosystem is where you can foster a lot of lead generation online. 

A highly rated company on Google (4-5 Stars) has the dual benefit of improving your rank on Google Local Services and even boosts your rank on search engine results. Combine this with Google Ad Groups, it is the 1-2-3 punch of digital marketing for any home service company. But it all starts with getting frequent and highly rated google reviews. 

Deliver Exceptional Service

Before you go bugging your clients for reviews, make sure you are giving a 5-Star performance. 

These are some of the things you should be doing with every client:

• From point of contact to sale to installation to pulling out of the driveway, every step should be client focused.
• Transparent in pricing, and what is being done in their home.  
• Get the work done in the quoted time for the quoted price.
• No mess left behind.
• Home is left in the same condition. 
• Strive for a perfect install. 
• Take that extra step, dust off the furnace case, sweep around the working area, tape up loose ductwork, or any other small effort you can add on. 

How will you get a 5-Star review if you are not going above and beyond your competitors? 

Ask Clients Directly 

One of the best ways to generate reviews is to ask clients after the work is done. We suggest you create a process within your crews for requesting reviews from clients and making it as painless and rewarding as possible.  Let’s discuss implementation because at the end of the day, it is the most important step. 

It all begins with instructing your install and service team on what to say, what to leave behind, and when to ask for a review all makes it far more likely they actually do it. Even something as simple as giving the crew a small review card to leave behind with the customer is better than nothing. By both speaking to the client about leaving a review and handing them a card, will net your company far more Google Reviews from clients.

On this card say something to the effect of, “Thank you for choosing A Trades Company, leave us a 5 Star Review on Google Maps!” Or any similar statement printed on business card-sized paper. A card is great because it is tangible for the client and the crews handing them out. Tangibility is far more impactful than something merely said, it is the reason post-it notes are so effective at reminding you of things that you need to do. 

Once you have the cards made, the next step is to include the Google Review ‘ask’ as a part of your install/service process. You need to create accountability in your crews by first letting them know the importance of getting reviews so the whole company is on the same page. Once you have a company-wide agreement, you then want to incentivize your crews to get 5-Star Reviews. Remember, you are making this as painless as possible for the crews and the next setting up an inventive program that pays them for getting said reviews. Check out our article about the Special Performance Incentive Fund. 

There are other ways to ask for a Google Review that do not involve boots on the ground and in the home.

Follow-Up Email or Text Message 

Another hands-off and less personal method you can use to get reviews is a follow-up email or text. This may be less effective, but it is something the office staff can implement if you feel your field team does not have the soft skills to effectively interact with clients. One possibility is to automate this process by using an Interaction Management software like Podium which automatically sends the client a text requesting a review after the job is completed. 

A middle method that involves more office work but could be more cost-effective, is to assign a worker to send a friendly follow-up email or text asking for a review and indicating where to leave one. But be careful not to sell any products or services when you reach out for a review. In this email, you are thanking them for their business and asking them to leave a review as it helps the company deliver more quality home services to their city. 

Put a Review Link on Your Website

Create a dedicated section on the landing page of your website that directly links to Google Reviews. This uses something called a Place ID API, have your website developer add this to your page they should know exactly what you are asking for.

Respond to Reviews 

To begin with, respond to all reviews and thank them for taking the time to leave one. If the review is positive, show appreciation for them inviting your company into their home. Explain it is through their support you can deliver high service standards. 

When a review is negative, reach out to correct your mistake and set it right. If it takes another visit to their home or a partial refund, then so be it. The hope is that you earn their business again, and maybe they change their low rating. The way you respond to negative reviews shows future clients that you are a professional that takes the time to care for clients, even the unhappy ones. What you are not doing is arguing with the client to prove they were wrong, instead show that you are willing to fix the problem. A good starting point for approaching a negative review is confirming they were first a client that used your services. Next is find out who in your company served them and get their side of the story. Again you are not trying to find out who is wrong, but what can be done to better serve the client next time. 

You won’t win over every negative review, but nothing stops you from trying. No matter how bitter or angry the client is, be humble and respectful and try to extend professional courtesy in all interactions with clients. It takes years to build a good reputation and one angry comment made by the owner destroys the hard work built up. 

Things to Consider: Review Benchmarks

The rating is the most important metric because it is the default sorting filter Google uses when you search for a given home service. Very few customers will know your company by name because they will search based on the service they need. Just like you would search for a barber but struggle to tell me the name of the barbershop you go to once a month. 

The number of reviews matters because it acts as a kind of tiebreaker in the client’s mind. If you are given a list of 4.7-5.0 companies, you are looking for something that sets them apart, the number of reviews is the second most noticeable piece of information displayed by Google. It is also more impressive when you have a 4.8 out of 5 with 1000 reviews than a 5-star rated company with less than 100.

The last metric that Google considers in its ranking is the age of the reviews or how often you are getting them. If your business is not getting reviews on a weekly basis, it will be hard to climb the ranks in Google’s priority list. That means you can never stop hunting for reviews and delivering a quality experience. 

Ways to Get More Reviews

We have already mentioned a few ways to gather more Google Reviews:

• Getting your crews to ask for them directly
• Leaving behind a small card
• Sending them a follow-up text or email 
• Create a Link on your Webpage or embed it

Let’s look at a few more specific ways to generate reviews. 

• Shorten the URL link to your Google Review page by using sites like Tiny URL  or Bitly. If you are sending an email you can also embed the link in the text, this is called hyperlinking.  
• Ask for more Google Reviews on your various social media platforms.
• Request a review from your B2B vendors, and offer to leave them a review in exchange.
• Include a hyperlink in your email signature that asks for a review.
• Reach out to past clients via phone if they would leave a Google Review.