Manage Online Reviews for Your Home Business
Regardless of your business’s nature and size, how you decide to manage your online reviews can go a long way to determine your success. Although you have little control over what your current or potential customers have to say about your products and services, the way you address their feedback says a lot about your business.
Many companies fail to respond to the complaints and queries of their online audience. As a result, they lose a big chunk of visitors that could have become their most loyal customers. On the other hand, businesses that have a defined strategy for addressing the reviews and complaints of their visitors/customers are likely to earn more profits.
As trusted home service marketing, GoMarketing undertakes all the legwork to assert a dominant online presence for your business.
Home Services widget1
Here are some easy ways to help you manage online reviews for your home business without spending a fortune.
1. Monitor your Business on Review Sites
Whether you are an emerging or an already successful home business, monitoring reviews are the foundation of online review management. If you want to know what people are saying about your products and services, you have to determine where they are posting their feedback.
Here are some of the most popular review sites.
2. Check Reviews Everyday
There is no way you can manage online reviews unless you don’t check or read them on time. Since you probably don’t have a dedicated team for checking reviews and responding to them as they come, remember to read new reviews every day. You don’t have to write a note every time someone posts a review. A simple ‘Thank You’ can go a long way to establish a connection. Over time, as your business grows, you can hire someone to check your daily reviews.
3. Respond to Positive and Negative Messages
Don’t panic if you spot a few negative reviews here and there. Avoiding bad reviews can backfire because a simple apology or clarification can calm an unhappy customer.
Many times, people just want to be heard. Once you listen to them and respond to their queries, they are likely to change their opinion about your services. Reach out to make amends and show that you care.
Home Services widget2
4. Categorize Complaints
Not every review needs your attention. But how to decide if a review is justifiable?
If you think a reviewer has a one-sided story that doesn’t cover any details about what went wrong with your services or products, he/she is probably trying to get a refund for no reason. You can either respond to them in private, post a simple apology, move on, or ask for more details.
If the reviewer fails to justify the complaint, you don’t have to respond further. No matter how you reply to any such reviewers, make sure you stay polite and courteous.
5. Learn Lessons from Reviews
As a home service business owner, you are not likely to get hundreds of reviews in the beginning. However, as your company grows, you will witness a surge in online reviewers that are either praising or criticizing your services/products.
Every review offers a learning opportunity. If someone is posting a happy review about your small customer service team, feel happy that your online customer staff is doing a great job.
Likewise, if someone is complaining about delayed shipments or delivery, take it as an opportunity to collaborate with a new delivery service. If you react to every bad review without investigating the root of the complaint, you’re less likely to improve your business.
Getting five-star ratings and positive feedback from every customer is every business owner’s dream. But, we all know that it’s not possible to satisfy everyone at once. While someone will be happy with your products, others are likely to complain about the packaging or delivery time.
Remember, offering the best quality of services or products may require years of experience and thousands of online reviews. How you use this precious feedback from your customers will determine how you want to grow your business in the future.
Home Services widget3
6. Show your Company’s Human Side
Even when you are responding to a reviewer or customer through the internet, it’s essential to let them know that you are paying attention. But how to show your attentiveness online?
You must’ve noticed how many home service business owners fail to read a message completely and write a reply that doesn’t address the issue at hand. You can show how much you care about a reviewer by focusing on his/her message.
Is the reviewer focusing on a specific product/service? Does he/she want you to add more variety to your services?
You must build your response by focusing on the review. Avoid generating an auto-response for every review or using a template to thank your most loyal customers. Your lack of attentiveness can have devastating effects on the reputation of your brand.
Likewise, no response is also a type of poor response. Sometimes, a simple ‘sorry’ or an ’emoji’ can lighten up the mood of an angry reviewer. But never ridicule a reviewer or humiliate someone for voicing his opinion on your official social media pages or on the internet.
7. Keep it Professional
At all times, be polite, courteous, and professional. Never play defensive by attacking the reviewer with personal comments or judging your customers for their purchases. If you want to retain your customers for building a loyal customer base, issuing professional responses is the key to calm your angry customers.
Offer a solution, a remedy, or a giveaway if you think a complaint is genuine. You can also offer an explanation that explains why the issue happened in the first place. Once you show empathy, you create an opportunity to turn a first-time visitor into a loyal customer.
Bonus Tip: Be Available
Many home service businesses lose profits because they fail to be available to address reviews. Remember, brands that frequently or regularly interact with their customers on social media and review sites are likely to earn more profits.
Your social media interactions with your customers can help you grow your business because you are also benefitting from word-of-mouth promotion. Here are some ways to make sure you are always available for your customers and visitors to issue timely responses.
Apps
Live chat
Chatbots
Tracking systems
Bottom Line
Managing reviews is now a crucial part of every home service’s success. If you want to make the most out of your online reviews, follow our guide and incorporate these tips into your online review management system. Our team of digital marketing professionals is in it for the long haul, delivering the traffic, leads, and sales that your home improvement company needs to grow and prosper! Your online success is our priority. For more information about managing online reviews for your home business, Call us at 805-413-7893 or message us online.
