If you want to find someone to help you with a problem, big or small, where do you start your search?

We start by looking online. This means doing a search through Google or Bing, and one of the first things we look at is the reviews of businesses before ever picking up the phone. But is this what the general public does? Research says yes.

With the death of yellow pages, people turn to the next best source for information- the web. Pew Research reports that 95% of people 35-50 have a cell phone, 77% have a smart phone, and 72% have broadband internet at home. 71% of this demographic are also on Facebook- but what does this mean to you as a contractor and business person? It means simply that people are depending on Google search and reviews online, along with recommendations from friends and family, to find contractors before they ever pick up a phone.  In fact, Google has done extensive research about this trend across industries and have given a name to the process as the Zero Moment of Truth.

The bottom line is that your reputation precedes you, as people consult online reviews from the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Angie’s List, Google reviews and more. You could be losing business before you ever knew you had a chance to earn it.  In fact, the Better Business Bureau reported that in 2015 it received 2.2 million inquiries last year alone about HVAC companies- how many of those referrals came to your business? How many of the 3,650 complaints they received were about your business?

Just to put this in context, less than one tenth of one percent of all inquiries with the BBB are complaints- this means the overwhelming majority of inquiries are to find qualified, responsible contractors- a huge, untapped resource for your business!

Embracing Online Reviews and Reputation Management

Many contractors get frustrated with online reviews. After all, we all have customers that are hard, if not impossible, to please, and it’s easy to say “just ignore the trolls”. However, the disgruntled folks can do quite a lot of damage to your business with a negative review- and you have to be aware of what is said and how to counter it.  We suggest the following 5 tips to help you manage your online reputation and ensure you aren’t losing business you didn’t even know you had a chance to earn.

1. Set up Google Alerts for your business. To start monitoring your reputation, set up a google alert for your business, your name, and the name of key people in your business. You might even want to set up alerts for the name of your competitors. Google will send you an email when any of the search terms you specify are mentioned online. You can choose how often to receive notifications, but we suggest once a day, in order to keep on top of any potentially negative reviews.
2. Update your listings with popular recommendation sites like the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List and Home Advisor, to start. Having current information there is important for gaining referrals, but also so you can know what folks are saying about your business and allow you the chance to respond, constructively, to any criticism.
3. Respond constructively to complaints. When you find a negative review online, make an effort to respond in that same forum, and to make things right for the customer, if possible. By addressing the complaint right away, every person reading that review will know that you care and are engaging to make things right, and that’s critical. We all know not everyone’s perfect, but I will always choose someone who stands behind their work over someone who never responds to a negative experience.
4. Ask for Reviews from Current Customers. On a day to day basis, have your techs ask customers for reviews on Google, Angie’s List or other review sites. This will help build your reputation for the positive and let you know what’s going on, good or bad, in your business. We hope it’s nothing but great news. If there is anything negative, there might be legitimate problems that come to light, but you’ll never know if you don’t listen to your customers and respond accordingly.
5. Understand the Power of Social. A 2013 report stated 79% of consumers said online reviews were as important as personal recommendations. Additionally, Entrepreneur.com wrote a great article about exactly how online reviews help search engine optimization for your business and can drive sales growth. It’s clear that what people write online, and how they make recommendations to friends and family online, makes a huge impact on your business and even on how your website ranks.

We work hard at Comfort Media Group to help you improve your digital marketing and make sure people can easily find out more about your business. However, you also need to know that what other people say about your business is equally, if not more powerful than what you say about your business. We can help you make sure that your digital presence online is great and help you create content to build trust online with your customers, but if you don’t also manage your online reputation, you’ll find that you are missing out on business no matter how great your marketing might be.