Would you believe that 85 percent of small businesses earn customers through word-of-mouth recommendations? It’s true. But why?
Generally speaking, people like to buy quality products and services, so they put a lot of stock in a company’s reputation. Parents want to feed their children with high-quality foods; businesses want to use high-quality software, and builders want to use high-quality tools.
But when it comes to construction businesses, reputation is especially important. This is because construction projects are expensive. While a person might be willing to take a chance on a no-name pair of shoes (because the financial risk is small), the same person will not want to take a chance on an unknown construction company to build his home.
So how do you build your reputation as a great construction business?
One of the best ways to accomplish this is to earn positive reviews and testimonials. Reassurance from other customers will help potential clients to feel confident that they’re making a good decision when they choose to work with your company. In this post, we’ll look at several ways you can get good reviews to boost your company’s reputation.
At the completion of a project, are your customers frustrated or impressed with the results? This probably depends on what you promised at the beginning and what you actually delivered at the end.
If you want people to be willing to leave you a good review for future customers to read, underpromise and overdeliver. Do little things to go the extra mile like thoroughly cleaning up the site, repairing anything that was damaged in the process, and following up with helpful information and answers to questions. Never neglect a promise you made at some point during the construction process. If you do, that’s what the customer will remember, even if it was a small thing.
Your customers are busy people, and they’re more likely to take the time to write a review if you make the process simple and easy. If you use email for communicating with your customers, consider emailing them a few days after the completion of their project and including a link to the place where you would like them to leave a review. If they don’t leave a review right away, follow up your initial request with a reminder three days later, and include links in the follow-up email as well.
Be honest when you ask for reviews. Say something like: “I’m working on improving my business, and positive reviews from customers would help me out.” This kind of candour seems to work well in most cases.
If you already have a few great reviews, use them as marketing materials. But be sure to obtain permission before you post someone’s name on your site or on social media.
Some construction companies create a testimonials page for their website where web visitors can read all about other customers’ experiences. You can also create social media graphics and banner advertisements that highlight some of your best reviews.
Any company that has been in business for some time will have a few bad reviews here and there. What do you do when you get a bad review?
Don’t be afraid of negative reviews; look at them as opportunities to improve your services. Objectively evaluate the review (with as little emotion as possible) and see what is truthful in it. If you can learn to do this, you will be able to steadily improve your business over time.
If you receive a negative review, try to:
If this takes place on social media, other people will see that you sincerely want to serve your customers, and the negative review could actually turn out to benefit your business.
For more advice on growing your construction company, check out our popular Building a Better Trade Business eCourse below: