As a tradie, you probably know that there’s nothing like that good ol’ word of mouth to get the jobs coming in. In the digital world we live in though, potential clients will mostly be judging you based on what other people have said on Facebook and Google. Here are some tips to get you to the top of the list!
You don’t ask, you don’t get
You would assume that clients who are happy with your services will shout it from the rooftops and leave you good reviews automatically. This isn’t always the case, so you need to give them a little push in the right direction. As soon as the job is complete, ask your clients to leave a review. If you wait for a couple of weeks, the novelty will likely have worn off, and they’ll find it harder to get around to it.
Make it easy as
If your client emails you a testimonial, that’s great! But it’s even better if it comes from them directly on Facebook, Google, or another online review platform. Make it super easy for your clients to place their feedback by sending them the direct link to your review page. Probably not a great idea to offer an incentive for good feedback though, Google is pretty thorough when it comes to fake or ‘bought’ reviews. You’ll have to rely on being just that good at what you do!
Share ‘em round
Got a glowing review from a client? Make sure everyone knows about it! That’s how you get more, right? Place client testimonials on your website, your Facebook page, your work van, wherever you can get them. People tend to trust their peers when it comes to making decisions, so the more good reviews you have, the more people will consider you for their next job – but they have to be able to actually see the raving reviews!
Don’t ignore bad reviews
You might get a couple of bad reviews now and then (you can’t please everyone, right?) but don’t lose sleep over it. And don’t ignore them. You want to be seen to be doing everything in your power to fix any issues that might have come up, so hit reply and ask the reviewer to give you a call so you can rectify the problem. They may not call, but you never know, they may just change their review to 5 stars once they see your excellent customer service!