Trades businesses are always looking for ways to grow without spending bucketloads on fancy newspaper or radio ads. That's why we want to talk about the value of customer review websites and what they can bring to your company.
For tradespeople offering skilled services, review websites give your potential customers a chance to read over the work you have done and what those customers thought about how you conducted your business.
We want to explore why you should consider creating a company reviews page, which platforms you should consider and how to encourage your customers to leave reviews.
Review websites are valuable tools for any business. Rhino Trade Insurance, for example, has over 2000 five-star reviews on reviews.com from real tradespeople who have taken out insurance with us.
Customer review websites are generally free to use and are built to offer customers the chance to share their experiences online for others to read. Think of them like hotel or restaurant reviews; if you've ever fancied trying somewhere new, but they don't have any reviews or are rated three stars out of five, you’re likely to look elsewhere..
It can be seen as the same with review websites for tradespeople. Businesses can receive star ratings and trust scores that show how satisfied customers are with a tradesperson's service - which is recalculated every time a new review is left.
What's more, you can build a profile on these websites that showcase who you are as a business, what customers can expect from you whilst also linking to your website and social media channels. Some of the more popular review websites include:
Customer service review platforms have been designed to provide genuine buyer perspectives and experiences. With this, the creators have developed various ways for the readers to feel confident and assured that the reviews are authentic. For example:
- Customer Verification: when signing up to Trustpilot and Reviews.co.uk, specific reviews can be listed as 'verified' when you, the tradesperson, invite the customer to leave a review or when a customer leaves a review and provides documents and evidence.
- Business Verification: Trade businesses can gain a verified profile when signing up to prove they are a genuine company. To get a badge like this, you must provide company details, such as proof of identity, business contact details, bank account registration and website domain ownership.
- Fraud Detection: Review websites have built tools to avoid fraud, and you can even filter out fraudulent reviews if you think someone has left a review when they never used your business. If a review looks suspect, you can flag it, meaning the reviewer will have to provide more information to prove that it is genuine feedback.
Create a business account
The first step is to set up a business account for your trade business so that you can begin to receive reviews. Research the market, find which platform you prefer, and then sign up with your business email address. After this, make sure to fill in any details on your company to achieve the coveted 'verified' status.
From this, you can decide whether to keep your profile free or opt for the paid versions, which will include further benefits like more review invitations, to a dedicated account manager for user support.
Choose your trade category
Review websites allow customers to filter results to show specific trade businesses and more - These features are essentially designed to help the reviewers easily find what they need.
As a business, ensure you have listed which category you want to be featured in so that your profile appears in the appropriate place. If you are an Electrician, Plumber, Gas Engineer or Glazier, attach this information to your account so that you appear in the corresponding search result categories.
Tailor your profile
Whether it's Trustpilot, Reviews.co.uk, Google or Facebook, remember to fully describe who you are, what your business does and let customers know what you can provide. These review profiles can also appear in search engines, so keep in mind keywords that match your business, like your trade, location, services etc., and include them throughout your description.
One last point, don't forget to include contact details so potential customers can quickly get a hold of you or visit your website.
Check out your competitors for ideas
To get an idea of where you can progress and find gaps in the market, you can explore review pages set up by your local competitors. This can be used as a strength to offer services that your competitors perhaps don't or highlight areas in which your business appears stronger.
Request customers to leave a review.
The number one way to get reviews is simply by asking your customers to do so. Once you have finished a job, if the customer is satisfied, ask them to leave a review on your profile.
As we said, review websites allow you to send email invites to customers to remind them to leave a review of your business and its service. Companies that ask for more reviews tend to receive more reviews, resulting in them gaining a better overall score of trust and reliability on their account.
Always reply to reviews
No matter if they are positive or negative, always leave a reply to a customer review. This is good business practice, so get into the habit of checking your review profile.
Every business has a personality behind it, and tradespeople can take full advantage of leaving replies because it shows a human side to your company. Simply answering that you value their feedback can go a long way to building trust within your trade business.
If you remain calm, courteous and patient, your replies (which are shown underneath the original review) stay on your page for others to read. Thus showing others that you are empathetic to the needs of your clients.
Add your reviews profile to your website and social media
It's easy to add your review profile to any online channels you have, such as a website or social media account. These can show how many stars you are rated and how many reviews you have received.
On top of that, you should regularly share with people that they can leave a review in a matter of minutes - this can be sharing a link on your social media profile, handing out a company leaflet with the review logo on it or having the review logo printed on your van/ work clothes.
For tips and tricks on how to build your trade insurance business, Rhino's blog is thriving with quality content that can help. If you are searching for trade insurance to protect your business, we can build a fully comprehensive policy to match your business's needs.
Our team can tailor policies like Public Liability, Employers' Liability, Tool protection, and more to your company's needs. Simply call Rhino on 0116 243 7904 or get a quote in just a minute on our online insurance shop.
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