According to a BrightLocal study, 87% of consumers consider reviews when selecting a local provider for home services. Your HVAC company needs to provide superior services to your customers in order to get great reviews. Actively collecting reviews from your customers needs to be built into your overall process.
It is essential that you're amassing a large quantity of legitimate Google Business Profile reviews. Google reviews are used as one of the key ranking factors for local businesses in the Google local map results. Reviews and ratings are key factors in determining your Google ranking - "More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business's local ranking". It is likely that other review sites on the Internet will also take into consideration the number of ratings and reviews as ranking factors on their own sites.
Many frustrated business owners wish that they could remove their listings from Google or other review platforms. Unfortunately, you're stuck. The review services are allowed to list your business - and reviews for your business. They won't respond to any requests you make to delist your business.
HVAC company owners need to focus on the positive. You can't remove your company from other websites, but you CAN provide your customers with incredible service. Wrap up all of your service calls with a request to review your business.
Having positive reviews for your HVAC business can help your company stand out from the competition. Use reviews as a marketing weapon for your company.
The collection of as many reviews from customers is essential. It must be done according to the terms and conditions of the review site. Review requests can be made for certain review platforms, such as Google. Yelp and other review platforms do not permit you to directly solicit reviews.
Based on the platform you're trying to collect reviews for, you'll need to decide the type of review collection tasks that are possible.
There are a variety of ways customers can write reviews for review services. Here are a few of the most popular ways to obtain reviews for your garage door business.
The most effective way to encourage your customers to rate you is to text them that include links to your review page on a review website. It's simple for them, and easy for you. Before sending an email, please ask the client whether they'd be willing to leave a review.
The time to get this review is when you're done servicing an air conditioner or setting up a customer with a new service - at the completion of the job. The customer is happy and the great work you just did for them is fresh in their mind. This greatly improves the chances of getting customers to leave reviews.
Google is the most reliable place to find reviews. Follow this step-by-step procedure to get the link for reviews to your Google Business Profile. From your Google Business Profile, you should be able to click on the "Share Review Form" box to get a link to at you can give to your customers order to get more reviews Google provides you with a link for you to give to customers so they can easily give you a review
You may also send an email to your customer with the link to review your HVAC services. It is likely that you will get fewer reviews than you would have you texted the link - but you'll still get some reviews. The problem with email is that your email could be automatically put into a spam folder - or the customer may not see it for days after the service. While better than not asking for a review, a text link to your review page on Google is the better bet.
A variety of online review platforms can help automate review collection and management for your business.
GatherUp offers review collection services beginning at $99/month and extending to 3,500 customers. To collect reviews, the service includes email (3,000/mo) as well as texts (300/mo).
A review widget for online is sent to you, which you can put on your HVAC company website. That way prospective customers can see your great reviews from around the Internet. GatherUp provides review reporting and monitoring.
GatherUp provides a 14-day no-cost trial.
Grade.US is $110/mo. It is targeted at marketing agencies. But, you can register with your HVAC business to use the service and then manage it yourself. You can also send 200 text requests per month at an additional fee. You can also add a carousel containing your reviews on your homepage - or on other pages of your website.
Grade.US provides a 14-day no-cost trial.
Obtaining great reviews from actual customers shouldn't be difficult if you've got an effective review collection system using the methods described in the previous paragraphs. It's not necessary to create fake reviews or back up your reviews.
Do not ask anyone to leave a review of your garage door business. Don't allow people who haven't ever been customers to leave fictitious reviews on Google or any other site.
The FTC is acting against fraudulent reviews as they're deceiving business practices. Don't allow your family members or friends to write reviews for your company. Don't hire companies to leave you fake reviews.
Being deceptive with your reputation isn't limited to reviews. False endorsements, including the simplest "like" on Facebook, could be viewed as misleading business methods.
Giving customers something in exchange for a review is a prohibited practice, according to FTC. This could result in grave trouble with both the FTC as well as the review platform. Review platforms need to ensure that their reviews are genuine in order to allow users to use their websites. Don't incentivize reviews like this - it can get you in hot water with government regulators and review platforms
That means your garage door service company should not provide any reward such as a prize, contest, or chance to win something in exchange for a review. Don't try to game the system. None of this should be necessary when you provide a top-quality service.
Respond to reviews as frequently as you can, which should be at least every once a week for the majority of companies. A lot of review management services mentioned in this article provide review monitoring that lets you know the time when reviews were posted across different review sites. You're going to have to consistently monitor and respond to customer reviews for your HVAC services
It is important to respond to any reviews posted by your customers on review sites. This lets your customers know that you're actively involved and value their feedback. This shows that you're attentive to your customers' opinions and recommendations. This approach is also likely different from most of your competitors and will help you stand apart.
It's simple to respond to favorable reviews of your business. Let them know that it was a great experience to help then with their HVAC needs.
It doesn't need to be the owner of the company or tech who responds to these positive reviews. It is possible to instruct your team members on how to properly respond to a good review.
Negative reviews are inevitable regardless of whether your company is amazing and offers unsurpassed HVAC services. If your HVAC company has been around a while, you know that there are just some customers who will never be satisfied.
It isn't a bad thing to get a negative review. You should be getting bad reviews occasionally, in fact, if a business has only positive reviews, it could look fake to prospective customers. If you manage the situation properly, it shouldn't be an issue. Negative reviews are just one of the less fun aspects of running a business.
Search Engine Land reports that 90% of people don't put too much weight on negative reviews - especially if the business owner addresses the issue and resolves it in a timely manner. Many people will even update negative reviews to be more favorable if the owner of the business responds appropriately to the reviews.
Marketing Opportunity geared towards prospects
Responses to your reviews are actually marketing opportunities. Your responses should be crafted to appeal to your prospective customers - and not the customer leaving the bad review. Most prospects understand that some customers are difficult and that mistakes occasionally happen when serving customers.
As long as you respond appropriately, prospects will likely give you the benefit of the doubt. Be logical, measured, and thought-through in your response. If you can, try to solve the issue. Be compassionate. Don't get involved in arguments online with irate customers.
Bad Reviews Due to Mistakes On Your Part
You're not going to be 100% perfect on every service call. You're going to make the occasional mistake and must act appropriately when it happens.
Accept it. Make sure to apologize for any miscommunications, and be considerate. If you can, try to make amends with the homeowner or business owner. Fix any issues that have occurred as a result of your company's mistake.
It is important to address legitimate issues with communication or service. You don't want to face similar situations again in the future. Negative reviews could be an opportunity to learn to improve upon your HVAC Services.
A Bad Review Despite You Doing a Great Job
In some cases, despite providing excellent service, you may receive a bad review. These reviews are among the most difficult to address. It isn't a good idea to throw down with your customer online even though you know you're right.
Instead, thank them for their comments and be understanding with them. If you can you can reach out directly to them to seek a way to make both parties happy. Work on taking issues like this offline and try to handle things quietly.
False Negative Reviews
Fake reviews are everywhere online. Odds are very good that your company has already received fake negative reviews from "customers" your company has never worked with.
Believe it or not, you may have competitors who are not ethical employ services to write negative reviews about your business.
There are options if you're certain that you're getting fake negative reviews.
1. Contact the Review Platform
Inform them that the person who wrote the review wasn't a client of your HVAC company.
This doesn't always work though - as many of the review websites have extremely poor customer service and may not respond. If you don't get the results you need, you should probably...
2. Respond to the Review
If your review system allows you to reply to reviews, make it clear that the person who wrote the review was not your customer. Establish in your response that your business is committed to providing the highest quality service possible and that you don't know the customer and that their review isn't valid. It could be an excellent idea to state in your response that if someone isn't entirely satisfied with your service, you'll make every effort to make sure they're satisfied with the final outcome.
It is essential to keep an eye on the reviews you get for your HVAC company through the various review sites online.
Reviews can be found online about your business by typing in the name of your HVAC business and the term "reviews". The image below illustrates my search for "rox heating and air reviews" which is a Colorado HVAC company I have no relationship with.
Listings and reviews for the company can be seen in the search results from around the web. These are third-party websites that the HVAC company owner has no control over. The results are below:
Google Reviews (A) in the screenshot above is by far the most important place to collect reviews for your business. These reviews will show up whenever someone searches for your HVAC business by name. You must claim your Google Business Profile listing and monitor your reviews. You should also make sure to respond to the reviews that you receive on Google.
(B) in the screenshot above. When you search for your HVAC business, you'll likely see Yelp near the top of the search results as shown in the image above. Create a business page for your HVAC business on Yelp and monitor all of the reviews.
As with many of the other reviews, prospects don't even have to click on your listing to see your star rating. The star ratings for Yelp and many other home services review sites appear right in the search engine results.
Facebook reviews and recommendations are shown in "C" in the screenshot above. Be sure to set up your Facebook business page in order to get reviews and recommendations. You'll also want to closely monitor and respond to what your reviewers are saying about your business on Facebook.
The Better Business Bureau - (D) above - is another place where you're going to want to closely watch what the public is saying about your HVAC company. If you're a member of the BBB, be sure to put your BBB badge on your website as it may help with conversions. Customers (rightly or wrongly) put a lot of faith in the BBB. According to the same BrightLocal study mentioned at the beginning of this post, the BBB reviews are trusted more than Google reviews.
(E) - nicejob.com - in the screenshot above is an example. You'll find that your business will be listed on many sites - most of which you've probably never heard of. If a search for your site reveals one of these sites on the first or second page of search results, you'll want to take notice.
Check out sites like these and claim your profile. Build out your profile on these sites and keep an eye on reviews as they come in so that you can appropriately respond.
Here are some of the more high profile websites where you may find your listing:
Google will provide reviews to your HVAC business customers when they find your company via Google's Local Services Ads. This is a simple, automatic way to collect reviews.
Note that these reviews are exclusive to Local Services Ads, and you'll still need to collect Google Business Profile Reviews Separately.
Your HVAC company will be prominently displayed on a variety of websites that aren't in your control, such as review websites. They won't let you remove your business from their listings.
Review sites can be considered as a means to advertise your business. Create a business profile on all of the major review websites. Take the time to respond to any reviews on these sites regardless of whether they are positive or negative.
If possible, keep the conflict off the internet and avoid arguing with your customers online. Try to work with your customers to resolve and improve any negative reviews. Potential future customers will be able to read your reviews and evaluate your company.
You're going to get negative reviews - there is no way around it. If you respond to bad reviews in a measured, professional way prospects will notice and be much more likely to do business with you despite the occasional negative review.
