As a power washing company owner, you obviously need to be providing excellent results to your customers, but you also need to be collecting reviews from those customers when your work is completed. 87% of consumers use reviews in their decision-making process when hiring a local service provider according to a BrightLocal study.
Google Business Profile reviews are likely to be the most crucial place for you to have a large number of positive reviews. Reviews are a major Google ranking factor to determine how you will be displayed in the local map results "More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business's local ranking". You can be certain that other review sites also consider the number of reviews and ratings you have given as ranking factors within their review system.
You can't remove your Google Business Profile Listing - or your company listing from other review websites. They're allowed to present information about your business and display your review information. If you ask them to delist your company they will ignore you.
What you can do is make sure the power washing services you provide are so good that your customers have no choice but to be amazed. When you're done, be sure to go over the thoroughness and quality of your work. Then ask them for a review. The more reviews that you're able to collect, the more that your business will stand out when compared to other power washers in your area.
The collection of as many reviews from customers is essential. Note that this must be done according to the terms of service of the review platform. For some review services like Google, it is possible to request reviews. Yelp and other review platforms do not permit you to directly request reviews.
You'll need to know according to the review platform which kind of review collection actions are allowed.
There are a variety of ways customers can write reviews for your company on one of the various review websites. Here are the most common methods to get reviews for your pressure washing business.
Most likely the best method to encourage your customers to write a review for you is to send them a text message containing a link to your business review page on an online review platform. It's simple for them and it's quick for you. Before you send them a message, please ask the customer to decide if they'd like to leave a review.
When you have completed your power washing services for an individual customer, it is time to ask for a review. This will increase the chances that the client will leave you a review since the service you provided is still fresh in their minds.
Google is the most important place for you to collect reviews and they provide a step-by-step process for you to obtain the review link for 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 you can give to your customers in order to get more reviews on Google.
You may also send an email to your customer an online review of your pressure washing services. It is likely to get less response than an email link. Emails get caught in spam filters or may arrive long after you complete your service. In both instances, it makes it less likely that you're going to get a review via email when compared to a text message at the moment you're collecting payment from the customer.
There are numerous online review services that will simplify the process of collecting, managing and responding to reviews for your company.
GatherUp offers a review collection service starting at $99/month, which can be used for up to 3,500 customers. For collecting reviews, this includes both email (3,000/mo) and text (300/mo).
You'll get an online review widget is available on your power washing website. GatherUp also offers robust reporting services and online review monitoring.
GatherUp offers a 14-day free trial.
Grade.US is $110/mo. It's designed for marketing agencies. However, you can enroll your power washing company for the service and manage it yourself. You can also send 200 texts per month for the extra cost. There is also a review carousel that is able to be installed on your website to showcase your customer reviews from around the Internet.
Grade.US also offers a free trial period of 14 days.
Getting plenty of high-quality legitimate reviews won't be a problem if you've created the right review collection method using the methods described previously. You won't feel the need to boost your reviews with questionable tactics, for example, posting fake reviews.
Don't ever get someone else to create a fake review about your power washing services. Do not encourage those who have never been customers to write reviews on Google or anywhere else.
The FTC is trying to crack down on fraudulent reviews because they are deceptive business practices. Don't ask family members or friends to leave reviews about your company. Definitely don't hire shady companies to write fake reviews for your company. These questionable practices aren't restricted to just text reviews. False endorsements, including having people "like" your business on Facebook when they weren't your customer, can be seen as deceptive business practices.
Another method that is not allowed by the FTC is to give incentives to reviewers. This could get you into severe trouble with both FTC as well as the review platform. Review platforms wish to ensure the reviews are as authentic as possible so that people trust their websites and keep coming back. Don't encourage reviews like this - it can get you in hot water with government regulators and review platforms
What this means to your pressure washing business is that you don't provide any kickbacks, prizes, contests, or chances to win, as part of writing reviews. These tactics are unnecessary in the event that you provide excellent service and make it a point to regularly ask for reviews from actual customers.
It is important that you're responding to reviews daily if feasible, and at a weekly least for most companies. Many of the review sites listed in this article have review monitoring, which lets you know when reviews have been posted on various review sites. You're going to have to consistently monitor and respond to customer reviews for your power washing services
You should respond to reviews posted by your customers on review sites. It indicates that you're always willing to improve your processes and are a very involved business owner. It displays a level of care that a lot of your competitors likely won't have and can distinguish you from them.
It's easy to reply to positive reviews for your business. Show them that you greatly appreciate their decision to let you serve them - and let them know what a pleasure it was to work with them.
It doesn't have to be the owner of the company or technician that responds to reviews. Most of your employees could be fairly easily properly trained to respond to positive reviews.
Negative reviews are bound to happen. This is true even if you're totally dedicated to providing high-quality work and even better customer service. There are just many customers out there who will never be satisfied.
Your power washing business isn't doomed if you get a negative review. If you manage the bad review correctly, it won't be the end of the world. Negative reviews are an unfortunate side effect of being a business owner - but they can actually be a good thing. If a company has only positive reviews, it could look fake to potential customers.
Search Engine Land reports that 90% of people can overlook negative reviews as long as the business owner is able to address the problem in a satisfactory way. If you are able to respond appropriately, customers may even update negative reviews to make them more favorable.
Marketing Opportunity that is geared toward prospects
While it might seem odd at first it is important to respond to negative reviews about your power washing, the response should be more about your potential customers than the person who posted the review. A lot of customers leaving bad reviews won't be repeat customers and won't be soothed by your attempts to make things right. That's why the focus of your response to negative reviews should be on prospects - not the person who submitted the negative review.
Your potential customers are likely to be turned off by the bad behavior of both the reviewer and the company owner when reading a bad review thread. You must not engage in heated arguments online - be calm and measured no matter what the original reviewer posts. Reacting emotionally to an irate customer in a kneejerk, angry manner will cause you to look unprofessional.
Be rational, and clearly thought out in your response. If possible, try to work out a solution. Show compassion. Avoid arguments.
You Provided Subpar Service and Received a Negative Review
It happens to the best of us. You or one of your techs made a mistake resulting in a poor review.
Don't be defensive. Take ownership of it. Make sure to apologize for any miscommunications and be kind. Resolve the problem with the homeowner or business owner if at all possible. Follow up on your initial pressure washing job and make it right if possible.
It is important to address any issues with communication or service that were legitimate so you don't have to face similar situations in the future. Don't let your power washing company make the same mistake twice - learn from your mistakes and move on. Negative reviews can be an opportunity to gain knowledge to improve your overall services.
You Did a Perfect Job - But Still Received a Bad Review
Sometimes, despite offering excellent service, you may receive a negative review. They are among the most difficult to deal with.
Thanks for their feedback. Be as understanding as you can of their issue and do your best to get in touch with them as soon as possible to come to an amicable solution.
Dealing with fake negative reviews
Online fake reviews are everywhere. It is likely that you have received a fake review from a person you've never heard of - let alone worked for.
A lot of times, competitors who are not ethical will employ companies to leave negative reviews of your company. Or, a customer confused your company for a competitor and gave you a bad review by mistake.
Either way, there are a couple of options when you get these fake reviews:
1 Contact the Review Platform
Let them know that the author of the review was not a customer of your company.
Unfortunately, the review services are notoriously unresponsive, and most likely won't act based on your objection, therefore I suggest that you do the following if you don't get an adequate response:
2. Respond to the Review
If the review platform permits reviews from the owner of the business It is important to make it clear that this person (who wrote the review) wasn't a real customer of your organization. Make sure you state that your business is committed to providing the highest quality service available and that you have no record of this customer. Consider mentioning that in the unlikely event that someone is not satisfied with your services that you always take every step to make things right.
You need to stay on top of the various review websites that list your business and collect reviews on your behalf.
You can find many of the places where your business is listed online by entering the name of your power washing company, and then the word "reviews". Below is a screenshot of me searching for "Colorado Pro Wash Reviews", a Colorado company I have no relationship with.
The search results show a lot of different websites that have a listing, reviews, and star ratings for your company. These listings and reviews on these websites must be maintained and checked regularly.
(A) in the screenshot above. Google reviews are the most important and will be displayed whenever potential customers type in your business. Google reviews are more important than all other review websites. More customers will see these reviews than any other. Tracking and responding to Google Reviews is essential.
(B) in the screenshot above is a profile page for the power washing business on the Better Business Bureau website. It turns out - according to the same BrightLocal study cited earlier - that people trust reviews from the BBB even more than they trust Google reviews. You need to track and respond to any mentions of your company on the BBB Website.
(C) in the screenshot above are Yelp reviews. In some instances, you'll find Yelp listed as a top result in the results of searches for your company. You must create and maintain your Yelp business page and also respond to reviews. Yelp will often times have a star rating value for your business right on the search results page.
Facebook listing and reviews for the power washing company are shown as (D) in the screenshot above. Create your Facebook business page. Active reply to customer recommendations and reviews.
In the screenshot above, you'll see (D) for porch.com and (E) for mapquest.com. You'll want to pay close on any site that lists your company - even if there's not a star rating.
There are other review sites that aren't shown above but may appear on the first or second page of results. You'll want to keep an eye on all of these sites, some of the more common ones to watch about for are shown below:
Your pressure washing business will be listed on numerous websites that are totally out of your control. This includes review websites. These websites won't permit the removal of your business from their listings.
Instead, view these external review sites as another avenue to promote your company. Claim your listing on all major review sites. Answer all reviews - both negative and positive.
If a customer leaves a negative review - whether the fault is yours or not - do your best to correct the issue. When you respond to feedback, customers will see the review you wrote and be able to assess your professionalism as well as the way you deal with difficult situations. Occasional negative reviews are an aspect of the business but responding in the right way can put your business positively in the prospect's eyes.
If you can, resolve conflicts offline, and avoid arguing with online customers.
