Positive online reviews can make the difference between getting booked for a cleaning service or not. Potential customers rely on what others say about your business to make buying decisions, especially when they search for something like “best commercial cleaning service near me.” In fact, you won’t even show up at the top of their Google results unless you have enough online reviews.
Here are five ways to secure positive online reviews that set your business apart from the competition.
1. Ask for a review
It’s good practice to ask for a review immediately after providing a high-quality service for your customers. If you’re seeing them in person, all it takes is thanking the customer for choosing your business, politely asking for a moment of their time to leave their feedback, and letting them know how much their review means to you.
One convenient option is to give customers a business card with a QR code to scan, or clear instructions on how to best leave you a review. (Google is a great default review platform for all businesses.) Make it a seamless process, so that customers spend less time trying to find your Google review page and more time leaving you the feedback you need.
2. Maintain an active social media presence
Getting to know your customers helps them feel valued and interacting with them on your social media pages, such as on Facebook or Instagram, is a great way to do that. It’s easier to ask for reviews when you:
- Engage with happy customers who tag you in comments or posts recommending your business
- Feature satisfied customers in your social media posts (with their consent)
- Post a link to your review page and encourage customers to share their experiences.
Fostering positive relationships through social media interactions instills credibility and trust in your brand, giving customers the confidence to publicly share their experiences through reviews. Not only will your customers feel recognized, but their posts and testimonials will serve as valuable social proof that you can leverage to increase sales.
An active social media presence also puts you in the position to reach a wider audience, including potential customers who might be searching for a local cleaning service. When prospective customers visit your page to read reviews and notice that you engage with your followers, they’ll be more likely to choose your business.
3. Send email review requests
Email review requests are great for when you complete a job and you don’t get the in-person interaction discussed above. (The same goes for text messaging, covered below.) The key to a successful email review request is to keep it short and sweet—you want your message to be as simple as possible to respect your customers’ time.
Make sure the email includes personalized, key details about how you’ve helped the customer and a clear link to your review page. Additionally, the email request should come from a member of the team who worked directly with the customer. That way, there’s more of a personal connection.
Consider this sample email:
“Your feedback helps us improve our ability to provide you with the best service possible. Here’s the link to our Google review page: [link]. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call us at [number]. Thank you, and we look forward to serving you again soon.”
Try out different subject lines to see what works best. Sometimes it helps to address the customer by name in the subject line, or to note the specific service you provided, but you may also write “How did we do?” or “Got a minute to share your experience with [Company Name]?”
4. Text a review request
As text messages have a high open rate, they are a practically guaranteed way to get your review request seen almost immediately. Before texting your customers, be sure that they’ve already opted in to receive texts from your business. They can opt in by doing any of the following:
- Texting a keyword to your business number such as “CLEAN” to receive texts
- Reaching out via SMS Chat on your homepage
- Agreeing to receive texts via your contact forms
- Texting you first.
Keep your text short and sweet. You’re working with a smaller character count, so it’s important you touch on all key points in one brief text, such as:
“Hi, [First Name]! Thanks for choosing [Your Company]. To best serve you and others, would you mind leaving us a review? Here’s the link: [link]. Thank you!”
Business texting software enables you to reach out to customers for one-to-one communications. Some even offer review management capabilities, allowing you to earn, track, and respond to online reviews all in one place.
5. Respond to all reviews
Responding to reviews leads to higher customer satisfaction, and gives potential customers a reason to choose your business over others.
Respond to all your reviews, both positive and negative. With positive reviews, be sure to thank the customer, use personalized language, and recognize what you’re doing to make them happy.
When responding to a negative review, thank the customer and acknowledge their frustration. Show that you’re willing to work with them until a resolution is found. The quicker you resolve your customers’ problems, the greater chance you have of gaining repeat business from them, along with business from new customers.
Replying to reviews is a crucial step for building customer loyalty. Transparency helps customers feel that their opinion is important and valued, and has the power to turn every customer review into a win for your business.
Manage your online reputation
Consider purchasing reputation management software to help you monitor what customers are saying about you. This knowledge will assist you in building your online image and ranking higher in local search results. The more you invest in providing exceptional customer service, the more quality reviews you’ll gain to build your online reputation.
