Did you hear? 2017 is all about customer satisfaction.

It’s time to fine-tune the process of making sure your customers are happy and content because there is no point in acquiring new customers if they’re not set up to have a cheerful experience.

It’s no secret that customers place value on what other customers say about your product or service. That’s why customers demand transparency, and it’s this transparency that leads to higher importance in collecting customer reviews.

So how do you ensure you’re doing everything you can to collect more five-star reviews? Here are nine actionable ways for you and your team to boost your online reputation, build your online trust and ultimately improve what others say about you online.‍

Open and accept feedback

Always accept feedback from your customers with the full intention of implementing their suggestions.  While you don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) implement everything they say, showing a genuine interest in their feedback will encourage customers to leave more.  Having an open mind to their suggestions will allow you to capitalize on free work. Think of it this way, how much would you pay for a team of consultants to come in, learn your product/service, and make recommendations based on their learnings? Quite a lot.  Why not save that money and have your customers do it for free? Opening the gates for feedback will allow you to sift through and find brilliant ideas.‍

Claim your business on review sites

Before any of your customers commit to you, they’ll do one of two things: recall if anyone in their own network uses your service or product, or search for reviews and info online. Make sure your business is on these sites so if people choose to review you, you’ll be available to collect them. A few sites that you should have pages on are: Google My Business, Amazon Customer Reviews, Angie’s list, TrustPilots, Facebook Ratings and Reviews, Yahoo! Local Listings, and Better Business Bureau.

Sentiment wins

Ratings from customers are obviously important in the home services industry. As an initial foray into using data to better understand the correlation, we asked: “what factors lead to a 5-star experience from consumers?” The sentiment score correlated with the star rating. A 5-star technician is courteous and polite. Gets the job done quickly and is knowledgeable.  Being rude, and canceling would lead to a lower review compared to being friendly with good communication. Being clean gets a higher rating than being dirty.

Ask happy customers

Train your contractors to be aware of your happy customers. While you may think every customer is happy, it’s not realistic. There will be bad eggs every now and then. That’s why, when a customer is ecstatic over your service, ask them to leave a review and explain what it will do for your business.

Give your customers context

The previous point leads to this suggestion. Explaining why you’re asking for the review will provide much-needed context for your customer. The difference between a question with context and one without is colossal. See for yourself. Which question feels more emotional and is more likely to drive you to action?

– “Would you please leave a review? Thank you!”

or

– “Would you please leave a review? A review from you will help us build our credibility and help boost our online traffic to our site. Reviews from customers like you are invaluable to the success of our business. Thank you!”

(the second version is emotionally driven and much better.)

Ask the legacy customers

This one is simple. Go through your list of customers and target the ones that have been using your service for years. They’re obviously coming back because they enjoy working with you. Make sure to ask these customers for reviews. They’re your trustworthy source for social validation.

Make it easy for people to leave reviews

This may be the most important tip for collecting more 5-star reviews. A simple process equals more reviews. To make collecting reviews easier, we recommend setting up a Google Business account. Here is how to set up a Google My Business account. If you have one already, great!

Provide review links

It’s labor-intensive for someone to Google your business, search through the listings, locate the review button, then submit their review. Leaving reviews should be painless and simple. To make it easier, provide them a link directly to your review page on google. Here’s how to do that:

– Find your business Place ID.
– Add your Place ID to the following URL to create your link:
– http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>
– Use this URL in your “leave a review” email immediately after a job is complete.

Automate the collection process

Most importantly, make it easy for yourself to collect these reviews. Use automated services to help you collect these reviews.

Sometimes we forget to ask, sometimes we’re uncomfortable asking, and sometimes we know to ask, but just want to leave the job. This is where automated services come into play. Know exactly when you’re done with a job and send an automated survey link directly to your customer’s phone and email.

Dispatch found data suggesting that review emails that are sent in the afternoon have a higher ratio of receiving 5’s up until 8 pm.‍

To learn more about how you can meet customer expectations, download our white paper on Satisfying the Modern-Day Customer.