Nowadays, online reviews and ratings have become the deal breakers for home cleaning businesses to gain new customers and for maintaining a good word in the market. According to a recent study, 93% of consumers said online reviews influence their buying decisions. The home cleaning industry is getting competitive day by day, and an all-out online reputation management strategy has become a success factor. Here is a list of some potent techniques for you to efficiently watch and better your cleaning company’s online presence from the leading provider of cleaning services in Austin:
Deliver Exceptional Service Every Time
The bedrock of a stellar online reputation: wowing and exceeding customers through quality cleaning services, be it a small or big job; hiring detail-oriented, trustworthy, and friendly cleaners who take pride in their work; emphasizing customer service in the company’s culture and training programs; wow them with your quality, professionalism, and responsiveness. And those 5-star reviews will start pouring in on their own. Sparkly Maid Austin achieves this by hiring detail-oriented, trustworthy, and top-rated house cleaners who take pride in their work.
Make It Review Easy For Customers
Don’t rely on happy, satisfied customers to write online reviews about your business. Follow up cleaning services with email direct links to your review site profiles. Leave review request cards behind with easy instructions at customer’s homes. Place “Leave Us a Review” buttons on your website and social pages in highly visible locations. Use reputation management software to automate the process of soliciting reviews right after each service is completed. The easier you make it for happy clients to post reviews, the more of those glowing recommendations you’ll rack up.
Respond to All Reviews, Especially the Bad Ones
Show your customers that you genuinely care about their opinion by replying to all comments made concerning your business, be they positive or negative in form. Thank them for the nice things said in good reviews and mention how happy you are that they are loyal to your business. If a poor review comes along, take a deep breath and answer with calmness and constructiveness. Make an apology about failing the expectations and show empathy towards their frustration, with an explanation of how you plan to solve the issue. Please take this conversation off-line by providing your contact information. This allows the potential customer to see that you mean to have only the best of intentions and to make things right should anything go wrong. Do not argue, explain, or get defensive; it makes you look bad.
Observe Your Online Brand
For starters, online reputation management involves monitoring every business listing appearing on various online directories and review sites, among which are Google, Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor, and the Better Business Bureau. Keep on top of new reviews, as it gives you a chance to address potential problems before they spiral out of control. Use the various online reputation monitoring tools, aggregating reviews from a variety of different sites into one dashboard. This will save you a significant amount of time and make your work easier. Knowing which review sites carry the most weight for your cleaning business will enable you to manage your reputation with the most important sites.
Use good reviews in your marketing efforts
Strong testimonials and an overall high star rating are big trust cues and big selling points for your cleaning service. Use all that social proof by featuring your best reviews on your homepage, service pages, social media accounts, print materials, and online ads—increasing further the power of your hard-earned positive review. Be sure to play by the rules and not just randomly solicit all the good reviews, as this would be a very unethical practice that would come back and bite you in the end, taking away all your credibility.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
For most local service businesses, like home cleaning companies, that means your Google Business Profile—formerly Google My Business—is the first impression most potential customers have of your brand. Not only does it pop up in Google Maps results, it also shows in the sidebar of many relevant searches. To get the most from this premium piece of online real estate, ensure your profile is completely updated with your business name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, service area, and a few quality photos of your team in action. Plus, be proactive about asking some of your happiest customers to leave reviews on your Google profile. Keep an eye on and engage with questions asked through the Q&A feature. A fully optimized, highly ranked Google Business Profile that is filled with awesome reviews and has a 5-star rating does more for local credibility and search rankings than anything else and fast.
Keep Business Listings Consistent Across the Web
Though your Google Business Profile is the most important online listing to manage, don’t forget about the dozens of others across the web that your cleaning business may be listed on. Perform a local citation audit using a tool like Moz Local to discover every site your business is listed on. Claim and verify ownership of those listings. Ensure consistent and accurate information in your business name, address, phone number, and website across all platforms. Conflicting or incorrect business information can damage your business in terms of search engine rankings and possibly even encourage customers to leave negative reviews.
How to Deal with Fake or Misleading Reviews Tactfully
Some dishonest competitors might do it to blacken your hard-earned reputation with fake negative reviews. If you feel a review is fake, flag and dispute it on the review platform. Reply in a calm and respectful manner, explaining that you have no record or recollection of ever having serviced this customer and that you think the review is fake. This notifies customers that the review most likely isn’t real. You can further negate the power of fake reviews by constantly pumping out authentic positive reviews from actual customers.
By implementing such online reputation management strategies consistently, home cleaning businesses would develop and maintain an excellent online image, which is trusted by potential customers, and thus be able to win most of the cleaning deals. It will be a time investment taken with proactive interest in monitoring and responding to online reviews, and it is one of the most powerful investments you will ever make in marketing that will result in faster growth and increase in profits at your cleaning business. Care for your online reputation. It is your most valuable digital asset.
