“The importance of Google Reviews”

 “I do all my business by word of mouth” ,”I have a great customer data base”, “People only leave negative reviews, so I don’t want them”

 I’m sure by now you’ve heard the statements above along with many other excuses of why my business doesn’t collect Google reviews.  

Let’s take a few minutes to go over why you might want to reconsider this way of thinking.

In today’s online world the best thing you can have is a great online presence.  86% of Americans consider an online review as word of mouth. So if you can collect reviews, you’re collecting word of mouth that anyone can see.

Having a great customer base is great but how many of them are aging out or moved, gaining new business is the easiest way to grow and maintain your company.  

"It's Important to answer all reviews, both positive and negative."

Positive reviews should be responded, along the lines of:

"Thank you for leaving such a positive review we really appreciate your business.  Please keep us in your mind for any further HVAC needs."

Negative reviews should be responded, along the lines of:

"We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused, if you reach out to your sales rep to discuss further, we can try and meet your expectations."

Negative reviews are just as important as positive reviews, we live in the real world where you can’t make everyone happy.  Only having positive reviews appears that you are review filter so you’re not exposing your customer to the real you. Customers who are reading through your reviews want to see how you respond and handle a negative review. By responding to all reviews, you can reach out to that dissatisfied customer and try to correct the issue and turn them to a positive review. From a consumer's point of view they want to see how you handle a hiccup if one should arise on their purchase.

The science behind gathering reviews 

Google is looking to move companies that actively engage with their platform. Companies that gather reviews both positive and negative with show up higher on a google search than companies who don’t gather them 

Typing the word “Best” in your google search will remove any companies that have 3.0-star rating or less from the search so it’s important to maintain at least a 3.5-star rating.

Companies that actively gather reviews have more new customers than companies who rely on old methods 

Remember, Google is the new Yellow pages and you would never own a business without having an ad in the yellow pages. 

Rob Higgs
Territory Sales Manager

PS: If you're an HVAC business in our territory or have any questions regarding google reviews, please contact me to discuss.