Review Management 101 for Electricians

Every business has a reputation to uphold. Whether it’s a single ice cream truck or massive cooperation, public opinion and perception are key factors in deciding its success.

A reputation isn’t just earned – it’s also managed.

Your electrician company is the best around. You pride yourself on the decades of knowledge you and your crew possess to get any electrical job done. However, just because you offer the best service doesn’t mean you’ll beat out your competition. If another electrician outfit keeps up with their online presence, chances are they have an advantage over you.

Online presence is imperative to success. So, if you’re not keeping up with your reputation on the internet, it could cause your business to suffer.

That’s where online Review Management comes in. You might assume that reviews only play an important role for product and service-based industries like restaurants or hotels, but the exact opposite is true. Reviews are sought after from consumers of every type of service you can imagine. In fact, reviews may be the biggest deciding factor for some.

Research suggests that 93% of consumers report that reviews have an impact on their purchasing decisions. With so much emphasis on word-of-mouth online, there’s a way to optimize it.

Yes, your business works in the physical world. However, for your business to keep working, your online presence must work for you. Digital marketing strategies are the name of the game in the modern world, and your electrician business must take advantage.

Not to worry though. This task may seem like a lot all at once, but getting started is as easy as reading through this article. Welcome to review management 101!

What Is Review Management?

For you to properly manage your online reputation, you should know what online review management is and how it plays a factor in your digital marketing strategy.

Even if your online presence is little to non-existent, opinions about your service will still be floating around online. Customers leave reviews on sorts platforms such as Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business.

If your electrician company fails to monitor, respond, and generate reviews through your own website or these other platforms, your credibility will decrease in the eyes of potential customers.

Here are three ways online reviews impact your business:

Awareness: Google’s algorithm craves content. Luckily, reviews count as content. The more reviews you have about your electrician service, the better rank on relevant searches you will receive.
Trustworthy: Electrician projects are far from cheap. When a customer needs an electrical wire on their new home addition, they need it done right the first time. Reviews help your electrician outfit establish a sense of trust with potential customers as it gives them a first-hand look at your incredible service.
Credibility: The more high-overall reviews your electrician company receives will generate more credibility with your website and your business.

Reviews are vital in establishing an online presence. With that being said, online review management is one of the key factors at play when it comes to your search engine optimization (SEO).

As stated before, reviews are content. The more great quality content you have on your website, the higher Google will rank your business on relevant searches.

How Does Review Management Work?

Now that you know what a positive online reputation can do for your electrician business, let’s take a look at how it works and the steps to start making it work for you!

It would be great if every satisfied customer would leave a glowing review online, but it isn’t always that simple. In reality, a lot of people would rather not share their opinion on social media.

However, there’s always room for encouragement!

Generating Online Reviews

For effective online review management, you must follow three points:

Generate
Monitor
Respond

The first step is to generate more reviews. After all, you can’t start managing reviews if you don’t have any.

You can drum up more reviews by implementing these elements into your digital marketing strategy:

Design a visible review widget on your website.
Add a “Reviews” page to your website and show off all of the glowing reviews you receive.
Send a personalized message to your previously satisfied customer and request a review from them.
Use emails, social media, and other direct channels of communication to encourage customers to leave a review on your website or another third-party platform.
Offer incentives for customers to leave reviews, such as a discount on future service.

Implementing these strategies will help you generate more reviews, thus increasing your visibility online.

Monitoring Online Reviews

Now that you have reviews flowing in, it’s time to take a look at them. You should be checking for reviews daily – or weekly at the very least. Being able to know when someone leaves a review as soon as possible is vital for the proper response.

There are tools to assist with monitoring online reviews, such as Google Alerts and other third-party applications. Additionally, there is a professional Review Management Software system that provides constant monitoring for reviews. This allows you to see and respond to reviews in real-time!

Responding to Online Reviews

You’ve found a way to generate and keep a close eye on your reviews. The last step in online review management is formulating a proper response.

As you know, you should respond to positive reviews with gratitude. However, it’s impossible for a business to receive 100% positive reviews.

Some reviews might be exaggerated and dramatic, but knowing how to properly respond is the most effective way to turn that negative review into a positive one.

Here’s how to respond to a negative review:

Give thanks for them sharing feedback.
Apologize for their negative experience.
See how their satisfaction can be achieved.
Suggest to speak with them more privately (email, phone) and see if you can’t hash out an agreement then.
Advocate for a solution and don’t make excuses.