Sarasota contractors, if you haven’t realized this yet, online reviews are sort of the new word-of-mouth to gain leads. No joke, research has indicated that an incredible 89% of people read reviews before deciding on a service. And 93% say those reviews have a large influence on what they come to purchase. A pile of good contractor ratings will raise your reliability and help your construction company appear higher in the search results. Nearly 95 percent of individuals trust companies with abundant reviews. This means that, say, a homeowner considering a renovation job would be more inclined to work with a contractor who had sparkling five-star reviews as opposed to one with virtually no reviews.
Why Online Reviews are Important to Sarasota Contractors
Consider reviews as online word-of-mouth. Good reviews can influence prospective customers to your side. Higher-rated contractors can appear first in Google local search listings ahead of your competitors, meaning that more customers will find you when utilizing keywords such as “Sarasota contractors” or “Sarasota remodeling contractors”. Around 64% of the consumers trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from their friends and family. The best-ranked contractors tend to appear higher on the search results, and this helps them acquire business. And the fact that 88 percent of customers would rather read written reviews than simply see star ratings, even one single testimonial, can help.
Collecting Customer Reviews from Happy Clients
Then, how do you develop those reviews? It simply begins with asking. The most successful Sarasota contractors ensure that they gather reviews as part of job completion. Once the project is closed, personally thank your client and ask if they would mind leaving some feedback. You can even provide them with a card or a QR code that takes them to a place where they can review you. According to one industry guide, about 65% of the people will give a more positive review if asked. A follow-up text or email after the work can also do miracles.
Short and sweet messages enable homeowners to respond easily. And of course, social media. When you receive a shout-out from a client on the internet, welcome them to post that on Google, Yelp, or other sites in the industry. With just a small push in the right direction, you will be able to increase the amount of reviews you collect, and search engines will pay attention to their steady growth.
Marketing Reviews to Get Clients
You have a couple of reviews, so now it is time to highlight them. Create a testimonials page on your site and place the most desirable home renovation Sarasota reviews side by side with your CTAs. As an example, it can help you increase credibility and improve conversion rates via snippets of those 5-star Google reviews alongside a Request a Quote button. One more thing you should not omit is optimizing your Google Business Profile.
Encourage your clients to review you on this platform since Google takes this sort of feedback seriously in terms of local ranking. Post those exceptional reviews on social networks and local directories. A favorable review placed on your site or facebook page will serve as an effective social confirmation. Keep in mind, almost every third consumer states that the most influential factor when choosing a local service is online reviews. The public testimonials will be able to assure Sarasota homeowners that your business is all about quality work
Conclusion
Reviews online are the shortcut to establishing trust with prospects. They demonstrate that your work has been verified by real people. Customers love seeing photos and details from reviewers, about 22% specifically look for “before-and-after” images in reviews, so get your clients to share project photos when they give feedback. And by the way, reply to all reviews. Appreciate positive words of clients and professionally address negative comments. Such a communication indicates you are concerned. It instills confidence in your homeowners when they see you working on the feedback you receive. At the end of the day, having a solid collection of reviews serves as a seal of approval which can help turn those online leads into actual contracts.