HVAC Reviews Don’t Just Affect Your Online Reputation – Reviews ARE Your Online Reputation.

It’s not what we say about ourselves on our websites or blogs; it’s what others say that matters. Period!

90% of customers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews.

“According to a new survey conducted by Dimensional Research, an overwhelming 90 percent of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews.”

If you ignore these facts, you do so at great peril. Consumer reviews are gaining importance in landslide proportions so now is the time to act.

Where the ratings come from

Google bases seller ratings on a variety of sources. These sources include reviews from these and other independent review websites:

How important are reviews and what is the impact on HVAC marketing?

Beyond the obvious, there are many benefits to be gained from lots of positive reviews. (These are defined by Google as reviews with 3 ½ stars out of 5).

This one is the game-changer:

Google now allows us to insert the bright orange review stars within your paid search ads. These stars can double, even triple your click-through rates, making your ads practically jump of the page while, at the same time, creating an immediate and undeniable trust factor.

There are a number of qualifiers needed to gain this advantage over your competition, but we know exactly how to make this happen for your business very quickly. This one element alone will instantly separate your business from all of the ordinary ads on the search result pages.

Here are a few more reasons to pick up the review pace:

Positive reviews make it easy for shoppers to select you over your competition
It adds keyword rich content when you post them on your site
It allows you the opportunity to correct customer satisfaction issues before they begin to tarnish your reputation
Your natural (organic) listings may also display the stars, making even lower position results stand out
Generate referrals for your salespeople
Improve your ranking on the search engines
Populate the Internet with 5-star reviews
Add another testimonial to your website
Become one of the most talked about and trusted service providers in your community.

In order for your business to begin to seeing these benefits, you’ll need a minimum of 30 reviews in the previous 12 month period. And you’ll need to ensure at least 30 reviews in any given 12 month period moving forward.

Is getting good reviews a lot of work?

Most local HVAC business owners struggle to get customers to leave reviews. The good news is that it has become easier than ever for you to leap ahead of your competition. But it begins and ends with you….HVAC contractors who get it and fully understand the value find a way to get them.

And, if you get it, winning reviews is really quite easy.

Here’s how to get your customers to leave you reviews

There are 3 basic options to begin beefing up your review responses:

1) If you have a significant database of customers, say 3500 customers or more, you can enlist a company such as Feefo. They have entered into a partnership with Google to ensure that reviews are verified as authentic. You simply submit your database to them and they will begin contacting your customers for you, asking for reviews.

Feefo is a Google certified partner, ensuring that your customers are more likely to respond to their requests. You can also let your potential customers know that all of your reviews are independently verified by Google to ensure that they can be trusted. Their fees are very reasonable and can become a part of your existing online marketing budget.

2) If you are a smaller contractor you can try another company at www.fivestarreviewsystem.com. Their rates start at just $49 per month. They appear to have a great system that can assist your HVAC business in getting more reviews. They are not a certified Google partner but you can still claim an independent review process that ensures your reviews are 100% authentic.

3) You can enlist your own program to reach out for more reviews.

Here’s what Five Star Review Systems has to say about implementing your own successful approach:

“Some of our customers are getting up to 90% of their customers to respond to their review request. This is what they’re doing…”

1. They provide exceptional service. Nuff said!

2. They ask their customers to write a review when they’re at the PEAK of their happiness with their service. They don’t let that perfect moment pass, because once their customer’s feeling of euphoria is over, it’s over.

3. They make sure their customer knows that they’re doing them a big favor by writing a review and they tell them exactly how they benefit from their review. They know their customers want to do them a favor and that it’s a relatively easy favor to fulfill.

4. They make it easy for their customers to write a review by sending them an email with links to their review sites (or they use a more advanced system like the Five Star Review System). This way, their customer is already at their computer poised to write a review when they get the request. They don’t have to hunt for the business’ review page.

5. They ask their customers for their primary email address and let them know they will never, ever, even under penalty of death, share it with anyone… ever!

6. They tell their customers that they’re looking forward to reading their comments and thank them in advance for offering to write a review.

7. If their customer does not write a review within 3 days of their request, they send a reminder (some systems, like ours, will do this automatically). This alone will DOUBLE the number of reviews written.

8. And here’s bonus tip #8 that leads to more referrals…They always respond to their customers’ reviews and thank them for making the effort to write it.

Here are three typical examples quoted by Five Star Review System as to how the business-owner-initiated review process actually plays out:

Business Owner #1

Does not verbally ask a customer to write a review, but rather sends them an email request.

They think they’re going to get an easy review but they’re actually sending their customer spam … an unrequested email. They’re doing more harm than good.

This is typical of how most business owners attempt to get reviews and it never works.

Business Owner #2

Ask’s customers in person “Will you please write a review about our company based on your experience today?”

This is much more effective. It’s still not going to get a majority of the people you ask responding, but it’s much better than Business Owner #1.

The reason is due to a persuasion principle known as “commitment consistency” which is identified in The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. Basically, it works because when a customer tells you verbally that they’ll write a review (ie. they make a commitment), they are much more likely to follow through with your request.

Business Owner #3

Says “I’d like to ask you a favor Bill. Will you please take a few minutes to write a review about our company based on your experience today? When you do, the people who are looking for (our product or service) will be able to make a more informed decision about us based on what you write. Will you do that for me please?

Customer responds with “Yes.”

Thank you Bill, I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

There are five things to notice in this request:

1) The business owner is asking for a favor.

There’s a psychological principle known as the Ben Franklin Effect. It states that a person who’s done you a favor is more likely to do another favor for you than they would be if you’d done a favor for them.

When your customer understands what you’re asking is a favor that’s important to you, they’re more likely to reward you a second time with referrals as well as their review.

2) The business owner told the customer that it will only take a few minutes. The simpler the task, the more likely the task will be completed.

3) The business owner told the customer how he/she wins from their review by saying “People looking for our service will be able to make a more informed decision.” The implication, of course, being the business owner will generate more business based on their review.

4) The business owner makes sure the customer responds with “Yes, I will write a review for you.” This puts the Ben Franklin Effect into effect.

5) The business owner informs their customer that they’ll be looking for and, anticipating reading, their review. When a customer knows you’ll be looking for their review, they’re even more likely to write it for you.

The biggest referral-getters not only know how to ask for reviews (like Business Owner #3), but they do two other things their competitors don’t do.

1) They reward their customers who write reviews by contacting them immediately, thanking them and telling them how much they appreciate what they wrote and what they’ve done for them. Their appreciation is both prompt and sincere. The only way to accomplish this is to constantly monitor the review sites for reviews or have a system in place that informs you the moment a review is written.

2) They ask for referrals and make it easy for their customers to refer them to their family and friends by sending them digital coupons or flyers or other things that are easily shareable.

When clients (or any local business owner you speak to) starts getting a bunch of reviews, what is it they’re most excited about (ie. more leads, higher rankings)?

Certainly a lot of them are excited getting more clients and having customers tell them they’re calling because they read all the positive online reviews the business has.

But the most excited I see our customers is when they discover they’ve diverted a bad review from going on the Internet. (The Five Star Review System, being a customer service tool first and a review tool second, lets business owners immediately identify when a customer is unhappy and gives them the chance to right the wrong before a bad review hits the Internet.)

There’s something about the satisfaction of making things right that really gets people excited.

{End of excerpt}

________________________________________________________________________

Don’t be tempted to incentivize your customers to leave reviews as this can be construed as a “bribe”. Here’s what Matt McGee from Google has to say:

“Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. Even if well-intentioned, a conflict of interest can undermine the trust in a review. For instance, do not offer or accept money or product to write positive reviews about a business, or to write negative reviews about a competitor. Please also do not post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.”

The benefits to an aggressive Google Reviews process for HVAC contractors are enormous. Failure in this arena will become progressively more costly in the coming months and years. Your competition is just beginning to catch on so you still have the opportunity to gain a substantial edge in winning the trust of more new customers than ever.

P.S. Get your free copy of https://tripleyourclicks.com/when-it-comes-to-email-leads-dont-take-five/ You need to read this eye-opening article before you respond to your next email lead. They have a crazy-short shelf life.

**Question: Would your customers respond better using this method rather than your typical approach? What else works well for you? Share your comments now**

This article is written by Michael Haines, the founder of AC Direct, the oldest and most visited HVAC e-commerce site in the country. Michael has generated over $40,000,000 in HVAC revenue using web based marketing from this and other sites, including local service and installation sites.

His websites have generated over 17,000,000 visitors and were featured in the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America, 2 years in a row.

Please contact us directly at:

407-459-8804 or email info@TripleYourClicks.com

Why Google HVAC Reviews Matter and How To Get More of Them

It’s not what we say about ourselves on our websites or blogs; it’s what others say that matters. Period!

90% of customers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews.

“According to a new survey conducted by Dimensional Research, an overwhelming 90 percent of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews.”

If you ignore these facts, you do so at great peril. Consumer reviews are gaining importance in landslide proportions so now is the time to act.

Where the ratings come from

Google bases seller ratings on a variety of sources. These sources include reviews from these and other independent review websites:

Yelp

How important are reviews and what is the impact on HVAC marketing?

Beyond the obvious, there are many benefits to be gained from lots of positive reviews. (These are defined by Google as reviews with 3 ½ stars out of 5).

This one is the game-changer:

Google now allows us to insert the bright orange review stars within your paid search ads. These stars can double, even triple your click-through rates, making your ads practically jump of the page while, at the same time, creating an immediate and undeniable trust factor.

There are a number of qualifiers needed to gain this advantage over your competition, but we know exactly how to make this happen for your business very quickly. This one element alone will instantly separate your business from all of the ordinary ads on the search result pages.

Here are a few more reasons to pick up the review pace:

Positive reviews make it easy for shoppers to select you over your competition

It adds keyword rich content when you post them on your site

It allows you the opportunity to correct customer satisfaction issues before they begin to tarnish your reputation

Your natural (organic) listings may also display the stars, making even lower position results stand out

Generate referrals for your salespeople

Improve your ranking on the search engines

Populate the Internet with 5-star reviews

Add another testimonial to your website

Become one of the most talked about and trusted service providers in your community.

In order for your business to begin to seeing these benefits, you’ll need a minimum of 30 reviews in the previous 12 month period. And you’ll need to ensure at least 30 reviews in any given 12 month period moving forward.

Is getting good reviews a lot of work?

Most local HVAC business owners struggle to get customers to leave reviews. The good news is that it has become easier than ever for you to leap ahead of your competition. But it begins and ends with you….HVAC contractors who get it and fully understand the value find a way to get them.

And, if you get it, winning reviews is really quite easy.

Here’s how to get your customers to leave you reviews

There are 3 basic options to begin beefing up your review responses:

3) You can enlist your own program to reach out for more reviews.

Here’s what Five Star Review Systems has to say about implementing your own successful approach:

“Some of our customers are getting up to 90% of their customers to respond to their review request. This is what they’re doing…”

1. They provide exceptional service. Nuff said!

2. They ask their customers to write a review when they’re at the PEAK of their happiness with their service. They don’t let that perfect moment pass, because once their customer’s feeling of euphoria is over, it’s over.

3. They make sure their customer knows that they’re doing them a big favor by writing a review and they tell them exactly how they benefit from their review. They know their customers want to do them a favor and that it’s a relatively easy favor to fulfill.

5. They ask their customers for their primary email address and let them know they will never, ever, even under penalty of death, share it with anyone… ever!

6. They tell their customers that they’re looking forward to reading their comments and thank them in advance for offering to write a review.

7. If their customer does not write a review within 3 days of their request, they send a reminder (some systems, like ours, will do this automatically). This alone will DOUBLE the number of reviews written.

8. And here’s bonus tip #8 that leads to more referrals…They always respond to their customers’ reviews and thank them for making the effort to write it.

Here are three typical examples quoted by Five Star Review System as to how the business-owner-initiated review process actually plays out:

Business Owner #1

Does not verbally ask a customer to write a review, but rather sends them an email request.

They think they’re going to get an easy review but they’re actually sending their customer spam … an unrequested email. They’re doing more harm than good.

This is typical of how most business owners attempt to get reviews and it never works.

Business Owner #2

Ask’s customers in person “Will you please write a review about our company based on your experience today?”

This is much more effective. It’s still not going to get a majority of the people you ask responding, but it’s much better than Business Owner #1.

Business Owner #3

Customer responds with “Yes.”

Thank you Bill, I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

There are five things to notice in this request:

1) The business owner is asking for a favor.

There’s a psychological principle known as the Ben Franklin Effect. It states that a person who’s done you a favor is more likely to do another favor for you than they would be if you’d done a favor for them.

When your customer understands what you’re asking is a favor that’s important to you, they’re more likely to reward you a second time with referrals as well as their review.

2) The business owner told the customer that it will only take a few minutes. The simpler the task, the more likely the task will be completed.

3) The business owner told the customer how he/she wins from their review by saying “People looking for our service will be able to make a more informed decision.” The implication, of course, being the business owner will generate more business based on their review.

4) The business owner makes sure the customer responds with “Yes, I will write a review for you.” This puts the Ben Franklin Effect into effect.

5) The business owner informs their customer that they’ll be looking for and, anticipating reading, their review. When a customer knows you’ll be looking for their review, they’re even more likely to write it for you.

The biggest referral-getters not only know how to ask for reviews (like Business Owner #3), but they do two other things their competitors don’t do.

2) They ask for referrals and make it easy for their customers to refer them to their family and friends by sending them digital coupons or flyers or other things that are easily shareable.

When clients (or any local business owner you speak to) starts getting a bunch of reviews, what is it they’re most excited about (ie. more leads, higher rankings)?

Certainly a lot of them are excited getting more clients and having customers tell them they’re calling because they read all the positive online reviews the business has.

There’s something about the satisfaction of making things right that really gets people excited.

{End of excerpt}

Don’t be tempted to incentivize your customers to leave reviews as this can be construed as a “bribe”. Here’s what Matt McGee from Google has to say:

P.S. Get your free copy of https://tripleyourclicks.com/when-it-comes-to-email-leads-dont-take-five/ You need to read this eye-opening article before you respond to your next email lead. They have a crazy-short shelf life.

Question: Would your customers respond better using this method rather than your typical approach? What else works well for you? Share your comments now

This article is written by Michael Haines, the founder of AC Direct, the oldest and most visited HVAC e-commerce site in the country. Michael has generated over $40,000,000 in HVAC revenue using web based marketing from this and other sites, including local service and installation sites.

His websites have generated over 17,000,000 visitors and were featured in the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America, 2 years in a row.

Please contact us directly at:

407-459-8804 or email info@TripleYourClicks.com

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