A Large Quantity of Positive Reviews Builds Trust with Prospects
According to a BrightLocal study, 87% of customers look at reviews when selecting a local service provider. The same is true for your residential house cleaning business.
The most important place to have good reviews is Your Google Business Profile. Google makes use of reviews as part of their overall ranking factors for local businesses in the local map results. – ” More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s local ranking“. Other online review platforms also consider the number of reviews and your star ratings for positioning your business listing on their website.
Do I have the ability to remove my Google Business Listing – Or Listings on other Sites?
No.
Online review websites are allowed to display your business information and collect reviews for your business. Requesting that they take your house cleaning company off of their website won’t work. These review companies can be hard to work with and some of them even require that you pay extra to have full access to edit your business listing on their site.
The review websites can definitely be difficult to work with – but you can’t fight the system.
Instead, embrace reviews and use positive reviews as a way to market your housecleaning business.
Do amazing work for residential homeowners, and be sure to ask for a review from each of your new customers. Collecting a ton of positive reviews will help your business to stand out on Google and all the other review websites.
Getting Reviews from House Cleaning Customers
It is imperative to gather as many reviews from customers as you can. It must be done in line with the rules and conditions of the review platform. For certain review services, like Google, You can ask for reviews.
Yelp is different. According to Yelp’s terms of service, you can’t ask customers to review your business on Yelp.
The majority of websites allow you to request reviews from your customers. There are numerous ways to request a customer to review your business. Below are some of the most popular ways to get those cleaning service reviews.
Text a Review Link
Texting a review link to your housecleaning customers is the most reliable way to get them to give you a review
Perhaps the most effective method for your customers to give you a positive review is to send them a text message that includes a link to your business review page on an online review website. It’s easy for them, and fast for you. Before you send them a message, first confirm with your customer that they’re ok with receiving your review text.
The time to ask for the review is when you’re wrapping up your cleaning services at the customer’s residence. This will increase the chances that the customer will give you a review as your services are still fresh in their minds.
The most reliable place to get reviews – Google – has a step-by-step process to help you get reviews for your Google Business Profile. From your Google Business Profile, you should be able to click on the “Share Review Form” box to get a link you can give to your customers to get more reviews.
Email a Review Link
The second option is likely to send the customer a link to review you via email as part of your housecleaning feedback process. It’s likely to get fewer responses than an SMS message. You might get your email blocked by the spam filter or they could be too busy to look over it when you send it.
Use a Review Service
There are a variety of online review services that will make the review collection process easier for your company. Two of these services that make the review process easier are shown below.
GatherUp
GatherUp provides review collection and review monitoring services starting at $99/month and can be used for up to 3,500 of your customers. For collecting reviews, this includes both email (3,000/mo) as well as text (300/mo).
There’s an online review widget that you can install on your cleaning website. GatherUp provides great reporting options as well as online review monitoring.
GatherUp has a free 14-day trial offer.
Grade.US
Grade.US starts at $110 per month and was built with marketing agencies in mind. However, you can also sign your housecleaning business to use the service and manage it by yourself. There are texting options available – 200 per month for an additional charge. Additionally, it comes with a review carousel you can install on your website.
Grade.US also has a 14-day free trial.
Fake Reviews
Getting real reviews won’t be an issue if you’ve developed an established review collection procedure using the methods described in the previous paragraphs. You won’t have the urge to use fake reviews to build up your review totals.
Do not ask anyone to leave a fake review about your home cleaning services. Don’t encourage anyone who hasn’t actually been one of your customers to leave a review on Google or on any other website.
The FTC is coming down hard on fraudulent reviews as they are considered to be (and are) deceitful business practices. Do not allow family members or friends to leave reviews for your business.
The practices aren’t limited strictly to reviews – false endorsements in any way aren’t allowed. This includes something which may appear fairly benign – like getting people to hitting the “like” button on your Facebook Business Page. You need to make sure that all your reviews/endorsements/chatter about your house cleaning business are honest opinions from your actual customers.
Incentivizing Reviews
Another method that is prohibited by the FTC is to compensate people for their reviews. This could land you in grave trouble with both the FTC as well as the review platform. Review websites are looking to ensure that all the information and reviews on their website are as accurate (and as real) as possible. If people don’t trust the reviews, they’ll stop using that particular review website.
Offering gift cards, prizes, or chances to win a contest as part of writing an online review isn’t allowed. These strategies aren’t necessary anyway when you provide a top-quality service.
Online Review Monitoring
It is important that you’re responding to reviews as often as you can – every week at a minimum for the majority of businesses. A majority of the review sites mentioned earlier in this article offer review monitoring – which allows you to determine when you’ve received reviews on various review sites. You’re going to have to consistently monitor and respond to customer reviews for your house clenaing services
Responding to Reviews of Your Home Cleaning Services
You must respond to reviews written for you on review websites. This shows that you are actively engaged and appreciate feedback from your customers. It displays a level responsiveness that many of your competitors likely won’t have and it can make you stand out.
Reacting to Positive Reviews
It’s easy to respond to positive reviews for your business. Let them know it was a pleasure to be working with you and also thank them for their work.
The business owner or technician does not have to be the one to respond to the reviews. You can instruct your team members on how to properly submit a reply.
Negative reviews should be addressed
Even whether you’re the best business owner, and offer the highest quality house cleaning service available and negative reviews are sure to come up. People will try to take advantage of your company to take revenge on you because they’re suffering from personal issues.
A negative review doesn’t necessarily mean that your cleaning business is doomed. If you manage it properly, it won’t be the end of the world. Some negative reviews can be an unfortunate part of being an owner of a business. If a business only has positive reviews, it could look fake to potential customers.
Search Engine Land reports that 90% of users won’t accept negative reviews. However, if a business owner responds to the issue and addresses it properly, most people will not believe. The majority of people update negative reviews to make them more positive if the business owner is able to respond to the reviews.
Marketing Opportunity targeted at Prospects
It may sound counterintuitive, however, when you reply to a negative review regarding your cleaning services, your response is more for your future customers than it is for your client who left the negative review. Some customers are a lost cause and are never satisfied, so the response you give to their review needs to be written with future customers in mind.
If a person is unprofessional and rants during their post, it’s likely that other customers will observe and realize that the problem might be with the angry customer, not with you. Being emotional and reacting to an angry customer in a kneejerk and hot-tempered fashion will cause you to look unprofessional.
Be measured, rational, and thought-through in your response. If you are able, attempt to resolve the situation. Show compassion. Avoid arguments.
If You Made a Mistake (Everyone Does Sometimes)
Accept it. Make apologies for any mishaps and show remorse. Fix the issue with the business or homeowner owner if you can.
It is important to address any service or communication issues that were legitimate so that you don’t face similar situations in the future. You can actually use negative reviews to learn how to improve your overall home cleaning services and processes.
If Your Work Was Perfect but the Customer Was Difficult
It is possible that you have received a negative review in spite of providing excellent service. These are the most difficult to handle. It isn’t a good idea to get into an argument with your customer.
Thank them for their feedback Please be understanding of their issue and try to contact them directly . Attempt to reach an amicable solution.
Negative Reviews From People Who Weren’t Even Your Customers
Online, fake reviews are extremely common. HospitalityTech.com’s summary of an Uberall study showed that Google has the highest estimated percentage of inauthentic reviews (10.7%) followed closely by Yelp (7.1%).
As a result it is inevitable that you’ll get a bad review from a “customer” who you are sure you have never dealt with. In many cases, unethical competitors hire an agency to leave your business negative reviews.
You’ll need to take several steps when you’re sure that you are confronting fake negative feedback.
1. Contact the Review Platform
Inform them that the person who wrote the review wasn’t an actual customer of your business
Review services aren’t responsive and are likely to not act upon your protest. I recommend you to:
2 Respond to the Review
If the review platform permits responses from the business’s owner Make it clear that this person (who left the review) wasn’t a real customer of your business. Keep in mind that your company is dedicated to providing the highest quality service possible and that they did not comprehend what they were talking to. You may wish to mention that in the unlikely event where a customer is initially not satisfied with your services, that you take every step to fix the issue.
Top Reviews and Platforms for House Cleaning Companies
It is important to keep in mind the reviews that you get for your house cleaning business on the various review platforms available online.
You can search for reviews online for your business by typing in the name of your house cleaning company, and then the term “reviews”. Below is a screenshot of me looking for “Maidpro Littleton Reviews”. MaidPro is a national franchisor for house cleaning services that has multiple franchisees in Colorado. This search shows that the local franchisee has business listing and reviews on multiple websites – which are highlighted below.
Google Reviews
(A) in the screenshot above. This is probably the most important listing of all and will be visible when prospective customers are searching for your company. Monitor and respond to Google reviews as soon as possible. Most of your customers are going to take a look at these reviews as part of their evaluation of your company. You’ll want to make sure that you’re monitoring and responding to reviews that you receive through Google.
Yelp Reviews
(B) in the screenshot above. After Google, Yelp reviews are the most common review website to appear in the search results. Here, you can see that Yelp reviews are at the top of the search engine results page with a star rating at the bottom of the listing. While not as heavily trafficked as Google, you’re going to want to also monitor and respond to Yelp reviews as many of your prospects will use Yelp to research your company.
Angi.com
(C) in the screenshot above. Angi.com recently acquired HomeAdvisor.com and you may see your housecleaning company listing on either (or both websites). You may see your business listing and reviews on Angi. You’d be wise to monitor all these reviews.
BBB
Not shown in the screenshot above, but still a very important listing. You’ll want to monitor your reviews with the BBB. While most people see Google reviews for your business first, the same BrightLocal study cited at the beginning of this post mentions that people actually trust the BBB reviews about your business more than Google reviews.
Other Sites
Other review sites you might find when searching for your company could include:
- porch.com
- houzz.com
- thumbtack.com
- manta.com
- houzz.com
Note, where your house cleaning company may appear isn’t limited to this list. Search for your company + reviews to see where you’re listed. For each of the sites on the first page or two of search results, claim your listing and monitor / respond to all reviews.
Local Services Ads Review
It is important to note that if your house cleaning business makes use of Local Services Ads, Google will automatically provide you with review collection from your customers who found you through Local Services Ads.
When these customers submit reviews, they will be part of the Local Services Ads reviews which are separate from your main Google Business Profile Reviews. This means you’ll still want to collect reviews for your Google Business Profile in addition to those Local Services Ads reviews.
Online review management
Your house cleaning company will be listed on various review websites. You’ll have limited control of these listings. You also won’t be able to take your business listing off these sites.
These review websites should be considered a marketing asset for your company. Create a business profile on all of the major review websites. Reviews, no matter how positive or negative, are expected to be replied to.
Never get in an argument with any customer online. Take problems offline (phone / in-person) if possible to try to remedy any problems.
If your customer writes an unfavorable review, regardless of whether it’s your fault or not, try your best to rectify the issue. Potential customers will be able to read the reviews you leave and judge your professionalism and get insight into what it would be like to work with your company. They will also be able to assess the manner in which you respond to difficult situations. Although negative reviews can happen it’s a common aspect of running a business. However, responding to all reviews calmly and professionally will help your business stand out in the eyes of your prospects.
