Online reviews may just be your most valuable marketing asset. In fact, they can make up for lots of shortcomings from the rest of your sales and marketing. How so? Online reviews are proven to help you:

• Rank higher in Google searches
• Convince consumers to work with you instead of competitors
• Build trust with your market
• And increase your average customer value

Each of those is great, and combined, they help you create a powerful revenue engine. The best part? It’s easy to bring in a steady flow of online reviews, and to use those reviews throughout your marketing materials, so you can win over new customers.

Where Should You Get Reviews?

For most HVACR businesses, the best place to get online reviews is on Google. That’s what will most impact your search rankings and whether you beat competitors. (Don’t have a Google listing yet, or don’t have one for each of your locations? Here’s how to create a Google Business page.)

If Google reviews are already flowing in for you, it’s worth also getting more reviews for your Facebook page, Bing Places listing, and other platforms you may be leveraging, like Angi. But if you’re new to gathering reviews, start with Google.

When and How Should You Ask for Reviews?

Asking for online reviews needs to become a consistent process, something that happens without you having to think about it. You’ll need to determine a few details to make sure the process works best for your unique business, but generally the following is what you should do.

Ask every customer you service for an online review. It doesn’t matter whether they’re a residential, commercial, or repeat customer. Ask.

Grab your Google review link by:

• Going to your Google Business profile
• Clicking on your reviews
• Clicking the blue “Get more reviews” button at the top
• Copying the shareable review link

Next, create templates for your review requests. This way, you don’t have to think about it every time you complete a service, and you can ensure all your reps say the same thing. You’ll want an email template, a text message template, and a script your reps can repeat over the phone or in person.

Another option that’s working well is to create a QR code that opens up your Google review link. Have it printed on business cards or small flyers, and hand them out to every customer you see in person. You may even offer a discount if they leave a review before you finish the service.

The best results come from asking customers for reviews through multiple channels, so ask them in person, then send them a follow-up email, and text them. You may want your own spin on it, but a simple message like this works fine:

“[Customer Name], thank you for your business! It was our pleasure to help. Will you please share your experience with us in a Google review? https://g.page/r/your-review-link We really appreciate it!”

How Should You Handle New Reviews?

You need to respond to every single review you get. This tells Google that your business is active and engaged, it shows reviewers that you actually care, and it shows potential customers who are considering working with you that you are in fact good to work with.

No matter how consistently great your business is, you’ll get some unflattering feedback. That’s okay—it’s even good. This shows Google and everyone else that you’re human, and that your reviews are legitimate. That works in your favor.

To respond to reviews effectively:

• Thank them for taking the time to leave a review, even if it’s negative
• Note any positives, that you’re glad for their good experience
• Gently correct any info that’s incorrect
• If applicable, offer an olive branch to make a bad situation right, like a discount or freebie

Once all of this becomes a standard process, it’s only a matter of time before you’re outranking competitors in search results and winning as much new business as you want to handle.

Don’t Forget to Use These Reviews Throughout Your Marketing

Reviews are a form of social proof that’s incredibly valuable. Before consumers commit to being customers, they want to know they’re going to have a good experience. Seeing others’ experiences gives them the confidence to move forward, so you want to share these reviews in your marketing wherever customers are vetting you. You might:

• Take screenshots of these reviews and post them to your social media profiles
• Use a tool like Canva or have a graphic designer turn them into stylized graphics, then share those in your email marketing, text message follow-ups to leads, social media marketing, and even your ads
• Include them on key pages of your website, like your home and contact pages

The Most Important Thing to Start

Before you can outrank your competitors and sway potential customers in your direction, you have to start asking for online reviews. Even if your process isn’t 100% figured out, be sure to start sooner rather than later. Future You will be glad you did.