In a technological world, we have seen “word-of-mouth” get taken to an entirely new level with something that can make or break a business: customer reviews. The title of this blog post begs the question, “What’s in a review?” In other words, how much is a good review worth to your business? How much can a bad review hurt? How many reviews do you need to have? Should we be asking people point-blank to leave reviews for our businesses?
So many questions for something that seems so important.
As for Mission Painting, we can assure you: reviews matter because people matter. This is a saying we’ve coined and placed on some brochures. It’s in our DNA—painting deals directly with the happiness or frustration of the customer. Why wouldn’t we want to showcase how many people are satisfied with a quality paint job? (4.9/5 Stars + 97 Google Reviews to Date). Here are three reasons why reviews matter, why you need them, and how Mission Painting prides itself on quality customer satisfaction.
It’s the User’s First Step
If you think our reputation happened overnight, know that a high customer rating isn’t that easy. Soliciting positive reviews from close friends and family members will only get your business so far. Eventually, you need to offer an excellent product or service—so that others think to themselves, “I have to let others know about this!”
And it’s not just limited to Google. Mission Painting carries high praise on Houzz, Zaarly and Angie’s List—three premier websites homeowners rely on for quality service-based businesses in their community. But maybe one business stands above all when it comes to customer reviews: Amazon.
Now, Mission Painting is not on Amazon, but we bring it up because everyone who has bought something from Amazon (which is . . . everyone?) typically scrolls straight to the reviews before purchasing an item. The same logic stands for Google, Angie’s List, etc. Before anyone makes a serious buying decision, their first step will always be to see what other people are saying about it. Again, reviews matter because people matter.
For Better or Worse
“But if reviews matter, what about the bad ones?”
Great question. Nobody wants a bad review, because it can bring down an average and may not always be truthful. (Those ones hurt the most). However, the only thing you can control as a business owner is how you respond.
Bad reviews reveal the true character of any given business. When you respond, and the public can see how you respond, people will see what kind of core values and foundation is driving your business. Ultimately, we suggest you play it safe and try to point people to a more substantial form of conflict resolution.
I.e. “Thank you for letting us know, Meagan. We are so sorry this was your experience with [name of your business]. Please reach out to [your email] or call us at [business phone] so we can make this issue right.”
Although bad reviews might sting at first, how you respond might help your business in the long run more than a positive review—your business has a chance to get better, and you have an opportunity to turn someone from a skeptic into a believer. Utilizing these moments, in an effort to get better, is part of who we are. One of our core values is “Pursuing Excellence” which means we don’t remain complacent. Both now and years down the line, we will always take constructive feedback as a means to grow in our craft.
Highlight Their Review
Did you know reviews help your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) performance on Google? In short, the higher your business is, the higher you’ll sit at the top of the charts when it comes to your industry. Don’t have many reviews right now? That’s OK! You simply build your base of reviews and SEO ranking one kind word at a time . . .
“Mission Painting just completed the exterior painting of our house and we could not be happier with the job they did! Our house is only 5 years old but the quality of paint the builder used, plus the fact that we weren’t fond of the original color, prompted us to get an estimate for new paint. We went with Mission Painting and I’m so glad we did!” -Joni
We are grateful for individuals like Joni who take the time to give us a positive review. Reviews give us prime content to highlight in marketing materials or blog posts like this.
Now that you know the importance of leaving a review, who or what could you go leave a positive review for right now? Be honest and kind—the world needs more of that these days. And who knows, they might just return the favor.
Schedule An Estimate // Leave a Review
Before any reviews happen, we have some work to get done! And it all starts with an estimate. Curious about cost? We would love to schedule an estimate for your home today. In just a couple clicks, let’s get it on the calendar! At Mission Painting, we lead with relationship. To start a conversation is just the beginning to a lifelong reality: you now have a go-to painter on your side.
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