Mikey P
Administrator
Have you heard the buzz about social media and how it can be used to market carpet cleaning services?
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — to name only a few — have helped to promote many types of businesses.
But, as of yet, the carpet cleaning industry is still looking for a way to profit from them.
One part of social media, however, has already dramatically changed our industry since it sprung up within the last decade. Social review sites such as Yelp and Angie’s List have revolutionized how consumers look for new service companies.
Yelp has the numbers
As a business owner, you cannot afford to ignore this growing social influence. According to Wikipedia, Yelp.com had more than 100 million unique visitors monthly as of January 2013.
Yelp is a free online review site that allows consumers to critique businesses and make their opinions available for the world to see. Consumers have found this to be an empowering opportunity to both promote the companies they like and to trash those with which they have had a bad experience.
Many business owners have expressed disgust with Yelp because of negative reviews that have been posted about their company. Until now, disgruntled customers have had few opportunities to effectively communicate their opinions to the general public. Yelp and the other social review sites have changed all of that.
Companies must now deal with these issues. Unhappy customers can no longer be swept under the carpet, so to speak. Getting upset with Yelp or attempting to ignore this social feedback is not the answer.
Smart marketing requires you to become familiar with social sites like Yelp. These sites can be used to your grow your business. There are more advantages than disadvantages for your company if you use these sites well. Consumers using Yelp are familiar with how the system works.
Are you?
Free opportunities
The first thing to know about Yelp is that it is a free directory. Many consumers find it easier to use Yelp to find service companies rather than search engines such as Google.
Yelp lists the companies that service the area where the consumer is looking. There is a good chance your company is already listed in their directory; if not, be sure to register your company with them.
The more quality information you provide to Yelp, the better your chance of consumers selecting your company. Yelp provides an online form to make it easy to supply your company profile. Be sure this description is well-written and free of grammatical errors.
You are also encouraged to add photographs to your profile. It is a good idea to include your company logo as the first image. Be aware that Yelp uses a square format so if you provide a rectangular-shaped photo, the edges will get cropped off. Include photos of you or your techs actually performing your service.
The photos you choose will influence which consumers will respond to your company. If you want high-end customers, display pictures of you working in nice homes. If you want customers with filthy homes, show pictures of you salvaging grossly abused carpet.
The power of reviews
Yelp is a consumer review site. It makes sense that the more reviews you receive, the better off you will be. Make it a habit to encourage customers to post their thoughts on Yelp and other social review sites. Take the time to thank customers who have made positive comments.
Occasionally, Yelp will filter some of your reviews. Two common reasons a review may be filtered are:
1. If consumers posts only one review
2. They provide only a minimal amount of information about themselves.
Both of these cases can suggest that someone is attempting to manipulate the system.
Yelp and SEO
Yelp can help the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website.
If you include your website address when registering your company, it will be included as a link on their website. Search engines view this favorably and tend to rate your site higher.
Your Yelp profile page can actually become an organic search result when consumers Google for a carpet cleaner. This becomes another good opportunity for customers to find your website.
Oh, no… a bad review?
Even the best companies can get a bad review. It is a good practice to keep an eye on the social review sites to know if there are any negative reviews posted about your company.
Yelp allows you to respond privately to customers who post comments about your company. If you resolve a problem for the customer, they may consider modifying their review.
Take great care if you choose to respond publically to any negative comments. A poorly handled response from you could cause more damage than the original negative review.
Getting more positive reviews is the best way to make up for an unfavorable post. Consumers using review sites are looking for trends more than judging a company based on one negative review.
If you are getting a lot of negative reviews, you may have a real problem that needs your attention.
In this article, I have only mentioned the free Yelp offerings available to business owners. There are paid advertising options also available. If you choose to consider any of those, be sure to investigate carefully and read and understand all of the fine print in the contract.
Review sites such as Yelp are going to continue growing in their influence over consumers’ shopping choices. You can use them to your advantage or ignore them to your peril.
Dealing with customers’ opinions will now need to be considered to be a part of your marketing strategy.
Steve Marsh is the creator of the Be Competition Free Marketing Program. He is a 30-year veteran of the carpet cleaning industry, an IICRC-approved instructor and a Senior Carpet Inspector. Marsh is a marketing and business consultant who provides a turn-key program for attracting better customers. For more information, log on to www.BeCompetitionFree.com.
This left my hard earned online kudos left by clients on yelp hiding in the backwaters of the Yelp universe. Yes I have only 8 filtered reviews, but that client happiness capitol would have been much better spent elsewhere.
