The power of “social proof” — the idea that people are more likely to trust a product or service if others have found value in it — cannot be underestimated. In fact, research shows that 98% of customers read online reviews for local businesses at some point, with 77% reading them regularly when searching for a business.
While not all reviews are positive, the sheer number of reviews a business has can make a significant impact. Businesses with more reviews than average generate 54% more revenue, even when not all the reviews are positive.
As a business owner, it can be tempting to only ask loyal, returning customers for reviews. However, that approach can actually harm your business. The best time to ask for a review is immediately after a job, when the customer is most likely to remember your service and be motivated to write a review. Automating review requests can help you take advantage of this window of opportunity. When review requests are automated, customers always receive them at the perfect time, increasing the chance that they’ll actually take the time to write a review.
By automating your review requests, you can also streamline the review process for your customers, making it easier for them to write reviews and helping them follow through. This can be done through apps like NiceJob, which integrates with Workiz, and allows you to automate review requests and recognize employees who receive reviews.
Benefits of automating review requests
- Review requests are always sent at the ideal time, when the customer is most likely to respond.
- It’s super easy for the customer to complete the review.
- You can recognize employees who receive reviews and motivate others to actively request them.
G.I. Junk Removal, a small business in Portland, Oregon, signed up for NiceJob and connected it to their Workiz account. They also utilized the Employee Leaderboard feature to recognize employees who received reviews and incentivize them to continue collecting reviews. As a result, the company received 141 reviews in two weeks across three locations — an average 473% gain. The company’s co-owner, Jennifer Calhoun, was thrilled with the impact, saying “Our crew has a friendly competition going on to see who can collect the most reviews. And leadership is able to quickly and easily identify areas where recognition or coaching is needed.”
