Your reputation is your most valuable business asset — but don’t think for a minute that doing high-quality work and providing top-notch service is enough to make and keep it spotless. The Internet has made it all too easy for people to publicly tarnish your good name — quickly.
Take the initiative, and manage your reputation proactively. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it.
In this episode, Victoria and Mark talk online reviews with Russell Fuller. Russell concentrates on the power of Google reviews, discusses how to get great ones, and what it all means to his business.
Russell owns Fuller Living Construction in Seattle, WA. He’s passionate about small business and marketing. Fuller Living Construction is Google’s highest-rated construction company in Seattle.
Russell starts laying the foundation for reviews during the Sales process, sends a mid-project survey to head off problems that may have cropped up, and systematically follows up after the job is finished to get consistent five-star Google reviews. He explains how he settled on Google, what it means to his business, and how he does it, including:
- Getting your message out
- How Yelp chooses to show reviews
- Strategies to make it automatic and easy for clients to leave reviews
- How to handle bad reviews online
- The ripple effect of good and bad reviews
- The power of a good lawyer
- Speaking honestly with clients — and listening
- Following up with past clients
- Being specific in your review requests
- The “review insurance account”
- Soliciting reviews from Trade Partners and team members
- Where reviews are going next
- And more …
Building and managing your online reputation is more important than ever. Planting the seeds early for great reviews and making the most of them will lay the foundation for a successful business for years to come.