Gaining Leads through Angie’s List

by | Marketing

Angie's List-lead generation-reviews

 

Gain Leads Through Angie’s List Referrals from Green Industry Clients

Gaining referrals via word of mouth from happy clients is an excellent way to get new business. Angie’s List has turned reviews into a national business and funneled them to their customers. They provide a rating system that brings the ‘cream of the crop to the top’ and helps their customers find the best fit for their needs. In turn, it helps the contractor get the word out about services offered. Angie’s List gives the contractor’s current clients an opportunity to do the selling through reviews.

 

Contractor Pages

Angie’s List is a free service that consumers can sign up for to look at local reviews and scout out contractors that meet their needs. Any contractor can sign up for a free business account and solicit reviews from their clients. Each contractor has their business page to enter all the contact information.  Provided is a section to enter photos of work previously done to show off to potential clients looking for similar services. Each business page gives general information such as payment options, senior discounts, and whether they offer warranties. The contractor can also list service areas. Signing up is free and easy.

Reviews from Consumers

A report card scale of A to F is given for clients to give reviews. The grade details include price, quality of service, responsiveness, punctuality, and professionalism. On each review, the contractor has an opportunity to respond to the review. This review process gives consumers an opportunity to see ‘real life stories’ and hear the scenarios good or bad that surrounded their event with the contractor.

Pros and Cons of Reviews

Pros:

Most of us want to listen to what others experiences have been before we spend on a big home project. Reading reviews helps make the right choice. For the contractor, the validation of your satisfied clients speaks volumes to other potential clientele. A company can also receive reviews in different areas of service. For instance, if lawn care and hardscaping are available,  reviews can be generated for both.

This will count in various categories on Angie’s List towards a Super Service Award. The Angie’s List keyword search that a customer enters will bring up your service, location and phone number.  As an Angie’s List contractor, you have the opportunity to run monthly ads in their print magazine and offer coupon incentives to potential Angie’s List clients. After a series of reviews that are positive, Angie’s List will award a Super Service Award to the contractor.  This award is free but comes with certain standards the recipient agrees to maintain. (Primarily in advertising with the logo.)lead generator-reviews-Angie's List

Cons:

To move up the list and be at the ‘head of the class,’ you will have to pay for that favoritism. It’s not all about the reviews. There is an algorithm such as a keyword search but to be an advertiser, Angie’s List goes through a vigorous background check for the advantage of their clients. After the process, you will be an ‘Angie’s List Certified’ business. The price fee depends on how many categories and keywords you want to buy and maintain. All in all, if you give great service and have quality products, you will attain good reviews and clients will ring your phone off the hook. (Pro!)

Unfavorable Reviews and What To Do

If the company receives an unfavorable review, you have an opportunity to respond just as you would a satisfied client. The recommendation is to state the facts of the case clearly but be unemotional about the scenario. Being professional online is paramount to demonstrate to others how you handle stressful situations. It is also recommended to pick up the phone and try to resolve the conflict or meet in person. Sometimes a resolution can be attained with conversation. If that isn’t the case, you might get stuck with a bad review. In many ways, depending on what the conflict or objection is, it’s not that negative to your overall rating scale. It shows the reviews are authentic and honest.  Most people can tolerate a couple of bad reviews if the majority of them are positives.  After a set number of years, the older reviews rotate off the rating scale.

Experience with Angie’s List

Personal experience has taught me a lot working with a client using Angie’s List. I opened his Angie’s List business page and started uploading the job descriptions and photos of every category he offered. Next, I solicit reviews and point them to Angie’s List with a link in an email.  As of now, my client receives over 100 A+ reviews (yes, there were a few disgruntled customers, but I took the opportunity to give explanations to inform other potential customers). His business has increased 75% in four years by providing exceptional customer experiences and using Angie’s List as a springboard for his business leads.

If you are considering using Angie’s List, click here and start your business page. If you need help and more information about this and other administrative duties, contact me. I assure you, I have a proven method to solicit the reviews that will get you leads.