You’ve heard a hundred times how important it is to build up your company’s reviews on Google. But it can be hard to remember to ask customers on a regular basis.
Now you’ve got a big list of happy customers, but it feels awkward to call people back two years later and ask for a review.
Is that you? This simple script to get reviews from old customers was made just for you. A lot of remodelers are in the same boat!
Here’s how it works.
- You have an employee or a friend call the customer on your company’s behalf.
- You ask 3-5 questions about their experience working with you.
- If they had an excellent, ask them if they would have any objection to leaving you a five star Google review.
- If they had a subpar experience, listen, take notes, and take their feedback to heart. Don’t ask for a review. Instead, you can use their feedback as a valuable learning experience.
Not only will you collect some five star reviews, but you’ll get to see things through your customers point of view.
Note: this method feels most natural to have someone make the calls who didn’t directly interact with the customer. It might be awkward for both you and the customer to ask for feedback if you were the one working with them the whole time.
Pro tip: if you’re not regularly adding reviews to your Google listing, don’t get too many reviews too fast. Shoot for 1-3 each week. Otherwise, Google may get suspicious and hide the new reviews you’re getting.
That being said, here’s the script.
RING RING
Mrs. Jones: “Hello?”
You: “Hi Mrs. Jones, it’s Mike calling you from ABC Remodeling! How have you been?”
Mrs. Jones: “Oh hey Mike. I’ve been good. How about yourself?”
You: “I’ve been great, thanks! I just wanted to reach out to you because you used ABC remodeling to do your kitchen in 2022. I was wondering if I could get some feedback about your experience.”
Mrs. Jones: “Sure!”
You: “Thank you! First of all, throughout the process, how would you rate ABC Remodeling’s communication throughout the process on a scale from 1-10, with 1 being very poor and 10 being excellent?”
Mrs. Jones: “Oh, it was great, you guys explained everything very well and I felt like I was in the loop the whole time. So, haha, 10/10 for that!”
You: “Wow, thanks! I’m really glad to hear that. That’s definitely one of the things we strive for. How about quality, on a scale from 1 to 10?”
Mrs. Jones: “Yeah you guys did a really good job, we love our new kitchen. Which is good because I’m in the kitchen a lot these days!”
You: * listening - not rushing her to finish what she’s saying *
Mrs. Jones: “There was one minor thing, uhm, the new marble countertops got some minor burn marks on them. It’s my fault, I wasn’t thinking and I put a hot pan on it. I was used to the old granite and didn’t realize the marble would scorch.”
You: “Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that.”
Mrs. Jones: “No, it’s fine, it’s really very minor you can barely see it.”
You: “Well I appreciate you telling me that, maybe we can do a better job communicating the differences between marble and granite and how to maintain them. Thanks for sharing”
Mrs. Jones: “Yeah… Like I said. Very minor. I would still recommend ABC.”
You: “Thank you for that. Last item, how would you rate us on a scale of 1 to 10 for our pricing compared to value?”
Mrs. Jones: “You know, it was a little higher than I was expecting, but I really wasn't comfortable with some of the other companies we talked to. One guy came out and immediately asked what our budget was. But when John came out he asked a lot of questions and seemed to want to understand what we were looking for. Also he was very knowledgeable. We just felt more comfortable going with you guys. Haha, I guess that’s not a rating. Uhm… I’ll say… 8/10.”
You: “That’s really insightful. Thank you! Well Mrs. Jones, overall, do you feel like you would recommend ABC Remodeling?”
Mrs. Jones: “Oh definitely! Actually, I already have. My friend Susan might be giving you a call soon, she’s thinking about getting her bath done.”
You: “That’s great to hear! I hope we can earn her business. Well, thank you so much for all of your feedback! I’ll take note of what you said and use it to get better at what we do. By the way, we’d like to work with more customers like you, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to leave us a 5 star review on Google?”
Mrs. Jones: “Definitely! Yeah, sure, uhm, can you send me a link?”
You: “Yes, I can text you that as soon as we get off the phone if that would work?”
Mrs. Jones: “Yep!”
You: “Great! Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind sharing what you just shared with me, it would help us out a lot.”
Mrs. Jones: “Yeah, I can do that!”
You: “Wonderful. Well, thanks so much for your time and feedback Mrs. Jones. I’ll send that link over after we get off the phone. You have a wonderful evening!”
Mrs. Jones: “Thanks, you too!”
Listen carefully to these customers and if your gut tells you they wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving a 5 star review, don’t ask for one. Take what your old customer’s feedback to heart and, if there’s somewhere you need to make changes, own up to it. Being honest about where you can get better will not only help you grow as a business, but will improve your company’s reputation in the long run.
Please share this article with anyone you think would find it helpful. Thanks for reading!
