How To Get Reviews For Your Towing Business
When I was in the towing business, I disabled reviews on my Google Business Listing page. Here’s Why.
I did it because I heard all the horror stories from other business owners who were attempting to dispute negative, untrue, comments and then learning that those reviews cannot be removed. Unfortunately, whatever anyone puts out there about your business is considered Gospel by Google. It almost takes an act of Congress to get that stuff removed.
Who needs that trouble?
But later I learned that not having reviews did me more harm than good.
Not having reviews told potential customers that choosing my business might be risky. And regardless of whether my competitors had a 5-star rating or a 3.5-star rating if they had any reviews at all, while I did not, then they got the call, not me.
And Google Loves Reviews
The other BIG DEAL about reviews is that Google Loves Reviews.
Google uses three primary criteria to determine what towing companies show up when a search is performed.
- One is, the location of the person performing the search in relation to the location of the businesses that match the search.
- Another is, the keywords or search queries entered.
- And the last one is your business’s reputation online.
That last one, Reputation, is the one we’re trying to affect with online reviews.
One factor that Google uses to determine a business’s reputation online is the quantity and quality of your online reviews.
A Large Number of Quality Reviews Helps To Improve Your Business’s Visibility Online
That’s right, having a large number of quality 5-star reviews helps to improve your visibility online.
Google wants to present the best of the best because they want people to continue using their search engine. More people using Google’s search engine makes Google more advertising dollars.
Plain & Simple, the reason they do it is that they get More $$$ Money
If You’re Business Isn’t Found On The First Page Of Google, You Might As Well Not Be Online At All
Customers Love Reviews
Now it’s not just me saying this. In a 2015 Brightlocal Consumer Survey, when asked, 92% of consumers said that they use online reviews when making buying decisions. And a Chitika survey found that 62% of all searches resulted in consumers choosing one of the top 3 results.
Being on THE MAP is a big deal for your business.
And here’s some more good news about reviews
Good Reviews Push Bad Reviews Down
The more good reviews you have, the higher your aggregate, which means you’re overall star rating is higher. Then the bad reviews don’t mean as much.
Ok hopefully, for your sake, you are now a believer that reviews are good for your business. The next step is finding a streamlined and inexpensive way of gathering them.
The Review Tool of Choice
Before we get started discussing the easiest and least expensive way of gathering large numbers of reviews for your business, you should see how your business is doing now. Use our free Review Scan tool to generate an instant reputation report and see how your business appears on local review sites across the web, and then come back to this post. But, if you’re ready to get started gathering tons of reviews for your business right now, click this link to learn how.
Asking for Reviews is Simple
Here’s one way; “If you think I’ve done a good job would you please leave a review?”
But Getting The Customer to Follow Through…?
That’s a bit more difficult.
The three biggest reasons customers don’t leave reviews are…
- No time
- Difficulty in leaving a review
- They forgot
We Stop Excuses in Their Tracks
We address all three issues by making the process simple.
Here’s how to get reviews for your towing businesses
Before the job is 100% complete, while you’re sitting in the truck next to the customer or before you begin to write out the receipt…This is the time to strike… Ask for a review.
If the customer agrees to provide you with a review, all you do is pick up your smartphone and tap what looks like an App on your home screen, like the picture below. It’s really a bookmark for your review website.
It works on any Smart Phone, Tablet or Ipad
Once you tap that bookmark you’ll then land on your business’s review site. It will look something like this next picture.
All you do from there is send the link directly to the customer’s smartphone. It’s just like sending photos to friends. Click the box with the arrow coming out of it and you’ll then see a screen like the image below.
Tap the message box to open the next screen where you simply enter their phone number…Like Below.
Hit the blue send button and your customer will be able to open to your review site and leave a review. What they will see is a, customized for your business, image similar to the one below. Here they simply choose to give you from one to 5 stars.
From there they have the ability to choose where they want to leave your review, from the options provided. You, the business owner, have complete control over the options provided.
We suggest that you provide at least two options.
This ease of use is what’s made all the difference for the towing companies using it now. One towing company went from 8 Google Reviews to over 70 in a little over 3 months, maintaining a 5 Star Rating. That company now has over 200 reviews across the web, and they’re consistently in the top three on Google’s map.
But What If A Customer Is Unhappy and Leaves A Bad Review
If for some reason, a customer is unhappy with the services provided and chooses to give you a 1 or 2-star rating, we give you the opportunity to address the problem BEFORE it becomes a negative review.
When an unhappy customer chooses 1, 2, or even three stars (you have control) instead of being directed to a review site, where they can leave potentially harmful and misleading information about their experience with your company, they see a comment form like the one below.
They fill out the required information and hit send, and the complaint is then emailed directly to you or someone you designate.
Presenting this comment form helps to achieve three things. First, it allows an angry or frustrated customer the opportunity to vent, decreasing the chances that they’ll also revert to social media and other venues to express their frustrations with your business. Secondly, it allows you to avoid a potentially harmful review. And lastly, it affords you the opportunity to get in front of the problem. You have the ability to talk to the customer to learn what went wrong and how you can possibly remedy the problem. Rather than learning how to respond to online reviews and spending your time trying to get the review removed, our tool allows you to get in front of the problem and prevent the review from being posted in the first place.
If you are interested in using our Review Tool for your business, or if you just want to learn about the other benefits and features it holds, call 314-328-9869 and mention that you are interested in the Review Tool.
Or, simply click the “Ask Us How” button in the box below and leave your information, and someone will get back to you within 24 hours.
To get started, there’s a one-time set-up fee of $149.00, to customize the Review Tool to your particular business’s needs. After that, it’s only $49 per month, which includes training and support for the life of your subscription. The best part is, we don’t ask you to sign any contracts. You can cancel at any time.
This is a fantastic article.
I am helping a friend with a towing website and these ideas are fabulous. Thank you for sharing
You are exactly right, Don. The simple answer to the no review problem boils down to “If you think you thing I’ve done a good job, please leave a review.” We have to start asking for things, or we shall never receive. Everything is reciprocal.
The way that I like to train guys on using our review tool is to ask for a review before the job is 100% complete.
While sitting next to the customer in the truck, or during the process of writing up an invoice, just ask: “If you think I’ve done a good job for you today would you please leave me a positive review?”
100% of people you ask will give a verbal commitment to leave a review, but if you depend upon them to go straight-away to Google and search you out, 95% will not do it.
To increase your chances of getting a review you must be proactive. After they verbally commit, pull out your phone and text them the link to your review page. Doing it this way has allowed many of the companies using our system to get more than 40 positive reviews per month.
This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic. The article is nice and it’s pleasant to read. I have known very important things over here.
Hi Don,
great info! I have been going back and forth on getting reviews and I know if you ask customers to do them later they never will. This is a quick way to ensure I get em quick and build my reputation honestly. Thanks again!
You are welcome, if you’d like access to our review tool let me know.
Great Post! This is a fantastic article. I am helping a friend with a towing website and these ideas are fabulous. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for explaining how customers use reviews to make decisions. My brother wants to find a towing company to hire. I’ll let him know he should look for reviews from past customers.
I loved that you mentioned that there are apps for leaving reviews for towing companies. I just moved to a new area, so I’m looking to find a towing company that has lots of reviews. I’ll definitely look online and find a company that has a positive reputation.
As a towing business owner, I found this article extremely helpful in understanding the importance of reviews for my business and how to get them. The article provides practical tips on how to encourage customers to leave reviews, such as asking for reviews after a successful tow or providing incentives for leaving a review. It also highlights the importance of responding to all reviews, even negative ones, to show customers that their feedback is valued and to address any issues that may have arisen. Overall, this article is a great resource for any towing business owner looking to improve their online reputation and attract more customers through positive reviews.
As a towing company owner, reviews have always been one of the hardest things to come by. Providing excellent service is not enough these days and reviews are hard to come by. I’ll be implementing these tips into my company, thanks!
I loved that you mentioned that a good towing company will ask customers to leave reviews. I’d like to hire a towing company this week to get an old car removed from my property. I’d like to find a local towing company with a lot of reviews.
I was thrilled to hear that there are applications available for reviewing towing firms. I am trying to find a towing firm with many ratings because I recently moved to a new location. Undoubtedly, I’ll search online for a business with a good reputation.
You brought up a nice point: a reputable towing business will solicit recommendations from its clients. This week, I would want to engage a towing business to remove an old automobile from my property. I want to locate a nearby towing business that has a lot of positive ratings.