As a landscape contractor, chances are you are well aware of the importance of word of mouth. Without massive marketing budgets, word of mouth is key to spreading knowledge of your business. In addition, people are more likely to trust recommendations from other people over marketing. As a result, one of the best things you can do is get a steady source of positive reviews online. Yelp is one of the best places to do so, and here are some key statistics why:
- Yelp is the 44th most visited website in the U.S.
- Every new star you get on Yelp can represent 9% increased revenue.
- 45% of customers check out a business on Yelp before using it.
- 35% of users will visit the website of a company they look at on Yelp within 24 hours.
Getting a strong Yelp presence can pay dividends for your local landscape business. So, with that in mind, here’s a full starter guide to Yelp marketing for a landscape business.
Improving Your Yelp Marketing For Landscape Business
So, where should you start when it comes to making the most of Yelp?
First, you need to realize where Yelp sits on the customer journey.
Most people who use Yelp are not focused on brand, but rather, the quality of service and impressions. Naturally, a set of strong reviews is the best way to support this. However, equally important is making sure your Yelp profile is as filled out as possible.
Claim your business and pay attention to Yelp’s activity.
Make sure you have important information like your website, operating hours, and address on your profile. It’s also a good idea, as a landscaper, to have some images of past jobs to showcase.
Tip: Update images regularly to showcase quality work and indicate an active. Healthy and thriving landscape business
These additions are called optimizing your Yelp profile, and they are every bit as important as getting a good set of reviews. Why so? It all goes back to the customer journey. Most customers are looking at your Yelp profile before they reach out to your business or visit your website. As a result, you want to have details like your web address/contact info front and center to make this transition easier.
Getting Reviews for Your Landscape Business on Yelp
Now, we can talk about getting more reviews. The best way to do this is to utilize your existing marketing channels to your advantage. If you already send out an email newsletter or have social media pages, make sure you mention your Yelp presence. In addition, if a customer tells you they had a great experience, encourage them to leave a review.
How To Handle A Bad Yelp Review
A good set of Yelp reviews is key to establishing a strong digital presence. But what happens when you see a negative review? The sooner you address it, the less impact it will have. However, you need to go about it the right way.
Here’s how to handle bad reviews
Don’t panic. Don’t get sucked in. The last thing you want to do is make an emotional response to a bad review. The vast majority of the time, this will only make things worse and create a poor impression for future visitors to your page. At the same time, though, you don’t want to ignore a negative review and just assume the issue will resolve itself.
Create a professional response: Ideally, you want to have a roadmap already prepared to create responses to bad reviews. However, if you don’t, just focus on keeping things short and professional. You can apologize, but a long-winded apology just reflects badly on your business. In addition, if you respond professionally and quickly, it shows you want to make things better with a customer.
Have an internal review and learn from the feedback: You may never win back that customer no matter what your response is. However, you want to make sure the issue never happens again. Figure out exactly what led to the dissatisfaction and come up with steps you can take to avoid the issue from happening again.
Building up your presence with Yelp marketing for landscape business is a smart launching pad for your local presence. However, you’re also going to need some additional support in order to draw in and retain those customers to see your positive presence on Yelp.
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