Ask for a review every time a job wraps up, not just the big ones. Each new review keeps your profile current for the next customer deciding whether to contact you, and that's true from your first job to your hundredth.
Customers can't watch you work before they hire you. What they can do is read what your past customers thought. That's why reviews are one of the fastest ways to earn a customer's trust before you've spoken to them, and often what helps them choose when a few options look similar.
Getting it right
- Ask as soon as the job wraps up. And while the experience is still fresh for your customer.
- Make it easy. A short, direct ask is simpler for a customer to say yes to than a vague one.
- Keep asking, every time. A profile with five reviews from last year looks different from one with five reviews from last month.
- Ask for honest feedback. Genuine reviews in your customers' own words are what other customers trust.
If you're just getting started
If your profile has few or no reviews yet, that's normal at the start. There are two ways to build them up:
- Import your existing reviews. If you already have reviews on Google, bring them into your profile so you're not starting from zero. This is the quickest route if you've been in business a while.
- Ask recent customers directly. Reach out to people you've recently worked with and ask them to leave a review. Happy customers are often glad to help, especially when you make it easy.
Why it builds over time
Customers trust other customers. Your description tells a customer what you say about yourself, and a review tells them what someone else experienced. With a business they haven't worked with before, customers tend to lean on the second.
Every review adds to your overall rating, which is one of the first things customers look at on your profile. The more consistently you collect them, the more complete and current your profile looks to the next customer who's deciding whether to get in touch.
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