The Power of Using Reviews and Testimonials in Your Marketing Strategy

How many times have you read the reviews on Amazon before you made a purchase?

The reality is, we all do it. We love to see what others are saying about the exact products or services we’re interested in versus only believing what the brand wants us to know. It has definitely swayed me one way or the other before making a purchase in my personal experience.

According to this Forbes article, “If traditional advertising is a megaphone that enables businesses to shout and see who’s listening, review sites are tractor beams that pull consumers toward local business precisely when they’re actively looking to spend money.” That said, when marketing your pest control business, don’t underestimate the power of using reviews and testimonials. They should be an essential part of your marketing strategy because they’re economical and a great source to help generate new customers. If you’re still on the fence about how reviews and testimonials can help you gain new business, check out these recent statistics:

• 93% of consumers used the Internet to find a local business in the last year, with 34% searching every day.

• 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020 – up from 81% in 2019.

• 97% of consumers report that the customer reviews they read influence their purchasing decisions.

In addition to the statistics above, positive reviews can give your credibility a big boost and help you gain visibility on the Internet. Using sophisticated search engine algorithms, the more positive reviews you receive will show that your pest control business is legitimate and trustworthy, helping you build customer rapport. Happy customers are your best advocates, and they like to share their experiences. The more positive reviews and testimonials you can get, the more people will be interested, improving your search engine ranking. This means more traffic to your website.

What makes up a good testimonial or review? First, it should be honest. (I think we can all agree that making one up is unethical and makes it look like you’re not trustworthy.) Second, don’t be tempted to edit or revise what you receive from your customers. The more natural and conversational the tone, the more believable it is. Lastly, your customers should be specific and include what type of pest control service they received, what they liked about it, and why. Including their first and last name (with their permission) increases the authenticity. See the example below:

“Man, I’m so glad to get PestRoutes. It’s totally worth the $200 per month. There’s no way I could hire a person to do all this for me for only $200 per month.” - Eric Avelar, Owner/Operator, Eagle Pest Control

There’s no doubt that it can be a challenging process sometimes to get feedback from your clients. If you’re wondering how to even go about getting reviews and testimonials from your customers, here are a few ways:

1. Just ask. It’s perfectly acceptable to use social media to your advantage and ask your customers directly by creating a simple post on your Facebook page. The PestRoutes® platform makes it easy by including a Social Media preference that connects your social media pages for your customers to join and leave reviews.

2. Search through social media posts. Read what your customers are saying about you on your social media platforms. You can also search your pest control business online and see what comes up. Additionally, you can read through your blog comments or create a link directly on your website.  

3. Remind your technicians to ask for one. After a technician completes their service, have them ask the customer to submit a review. PestRoutes will let you customize your Customer Communications so that you can provide a “Let Us Know How We Did” review link at the bottom of your customer emails.

4. Email your customers. A great way to collect more reviews and testimonials is to gather up the ones you have and email them to your client list requesting more.     

No matter what option you choose, making sure you have a way for your customers to provide feedback shows that you’re engaged in your business.

Once you receive all these testimonials and reviews, you may be asking yourself, where do I post them? What next? Reviews and testimonials can be repurposed in various ways, such as blogs, social media, websites, landing pages, emails, and printed marketing material.

Website

Your website is the most obvious place to post reviews and testimonials. You can include them on your home page, contact page, or even the About the Company page. Also, think about the relevancy. For example, suppose you treat termites, and you have a testimonial from a customer about the excellent termite service you provided. In that case, you should include that on your website where you talk about your services. Lastly, you can create a whole page dedicated to reviews and testimonials.

Social Media

Probably the second most obvious place to post reviews and testimonials is on your Facebook or Twitter page. This is ideal because they can be easily shared. One thing to keep in mind is that when you share positive feedback, it means you’re successful at understanding your customers’ needs. Potential customers love seeing this because it means they know you’ll be able to help them in a similar way.

Blogs

In addition to adding them to your website, you can make the most out of your blogs by using testimonials that are relevant to the topic you’re writing about. For instance, referring back to the termite example above, if your blog is about termites, having a testimonial about your termite services’ positive impact is a great way to tie the two together.

Sales Decks

Are you making a sales pitch to a potential commercial client? Sharing customer success stories and including testimonials from your other commercial accounts is a valuable way to create automatic trust with your prospects.

Email Marketing

When you use testimonials in your email marketing campaigns, you’re letting your potential customers know that you’ve been able to help other people in the exact situation. Adding a quote or sharing an entire customer experience shows that purchasing your services is worth it.

In conclusion, reviews and testimonials are powerful and economical tools to include in your marketing strategy that will help you gain high conversion rates.