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Experiment with lead generators
60 % of Homeowners are nervous with tradesmen that they had not previously met according to a poll by Bradstone Assured . Slightly under 50 % worry that they will be ripped off . For these reasons 70 % mentioned online reviews as important in deciding who to go with . Even more , 90 %, said that they had looked at online reviews prior to making any decisions .
Therefore online reviews and trust are so important . It ’ s something that a number of new services have tried to leverage . Arguably the most important are Rated People , Checkatrade ( now substantially owned by Homeserve plc ) and My Builder . All of these regularly advertise on TV trying to generate leads from people
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looking to get work done on their homes . All host customer reviews of their trade companies , doing their best to tick the trust box . They make their money by charging either a membership fee or a fee per lead .
The original idea of these services is that traditional wordof-mouth marketing would be replaced by online customer reviews . This hasn ’ t happened as word of mouth is still very much alive . However , each of the three are now substantial businesses and they certainly can ’ t be described as failures .
These services do have some significant advantages . The first , which applies to Rated People and My Builder is that installers can turn the lead tap on or off to try to match incoming business to
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‘ The biggest influence on getting recommendations is the excellence of the work done , the attitude and reliability of the installer and leaving behind the feeling that the price was fair
’ the capacity to do the job without undue waiting . The second benefit is that they have the potential to enable a business to grow much more rapidly than they would with word of mouth alone allows . As a result , they are most relevant to ambitious businesses .
This is all great in theory and some trade businesses have told me that they have been really helped by these services . However , critics say the reviews can ’ t be trusted and they particularly
attract prospects who only buy on price . The picture is mixed so a simplistic view is just that - simplistic .
My recommendation is that if you are ambitious and want to grow faster , it ’ s worth experimenting with these services without committing too much money . At the same time , a proper test may mean winning some business on price to get initial reviews which are vital to success on these platforms .
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Success for the long run
If you run a lifestyle business and like things as they are , generating more leads may not be of much interest . For others , it can give you more choices . I hope that these ideas and thoughts are helpful . I am aware however that words are cheap . It takes a lot of hard work to implement them . Good luck !
About the author
Benjamin Dyer is CEO and co-founder of Powered Now . Powered Now ’ s mobile app aims to make it easier for all sorts of installers and other trades to run their businesses .
www . powerednow . com
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