Take it from Ryan Hart, franchise business coach and owner of Amada Northern Nevada. Online reviews fueled his book of business. He shared his simple methods in the 2019 October Best Practices Call. (To hear a recording of the call, click on https://amadaseniorcare.franconnect.net/fc/control/libraryUserHomeNew?submenu=xyz&folderNo=1585860027&parentFolderNo=243&display=no&folderDetail=true&documentType=G&folderType=0&cameFrom=copyFolderUrl&mailId=copyFolderUrl&mid=1).
Q. You have 105 Google reviews, almost 20 on Facebook and 12 of reviews pages on your website. Why are reviews important in the senior care space?
A. It makes the potential client’s decision easy, seeing that 105 people trust you enough to take care of their family member.
Q. How have reviews helped you grow your business?
A. We get four to five inquiry calls each day from people who are calling based on their online research. We don’t have to sell them. They are calling to set an appointment. Also, positive reviews help boost your SEO (search engine optimization), so the more your business has, your page gets placed higher up in online search results.
Q. What steps do you take to generate reviews?
A. Have anyone with positive things to say about your business post a review. If we’re on a quality check with a client and they are over the moon about a caregiver, we ask them to take 30 seconds to post a review. If they don’t have a Google account, we make them one. I ask my employees, my family, my friends, even my referral sources to post reviews for us. Most people are happy to do so if they like you.
Q. What are some tips and tricks for generating reviews from clients, caregivers and referral partners?
A. We usually do a quarterly email blast to our clients, employees, and referral sources asking for reviews. For our employees, we usually mix in a contest for that extra nudge; for example, employees who post will have their name go into a drawing for a $50 gift card.
We also put a Bitly link (that sends people to our Google page) and the message “see what our clients and employees have to say about us” on every email. Every time we receive a positive phone call from a client or family member, we encourage the person to give us a review. My entire staff is trained on how to do this without being too intrusive or pushy.
Q. What other ways are available to generate reviews?
A. The Better Business Bureau, the Home Care Standards Bureau, Yelp, etc., but all of them cost money. Google is free and it’s also the first site people go to. Start asking everyone you know to take 25 seconds to write a five-star review for you. Once you have five to 10 times more reviews than your competitors, your inquiry calls will start picking up fast.