As you already know, online review sites like Yelp and Angie’s List have become an unavoidable part of every general contractor’s business. These websites can be helpful marketing tools, but they also have their downsides — all it takes is for one disgruntled customer to damage your hard-earned reputation!
But how much do bad Yelp reviews really impact businesses in your industry, and what motivates customers to leave bad reviews? To find out, we analyzed hundreds of bad Yelp reviews for general contractors across the U.S. Here’s what we discovered.
Keep reading to explore the infographic, or click here to access the free whitepaper for in-depth, actionable tips on what you can do to use online review sites to your advantage.
General contractors have more customer service complaints than any other industry surveyed.
Customer service complaints account for 1 in 4 negative online reviews for general contractors. In fact, 68% of customer service and communication problems resulted in a lost sale, making it the #1 cause of lost business – a massive loss in revenue!
The cause? A large portion of general contractors are solopreneurs trying to juggle a million things at once. Unfortunately, many are stretched too thin to provide the same level of customer service as companies with customer support reps. Tools like automated customer service technology can help relieve some of the pressure.
78.5% of scheduling complaints resulted in lost business.
A whopping 29% of all negative online reviews for general contractors are caused by scheduling issues, with 78.5% resulting in lost business. Again, this is likely because many solopreneurs have less personnel resources, lack of scheduling technology, and an overall tighter schedule. Interestingly we found that many solopreneurs had received glowing reviews relating to quality of work, yet their overall Yelp rating had been dragged down due to negative reviews from lost customers who were upset because the contractor was too busy to follow up or communicate scheduling changes.
If you’re stretched thin, consider trying a scheduling app built for general contractors. Tools like these can be a great investment in keeping potential customers happy. (Click here to try Breezeworks free for 14 days!)
Only 14% of complaints relate to price.
A mere 14% of negative online reviews for general contractors related to price. On the flip side, 24% of complaints relate to quality of work. Make sure you’re not stretched too thin because you’re undercharging!
Average Yelp Rating: 4.3 Stars.
While Yelp star ratings were fairly consistent across all trades, general contractors fell square into the middle with 4.3 stars. By comparison, Electricians averaged 4.4 stars while HVAC and Plumbers averaged 4.1 stars.
What can you do to increase your star rating on Yelp?
There are a few simple change you can make to increase your star rating on Yelp, boost your visibility, and help prevent potential problems before they turn into negative online reviews. We’ve compiled actionable tips and additional insights in our free whitepaper, The Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews. Click here to access the complete (FREE!) guide!
Tip: Guide will be sent via email. If you don’t receive it within a few minutes, be sure to check your spam folder!
