When Freddy Ramos, owner of North Hollywood moving company, A & R Movers, first started his business over 10 years ago, he would ask every customer to write a review of his service on a piece of paper that he would save in his office. At the time, he didn’t realize that a strong online presence would become increasingly important for a small business. “I never had a difficult time getting customers to write reviews but I had thousands of little pieces of paper that I couldn’t transfer over to online reviews,” Freddy says.
Over time, Freddy began to understand the need to go digital and started working with companies that offered to design a website for A & R Movers. However, he couldn’t find an easy solution for acquiring online reviews from his customers. “With sites like Yellow Pages or Google+, the customer needs to create login information to leave a review. These days, people don’t have time for that,” he explains. The customers would agree but oftentimes forget or not follow through. It was especially frustrating for Freddy who always believed reviews to be the most important element of any company’s marketing. “Every review affects how the next customer sees your business.”
Freddy had already been using Yodle for a year when the online review feature was released that enables local businesses to easily collect reviews and syndicate them to their website and Facebook Business page. “Yodle is the reason we’ve gotten so many more reviews lately. It’s just such an easier process for my customers,” he says.
After adopting the tools into his account with the help of the Yodle customer service team, Freddy started to bring his smartphone and tablet to every moving job so he could pull up the review site directly. He found that not only were customers willing to write a review on the spot but it was also an opportunity to bond with them. Freddy shared that “asking for reviews has helped us communicate with the customer, joke around with them, and have a discussion about our service.”
Freddy also began responding to every review, whether positive or negative. “If a customer takes the time to write a review, I want to take the time to respond.” For a small business with a lot of competition in the area, Freddy believes that being honest in your review responses will help prospective customers see what kind of company you are. “Don’t let one or two negative reviews represent your company. Let your truthful and detailed responses represent you,” he says.
As for the future, Freddy thinks his company’s reputation is in good shape. “I’m a happy man. Yodle is the most professional company I’ve ever worked with.”