(upbeat music)
-: Welcome to the Sharpest Tool Podcast,
where we take the sting out of marketing.
Here's your host, Josh Smith!
-: Hello everyone, welcome to the Scorpion Podcast,
this is Josh, and we are about to take the sting
out of marketing for you today, we got John Caprine,
one of our senior VIP marketing managers here at Scorpion.
And he's joining us in the booth, and I am really amped
about what we're about today, John, so welcome.
-: Well thank you very much I appreciate being here.
So why don't you tell everybody a little bit
about what you do day in and day out,
as a senior marketing manager at Scorpion.
-: Yeah, so here, day in, day out,
I work directly with our clients
in the home services industry, so our plumbers,
electricians, h-vac technicians,
and really, my entire goal
is to be coming along side them as a partner.
-: Yeah.
-: I love to dive into their overall business
to identify what I can pull out to ultimately
make their business successful in a marketing aspect.
Generating calls for them,
improving their web site
to truly tell their business story overall.
-: Yeah, what would you say is your favorite part about that?
Why did you get into the marketing space in general?
What drives you there?
-: It's so interesting to me,
because there's so many different moving parts of it.
Everything impacts one another,
and there's no black and white story, too,
how to truly market a company,
or truly market yourself.
So something that really drives me
is getting to know our clients,
getting to know what makes them unique,
what makes them stand out?
And how to tell their story and really communicate that
to their clients, in order to generate more business
and revenue for them.
-: Yeah, is there some trend that you've seen
in talking with all the clients that you deal with,
day in and day out, that is probably something
that they struggle with the most
when it comes to their marketing?
-: You know, yeah, I would definitely say
that one of the biggest struggles
is that it's hard for them to directly communicate
their message to their clients.
-: Oh, yeah.
-: And everyone says, "You know, well,
I truly believe I'm the best,
and I care so much about my clients,
but I feel like it's a price market."
Or, "I feel like I can't communicate that,
and I can't get that across to the clients
on the other end, in order to
show them that I truly care.
-: It seems to me that one of the big struggles
that businesses have, too, is just that
how do you really provide value
at the end of the day to the consumer?
I mean we all, a lot of them are providing services
for problems that these people have,
but how do they showcase that value
before they even do the service?
And is that where you come into the mix,
is showing them how to make that message happen?
-: Absolutely, and in talking to them about
different aspects of what they're really up against.
You know, what is their competition communicating?
How can we better communicate that,
and truly show their value to their clients
through different ad copies,
through the different branding on their website,
in order to really make it aligned with who they are.
-: And so how important is reputation
in that delivery of that message?
-: Reputation plays a large role,
and you know, there's been a recent shift
in the US as technological advances has come about,
and Google has become more and more prominent in search,
looking at reputation, for a consumer, is huge.
That's one of the biggest aspects that comes into play
through going through the entire purchase cycle
of a consumer's decision-making process,
is looking at reviews, and having an online reputation
that is positive, responsive, is really important
to the end user in the long run.
-: You know, you mentioned something interesting,
how, as the searching cycle,
as people are going through that cycle,
how has searching for service professionals changed
in your estimation and experience over the past,
say 10, 15 years even?
-: Well it's changed a lot.
Especially as Google has really changed
how their platform runs,
in order to make it more convenient for the consumer,
providing them with more and more information.
And how the market used to run,
in a consumer's purchase process,
is very a lot based on their loyalty
to specific brands, to specific businesses in the area.
And that's really kinda gone downhill,
as we've seen it progress over the last couple years,
to now looking specifically for,
no longer specific brand loyalty,
but just overall, who's going to be servicing us the best?
Who's gonna get me the price?
Who has the best reviews?
Who looks the prettiest online, essentially,
not just, "I'm gonna stick with Joe the plumber,
who has been servicing me for 20 years."
-: Joe's a great guy, by the way, sorry Joe.
(laughter)
-: Yeah, and everything you think,
it boils into that impression.
It's almost like perception is reality, right?
-: Absolutely -: and so if somebody has
that five stars everywhere,
then all of a sudden they are trusted,
because the public trusts them, in a sense.
-: Absolutely, I mean if you put yourself
in a consumer standpoint, and you see
you search for a plumber near me, on Google,
and in the map listings, you see a plumbing company
that has 350 five-star reviews,
and then you have, sorry Joe, Joe the plumber,
who has 10 four-star reviews,
well the amount of reviews, the quality of those reviews,
really go a long way in the perception of the client,
and who they're deciding to go with.
-: Definitely, and so what's coming new, in search?
For example, let's talk a little bit
about these local service ads that --
and I think this hits home, pretty particularly
with you in the home services industry,
-: Right.
-: What are these local service ads,
and why are they so revolutionary
on the actual search engine?
-: Yes, well, the local service ads are a new twist
that Google has been implementing to now change it
from a pay-per-click perspective, where you're paying for
a position in the search results,
to now, a pay-per-lead section.
And now what happens, is the local service ads
actually pull from organic presences.
So reviews actually impact you pretty heavily.
They're in your overall organic presence,
and business reputation plays a large role
in where you'll actually be showing up
in the local service ads.
But the great thing about it is
that you can target those very specifically
based on specific key words, such as a drain clog,
or someone looking to replace their toilet.
Certain aspects like that.
And it's really really revolutionary,
because Google is actually guaranteeing
a specific amount of your work,
up to $2,000 of your work.
They're guaranteeing that it's going to be done right.
And it's really revolutionary for the consumer,
knowing that, okay, whoever I have come in,
they've been vetted by Google,
they have had background checks,
and Google is guaranteeing their work.
They have a high reputation in the area,
so I know I'm gonna get good work
performed through them.
And having that up at the top of the search results,
has now eliminated two paid pay-per-click ad positions
on the search results,
and it's just making it more prominent
in order to need to be up in the top of the search results.
-: You know, it's really interesting
how important reviews and reputation play into that.
It's almost like Google's version
of Yelp, you know. -: Mm-Hm.
-: There's like tons, I've seen some people who have 1,000,
this is crazy, 1,000 reviews, on these things,
versus someone who literally has 17,
I mean it's the impression change is astronomical,
in terms of who you would go with.
The guy with a lot of reviews,
or the person with a little.
I mean, you'd probably see the same thing on Amazon, right?
-: Oh, absolutely, you know,
you're buying a purse for your wife,
or you're trying to just figure out what new product to use,
and there's no brand loyalty, loyalty is,
not that people aren't loyal to brand,
but it's kind of a little bit of a thing of the past.
Because there's so many options on the market,
and one of the first things you look at is reputation.
And that's everywhere, everybody seems to be adopting that.
So, you know, there's a lot of statistics
and studies that have been done
about online reputation and reviews,
the percentage of people that actually look at it.
Can you give any insight into those numbers,
and what the importance really is, of those online ratings?
-: Yeah, absolutely, so the importance of the online ratings,
how Google perceives where you show up
in the organic search results,
and now impacts your local service ads,
and where you show up in those, is significant.
It's based on over 300 different factors
of which reviews, your online reputation,
how many visits come to your website,
how responsive you are to those reviews coming across,
plays a really large role in their perception of you.
And ultimately what Google's looking for is,
are you providing good service
and responsive service to your clients?
And I'm not quite positive on the statistics behind it,
but I do know that it's a large portion of the search
that is coming through, that look heavily
upon those reviews as part of their purchasing decision.
-: Yeah, I was hearing something like 90%,
or as much as 90% in some cases.
-: Yeah, 80, 90%, it's a significant amount of people
who turn to those.
I turn to 'em every time I make a purchase.
-: And when you think about it,
it's kind of like the online version of
your word-of-mouth, right?
-: Absolutely.
-: I know a lot of people, their best tool
is their word-of-mouth, and it's almost like
you need to take that word-of-mouth that's offline,
and translate it online, right?
Not all of it's good, either,
like what recommendations do you give your clients
when they get bad reviews?
Like, how do you deal with that?
-: You know, when you're dealing with people,
there's always going to be people
who can be difficult to please.
Or there's going to be a negative review
that comes across your plate,
even if you've tried to handle it
in the best situation possible.
And in order to make the best of a negative situation,
it's always best to respond as quickly as possible
in an as professional and positive light as possible.
So I would always recommend responding to a negative review,
and making it known that you are trying to resolve
the situation with that person.
And then also reach out to them personally.
If you have their direct information,
reach out to them and try to resolve it behind scenes,
and if you can have a resolution between the two of you,
where they can actually remove that negative post,
that is going to be the most effective way to resolve
any negative situation and negative review.
-: I think, too, it's almost like it's for everybody else
looking on to the interaction.
It's good about that particular person,
but have you encountered that as well,
like people who are like, "Oh, you know this --"
It's a good impression that people have
when they're responding.
-: Absolutely, and that's exactly why I recommend it
to all my clients, you know,
if you do get a negative review,
always respond to it, because it's not just that person
you're trying to resolve it with,
but it's gonna be everyone who sees that negative review
coming across your review directories.
So having any potential new clients see that,
you know that they're putting in effort to resolve it,
and they can see the whole picture,
cause there's three sides to every story,
as we've come to learn through dealing
with many different reviews that have come across,
that they can now see the fuller picture
and see you as a business, really trying to make it right.
That goes a long way when,
versus seeing just a negative review with no response.
-: Yeah, yeah, and how do people
get more of those positive reviews?
I know I've heard, I'm sure you've probably
encountered it as well, I've heard that
a lot of businesses have, they struggle with that.
They struggle with getting a lot of reviews,
getting the clients to leave reviews,
they feel like they're beatin' a dead horse with a stick,
they've reached out five times,
and nothing has happened.
What advice do you give you clients that are in that boat?
-: I always give my clients the advice to have your techs
ask them in person while they are still on the job,
reason being, is, while your techs are on the job,
that's going to be when your client is most likely
to be posting a review for you.
They have you in their home,
they have that personal connection,
and they also almost feel an obligation at that same time,
if there is that personal interaction,
where you're coming and saying, "Hey, you know what?
If you really appreciated our service today,
you are satisfied with it, it'd be great
if you posted a review, I'm going to send you a link,
and it would really go a long way,
and we'd really appreciate it."
That right there, that sincerity in the technician's voice,
and coming and asking for their honest opinion,
really gores a long way, and people are more apt to do it
in the moment, versus through their day-to-day life.
If you were to come back, say,
"Oh, I'll send it to you later this week."
Or, "I'll send it later today."
and now they're caught up in many, many different things.
So the most impactful and successful way to be doing it
is in the moment, while your tech is on the job,
in order to have that success rate
of generating those positive reviews.
-: Is there anything that businesses or techs,
if they're gonna employ that kind of action,
is there anything they can do
to really increase the opportunity or the chances
that they'll actually commit to leaving the review?
Are there any business best practices
to dealing with clients that will increase that opportunity?
-: Well, I mean definitely always taking
every single precaution when you're in the client's home.
If it's part of your process,
or if it's not part of your process,
I would always recommend it,
wearing booties when you go into the home,
making sure that you're showing
that you care about their property,
and you're caring about their home.
That goes a long way,
and just having that friendly tech in the home
who is well-maintained, clean-shaven, clean uniforms,
and really presenting the business the best way possible.
That way at the end of the day, when the service is provided
and the customer is satisfied with the service,
when you're asking them,
there's no opportunity for a complaint.
So going about it the right way, the first time,
is gonna go a really long way
in producing a positive review for you.
And then always the tools accessible for your technicians.
Knowing that generating a Google review
is going to be the most positive aspect
and biggest impact on your organic rankings.
So asking them to post a Google review.
"Do you have a Gmail account?"
Or, "I'm gonna email this to you."
Or "I'm gonna text it to you right now.
You can do it right here on your cell phone."
And explaining that process to the client
while the technician's in the home,
will definitely increase that rate
of generating positive reviews.
-: You don't get two opportunities
to make a first impression, right?
-: You only get one.
-: (laughs) So how do they go about doing that?
You know, in making a good first impression,
getting reviews, are there any things
that you see the businesses who are really successful
at getting positive reviews, and getting them consistently,
is there anything they're doing consistently
that you don't see businesses
who are struggling with it doing as much?
-: That's a really good question,
you know I would just say being in constant communication
with the client from day one.
-: Yeah.
-: You know, when they reach out to you for an appointment.
Having that initial interaction be extremely positive,
energetic, and service-oriented, is huge.
Making them feel like
the most important person in the world.
-: Yeah, yeah.
-: Being empathetic to their situation.
A lot of people, when they're calling
for a home service business, whether it's plumbing,
h-vac, electrical, garage doors, you know, what it be,
they're in a situation where they need help,
and they don't know where else to turn,
so being empathetic from step one,
and being sincere about their issue.
That hand in putting a significant importance on it
is gonna go a long way to how they perceive you
as a business. -: Yeah.
-: And then going from there, you know,
following up, "Hey, your technician is on the way."
Or, "He's going to be here at this time."
And actually arrive on time, is really, really big.
And then, showing up in a clean truck and clean uniforms,
and that is the perception going forward
of what businesses really need to be doing
in order to make a significant impact,
and a positive impact, on their clients.
-: Absolutely, well, John, this has been awesome.
I think this is really valuable for businesses today.
It seems to me that this is one of the keystone things
that people can do to really increase
their ROI, without investing any additional dollars.
All they need to do is invest the time
in being authentic and genuine for their customers.
-: Absolutely, it's free.
-: It's free, (laughs) take advantage of it,
do your best. -: Absolutely.
-: So thank you so much for taking the time out
of your busy day, we really appreciate it.
-: Absolutely, thanks for having me.
-: Awesome, well for anybody who has enjoyed this,
found this valuable, definitely hit the subscribe button
wherever you're at, and you can get more
of this awesome content, bringing you live,
from Scorpion Studios, my name is Josh,
we'll catch you guys next time, thanks.
(upbeat music)
-: Thanks for listening to The Sharpest Tool
brought to you by Scorpion Internet Marketing,
stay tuned for more episodes,
on how to help your business succeed.
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