Look, it's no secret that both the quantity and quality of reviews significantly influence whether people consider a business and, even more so, whether they become customers. For a high-end service-based business like decking, numerous positive reviews can be more influential than for businesses where pricing is the main concern rather than the desire for well-executed work. But you might argue that if your work is excellent and you have been in business for a long time, it should speak for itself—especially if potential customers can see it, even if your reviews are less than stellar, right? However, most consumers read reviews to assess a business's quality and will consult them before making a final decision.

If you're still not convinced, here are more ways that review quality and volume impact your online reputation, and thus your decking business as a whole:

Part I: How Poor Review Status Hurts A Decking Business

Negative Customer Perception and Trust Issues

Poor reviews will make potential customers view your decking company as incapable of doing quality work, and thus will be reluctant to trust.

Lacking social proof, compared to a competitor with more or better reviews by a decent margin, can make you appear inexperienced or untested due to being unpopular compared to the others.

Damaging Assumptions

Low volume implies that either you're untested and inexperienced, or that the work your decking company has done isn't worth writing home about, or in this case, leaving a review about.

Search Visibility and SEO Problems

Improve Your Local Search Ranking: The number and quality of reviews matter for your business's placement in search engine results. A combination of negative reviews and a small number of them can cause your ranking to drop, making it challenging for new customers to discover you online.

Now, this isn't something often talked about, but customers mentioning specific service-related keywords (like "deck") in their reviews can also boost SEO performance. Similarly, actively responding to reviews can further improve search rankings, a strategy often overlooked in the industry, but you need reviews to respond to in the first place.

Part II: How Good Review Status Helps a Decking Business

Boosted Customer Perception and Brand Building

Positive reviews will boost trust. They show the company is reliable for decking projects.

Good reviews naturally help build a strong brand image. Happy customers are more likely to refer others through word-of-mouth, keeping your brand front of mind as far as local decking services goes.

Improved Search Visibility and Organic Reach

A higher volume of positive reviews, especially containing specific keywords related to decking services, can increase a company’s ranking in local search results, increasing its visibility and organic reach.

Positive basically reviews act as free advertising. They boost the company's online presence, luring in more customers without extra marketing costs.

Zero-Cost Customer Acquisition and Market Presence

Positive reviews, as mentioned earlier, create social proof, encouraging new customers to choose your decking services over competitors. Even if you adopt other marketing strategies, there's no scenario in which making it easier for potential leads who have seen your advertisements to find your business is a detriment.

Even if potential clients do not immediately require decking services, a strong presence in review platforms ensures that your company remains top of mind when the need eventually arises.

To recap, customer reviews can make or break a decking company's reputation. They are key to standing out from competitors and getting sales. This isn't rocket science, and I'm sure some of this you knew from the get-go, or at least you had the thought in the back of your mind. By encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive feedback and promptly responding to all reviews, decking companies can fully take advantage of getting the most out of their online presence. If that sounds like an extra hassle for you, don't sweat it, we have a streamlined automated system for handling reviews for deck builders. If you're curious to learn more you can also book a call here.