I’m really excited to tell you about how Spray ‘n Coat is using Starfish Reviews for their review marketing campaign. It’s resulted in lots of new review generation, happier customers, and more satisfied employees. Check out how they pulled it off in our first case study, below.
A few months ago, my friend James Rich, who’s an SEO and online marketing expert, messaged me with some questions about Starfish Reviews. He was using it and wanted to know if there was a way to do some very specific things, such as inserting the funnel name as a shortcode into other parts of the funnel (it’s in our todo list now)?
I asked more about where he was going with his questions and he explained what he was working on. He was trying to build a unique way to use Starfish Reviews for Spray ‘n Coat Painting, where he works. So I asked if I could share it with all of you. He kindly said “yes.” and shared some images and additional information.
Focus On People
The first thing that James did was setup Starfish Reviews funnels for each of their painters. He said he’d read that people are more likely to give a review if there’s an individual linked to it.
Think about it: how likely are you to give some big corporation a review? But if that little taco shop down the way asks for one, you’d be glad to do it! That’s because you know the people there that make and serve your food.
The same is true for any service-based business: ask for the review based around the person who interacted with the client. If you ask for a generalized review of your company, with your logo on the funnel, it’s not going to be nearly as effective as if you ask for feedback for the specific person that worked with that customer.
So that’s what James did. As you can see above, he created funnels for each of their painters: the guys who actually performed the work on the customer’s property. He even used the shortcode feature and the Divi Builder to create a layout where their image was to the right of the funnel, rather than above it (the default in Starfish).
If It’s Worth Asking Once…
Next, James had business cards made up where each painter could easily write their name at the end. This corresponded to the URL of their individual funnel.
So all the painters had to do was write their name on the card and hand it to the customer at the end of the job. Of course they’re encouraged to also tell the customer how much they’d appreciate their feedback.
The card is a simple message that states: “I’d Love Your Feedback! Tell me how I did.” Then below five stars (a subliminal suggestion that gets them ready to leave review), it states:
We appreciate your business & value you as a customer. Help us continue our high standard of service.
To let me know how I did, go to:
sprayncoat.com/_________
They can write their names in that blank space. Of course this is the URL of that employee’s unique Starfish Reviews Funnel as well.
All the painter’s funnels offer the same three places to leave a review: Spray ‘n Coat’s Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews pages. But having individual funnels for each employee makes it more personal, as we discussed, plus it allows them to track which employee generated which review. Starfish Reviews provides unique results for each funnel, so they can tell who’s customer left which review.
Emphasizing, acknowledging, and rewarding great performance is a powerful way to motivate people and create a culture of excellence in any company. Spray ‘n Coat has nailed this.
…It’s Worth Asking Twice
Another thing James does is include a message in each invoice he sends. So the invoice email and/or notes would say something very similar to what’s on the cards. He includes the unique Funnel URL of the employee who completed the job in the message.
Sometimes the painter forgets to give the customer the card. Or maybe the customer just forgets to visit the URL. Or maybe they’ve misplaced the card, and can’t remember what address to visit. Whatever the reason, including the same information with the invoice provides a second chance, and a second reminder. It improves the likelihood of getting a review from that customer.
Rewarding Employees
Here at Starfish Reviews, we love to emphasize that great online reviews start with amazing service. You can ask for reviews all you want, but if your company isn’t providing awesome service to it’s customers, it’s going to be hard to get them to give you a great review.
So a key part of James’ system is that he and the company owner reward their painters by buying them lunch, each time they receive a positive review. This is positive reinforcement for providing great service, the foundation of all great reviews. It also helps with a company culture of excellent service, and of celebrating and reinforcing that excellence.
Rewarding customers for reviews violates the terms of service of many review platforms. However, rewarding your employees for providing the kind of service that people love, is just great business. I think Google, Yelp, and others with restrictive terms would agree with and encourage this approach!
It’s Working!
The great thing is that it’s working! This whole system is working great for Spray ‘n Coat, generating many 5-star reviews on their Google My Business and Yelp listings, plus recommendations on their Facebook page.
How Would You Do It?
Do you have any suggestions or questions for James? Let him know in the comments.
Do you want to be featured? If you’re proud of the way you’re using Starfish Reviews and would like to be featured in a case study on our blog, please contact me. We’d love to post more helpful case studies like this one, to share awesome ideas and approaches to review marketing, using Starfish Reviews.
What an innovative Spray ‘n Coat approach to use Starfish Reviews to generate feedback and reward employees! By focusing on people and personalizing the review experience, they’ve undoubtedly unlocked the true potential of online review marketing.This case study is an inspiring example of how a creative mindset can work wonders for a business!