How to Use Customer Reviews to Grow Your Service Business

1. Collect them in one place

There’s power in numbers. Collecting reviews in one place, like on a review platform or website, shows that you don’t just have one or two happy customers, you have many. And that goes a long way in building trust and confidence with potential clients. 

While not all your customers will use the same methods for leaving reviews, you can nudge them in the right direction by asking for a review on your business’s: 

• Facebook page
• Google Business Profile
• Yelp page
• Website
• Lead generation platforms, like Angi or Thumbtack

If you don’t have time to request and direct reviews to review sites or profiles, you can use review software like Jobber to automate the process for you.

2. Put them on your website

Your website is where potential customers go to learn about your services, check pricing, and decide whether you’re the right person for the job. 

Featuring positive reviews on your website helps tip the scales in your favor by offering reassurance from real people who have hired you before. And it proves that you have a legitimate business, boosting credibility and positioning you as a true professional. 

You can put reviews in many places on a website, including your: 

• Home page: General reviews work well here, highlighting great customer service, high-quality work, or overall satisfaction. 
• Service page: Service-specific reviews are perfect for pages that describe what you offer. Like a customer you built a water feature for or a client who booked you for a pre-holiday deep clean. 
• Review page: You can also have a page dedicated to reviews where people can see all of your customer testimonials in one place. 

When posting reviews on your website, consider where it makes sense to get the most bang for your buck. 

For example, online reviews can work well near action buttons like “Get a Free Quote” or “Book Now”, prompting leads to take the next step after reading positive feedback from a real-life customer.

3. Update your marketing campaigns

Customer reviews make your marketing campaigns shine, whether they’re featured in emails, print materials like door hangers, or vehicle wraps. 

Use them to highlight benefits your customers love, like: 

• High-quality work
• Excellent customer service
• Affordable pricing
• Experienced staff

Or, highlight specific services you want to promote, such as: 

• Popular packages, like a mowing, trimming, and weeding bundle
• Seasonal offerings, like spring cleanup or fall leaf removal
• Emergency hours, like 24/7 availability 
• Eco-friendly cleaning products or electric yard tools

Choose the reviews you feature based on the campaign for the highest success rate. 

For example, if you’re running an email marketing campaign to spread the word about seasonal snow removal, use positive reviews directly related to it. Like customer feedback about how quickly you responded after a storm or that your crew went the extra mile by brushing off a client’s car.

4. Enhance social media posts

Coming up with social media content like Facebook posts can be stressful. If you’re running out of ideas, customer reviews are a great addition to your regular posting schedule. 

They don’t just have to be Facebook reviews, either, you can repurpose them no matter where they came from. 

But don’t just copy/paste the text and publish it on your page. Instead, use a free graphic design tool like Canva to draft a template with an eye-catching image and brand colors. Then, drop in the quote with the customer’s first name (as long as they’re comfortable with it) to show followers it comes from a real person. 

Or you could post a video or photo alongside a text-based review, like before and after images of a customer’s property, to add visual context to the customer testimonial. 

For example, if a satisfied customer says you did a fantastic job painting their garage door, include a picture in your post. Or, if they said you did a fantastic job designing an outdoor living space, create a short video tour to show off your work. 

Pro Tip: Ask for permission before sharing a customer’s name, home, or any other identifying details—like pictures of their faces. You can do this in person at the property or by sending a quick follow-up message after they leave a customer review to show you value their privacy.

5. Add them to referral programs

Referral programs are an effective way to generate new business through satisfied customers.

6. Include them in hiring material

Good reviews don’t just impress customers. They also attract employees to your service business by giving them an idea of what you’re like to work with. 

For example, try to use client testimonials that mention: 

• How well your team works together
• Friendly or helpful staff members
• Organized processes or efficient workflows
• High-quality work

These go a long way in showing candidates your company is a good place to work, whether you’re hiring your first employee or adding to a robust team. 

Add them to online job descriptions, career pages, or other recruiting material, like social media posts or print flyers for job fairs.

7. Highlight them in quotes

Using customer reviews in quotes could be exactly what prospective customers need to move forward. Having reassurance from real people can help them get past any reservations they have about working with you. 

Whenever possible, choose a review directly related to the quote to make it even more impactful. 

For example, if you’re sending out an estimate for pressure washing a deck, use a review from a customer who booked the same service. 

Even a short positive review like, “Our deck looks like new again! Worth every penny” adds a layer of trust and reinforces your value to customers during the decision-making stage.

8. Showcase them in ads

Want to make your Google Ads stand out? Or add some pizzazz to your promoted posts on social media? Reviews are a unique way to differentiate your business from competitors, using social proof to capture a potential customer’s attention from the get-go. 

Plus, it’s one thing to say positive things about your own business, but it’s a much different story when it comes from a customer. 

For example, you could describe your business as: 

“Fast, affordable, and friendly lawn care services in Seattle”. 

Or you could use a customer review to do it for you: 

“Best lawn care service I’ve ever had! Quick, professional, and affordable! —Georgie C.”

That way, you’re both introducing your business and building trust with your ad, doubling your impact.

9. Demonstrate excellent customer service

Positive customer reviews are ideal, but even negative customer reviews can be used for good. 

Responding to them is an effective way to demonstrate your dedication to customer satisfaction and your willingness to address (and solve) any issues that arise. 

This shows potential customers that if they ever do have a problem, they can count on you to make it right. 

When a customer leaves a negative Google Review, Facebook testimonial, or sends a constructive feedback email, make sure to be professional and polite when you respond. 

Focus on understanding the problem before offering a solution, and listen to what the customer has to say. With the right response, you may even be able to turn a bad review into a good one!

10. Adjust your services

Reviews offer valuable insights into your services and what customers like (and dislike) about what you do. 

For example, if you get multiple reviews saying customers wish you offered more packages or add-ons, it’s a clear indication that you have an opportunity to review your service list. 

Or, if customers consistently praise how easy your online booking software is, it’s proof that you should stay on top of it, following trends and best practices to offer continued convenience.

Gather long-term, valuable feedback from multiple customers before making any major changes, though. 

If a single customer mentions that your service area is too small, it may not be worth expanding. 

But if you’re hearing it from more than one person who wants to send referrals your way from a neighboring community, it could be your next growth goal. 

Or, if customer reviews always mention how affordable your prices are and you’re struggling to hit your profit margin, it could indicate an opportunity to strategically raise prices.

How to get more reviews

These tactics only work if you have customer reviews to work with. If you don’t, you’ll need to work on getting some, which you can do by:

• Asking for reviews when a job ends. At the end of a job, once you know the customer is happy with the work and there’s nothing left to do, ask if they’d be open to leaving a review on your platform of choice. You can do this in person or by sending out review requests in follow-up emails. 
• Include review links in invoices, receipts, and email signatures. That way, if a customer wants to leave a review, it’s easy for them to figure out how. 
• Train your team to ask for reviews. For example, at the end of a job or when they wrap up a service appointment on a recurring job. 
• Use review automation software. Collecting reviews takes time, which means you may not be able to prioritize it on top of your other responsibilities. 

Review software like Jobber runs in the background to send out review requests to happy customers. Then, once your reviews start coming in, it organizes them in Jobber so you can see your overall rating and respond as necessary. 

That way, you get more reviews you can use to attract new leads, book more jobs, and set better business goals.