Because reviews are helpful, but they can be distracting. Yes, you might be striving and doing everything you can to be a responsible contractor, but as you know, not all contractors have a great reputation. And, when it comes to reviews people will leave them when they are thrilled, furious, or trying to be helpful, and the middle, where most jobs actually live, isn’t always represented.
Plus, it doesn’t help that some contractors buy reviews and even harass people for leaving fake ones (yes, it’s true). Which is why networks and leaning into those tends to be more trustworthy.
Even positive reviews feel risky
But that doesn’t make any sense. Well, a five-star review can be genuine and still not answer the question a homeowner actually has, which is basically, will this person be reliable for my specific job, in my specific house, or office, with my specific complications? It’s that simple, honestly. Well, you have to keep in mind that reviews usually don’t cover the unglamorous aspects of a project, like how the contractor handles delays (as an example).
Another example would be how tidy the site is, what happens when something unexpected crops up, or how clearly everything gets explained before any money changes hands. And of course, people know reviews can be gamed; a lot of businesses buy reviews. So if a business has a nearly perfect star rating, well, it’s a good bet to assume that something is up.
“Approved” often converts better than “best rated”
However, with that said, this isn’t because homeowners don’t care about reputation. They do. But when someone sees ‘approved installer’, it can answer the big fear faster, which is, is this person qualified for this exact job? For example, if you hire a roofer to insulate your roof, are they going to just buy the exact same type of insulation that you could buy at your local hardware store, or are they going to be able to supply something more premium like Isothane, which regular people / DIYers can’t get? There’s just that extra layer of accountability when contractors are able to get better quality materials (and they tend to be transparent about that, too).
But how contractors can position credibility?
Well, the mistake some contractors make is treating credibility as something that should be obvious – you just look at the work and trust it. But homeowners don’t live inside the trade, so they don’t know what ‘good’ looks like until it’s too late (well, not always, of course). So credibility needs to be made visible, in plain language, without turning it into a big brag or anything ‘salesy’.
It helps to explain what approvals and certifications actually mean, the process, in outlines, the timelines, the ins, the outs, just being transparent because clients won’t know too much about the detail. It’s not about persuasion; it’s more about being open and giving information (hence how you eventually get into someone’s “network”).
