Well, first you better be doing a good job. If you have that down I can show you something else that will shoot you to the top of their list.
Print out this form and give it to your customers with a stamped envelope. Do it at new jobs and send all of your current customers a copy. They DO NOT need to be an Angie’s List member to do this.
Even if 20% return it your review (if good) will catapult you to the top.
I don’t know how much business there is on Angie’s List, but for as easy as it is easy and cheap to do, why not.
That’s great new Paul.
I was thinking about this but it was a huge turn-down that the customer had to be a member (paid) to post about MY business. This shows that my research was miserable at least.
That is ONE thing that I’ll implement right away, for sure.
Not to sound conceited, but I make a [B][I][U]KILLING[/U][/I][/B] in terms of ROI with Angie’s List.
We’ve gotten the two years in a row. I don’t have to pay a dime and we get plenty of calls. Its worth passing out reviews and encouraging people to give good reviews. I’ve made more money from angies list in one year than from all my yellow pages publications in over 3 years. Doing angies list for the most part will force you to improve your customer service and at the same time be rewarded with more jobs.
If you have this in your area… use it, it may help.
so do I become the angie member and ask my clients to send in the report each service? Or do I just need to hand them the report card and they send it in even if I’m not a paying member?
Please someone who use this and want to get into more details for all of us 6 year-olds
I have the form, I fill some of the fields like my company name, work performed and stuff like that and leave that with my customer along with an pre-stamped envelope (plain or w/my logo?) and they complete and send it ? Is that simple or am I missing something here ?
Tkirk or Brennon should share some of their own experience
When I first heard about Angies list, I got some of those forms and let a couple customers who I knew loved us and communicated to them if they could send the form. In I did like what puntadigital in the quote. I filled out
a lot of stuff, put a stamp on the envelope and address it. I did that for a customer or two a week for several weeks. A month later their reports were published on angie’s list. From then on people will start noticing you and will start to call.
To answer your question. It is that simple. You don’t have to have your logo on the envelope. I just put my home address on it as the return.
Depending on the city, you will probably have a slightly different experience due to the market size and how long angies list has been around in that area.
1- more professional I guess, and I already have them, so no extra expense
2 - customer will see it and remember what it is
3 - prevent misuse of that pre-stamped envelope
4 - I don’t know my customers to know my residential address.
That’s understandable…
I just realized something that might make it even easier for you…and the customer. Angie’s list, gives out 'no postage necessary if mailed in the U.S. postcards…already addressed to Angie’s list. You or the customer don’t have to pay for the stamp. All they have to do is fill out their experience and they can throw that baby in the mail.
You may be able to call angies list and ask them as a customer to send you some cards like that to fill out.
If you do it the way you described…you should be fine too.
Want to start this tomorrow and already have the forms pre-filled with my info and printed, ready to give it to the customer.
QUESTION: They don’t have to be a member to send this and for this to be valid for my company, right ?
Do you know about if the customers that sent that in were contacted or bothered in anyway by Angieslist or any of their associates ?
How long until you see the effects of positive reports ?
Looks like on the card that neither of you have to be members. Angies List may take anyone they can get to increase their exposure. It looks like it’s fair game. You can call Angies List and find out.
Angie’s list has been the main source of all my work. I started with only one report. Then I took the educated gamble and paid for advertising in their printed magazine. This worked out pretty well but I didn’t really get the returns I anticipated so I discussed this with them and they gave me a month free trial on their website. This produced better returns. I paid for their web advertising in the fall of last year which means that list members looking for a window cleaner will see my name at the top of the list. So far this year I have grossed more in the first quarter from Angie’s than I did in my whole first year on the list as an unpaid contractor. Reports are steadily coming in with A ratings. Customers will also leave me alone in their homes while they go off to work because all my details are on the list so there is a great trust factor.
I would strongly encourage any window cleaner to try and get reports on it but like has been said. You better be good at what you do or Angie will soon let everyone know how bad you are!!
All you need is one good report and you can advertise with them. The beauty is that no one can advertise with them unless they have at least one report.
I just registered my company on their website. I read this on their site as well, concerning the reports mentioned here.
Only reports submitted by Angie’s List members will count toward your overall grade. However, if a non-member submits a report and later becomes a member, that report will then count toward your overall grade.
According to this the customer has to join at some point for their report to count.
Since this thread has been brought back I thought I’d chime in that if you call up Angie’s List they’ll send you postage paid brochures to give to customers. They sent me a huge stack of them… granted, I do advertise with them.
DON’Y WASTE YOUR TIME!!!
Angies list is a joke!!! I started doing this last year and they will not include non member reports. They say they do and that they will submit them but trust me, over a year and dozens of non member reports mailed in this way have yet to get to my report page. I will include an email from them soon. Hang on.
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 12:32 PM
To: Andrea Moore
Subject: RE: Art, here is the information we talked about on the phone today
Hi Andrea,
It does not surprise me that the mailed in report cards have still not
been applied to my company. Not a big deal really. The impression I have
gotten from angies list as a whole is it’s a joke. My business has grown
over the years through word of mouth and by April 1st of each year I have
work scheduled, six days a week, into the beginning of August. I have yet
to receive any work from angies list and won’t be holding my breath. I can
assume if I was as slow to cater to my clients as angies list has been to
me, I would have no work and be out of business. One complaint I often here
from my clients about angies list is that many of the contractors they may
be looking to hire at the time have no reviews(what a surprise). I tell
them my story w/ angies list and to ask contractors they already use to
refer someone who is competent. Angies list has been a waste of my time.
Thanks for yours,
Art
My rating is all A, here is her reply
Good Morning, Art
I am sorry to hear you feel that Angie’s List is a waste of time for you. Companies on Angie’s List are not guaranteed jobs. They are added to our site for free, when a report is written for their company. They are then shuffled around with other companies that are listed for free, so when members log on, they might not see you unless you are somewhere on the first page.
When you mentioned that companies your clients want to use are not on the list earlier, that is because they have not had a report written about them. Meaning no Angie’s List member has used them. I am not sure what to say about that seeing as I have no control over that.
Angie’s List is not for everyone. I guess you being one of those companies. I am sorry that you feel Angie’s List is a joke.
Good luck to anyone using angies list, you get what you pay for.
After advertising and using Angies list this year. I have to say it’s been a huge waste of my time and money. Over here AL is where the lowest of the low ball cut throat companies are. Nothing but price shoppers who will trash you no matter how good the work is if you don’t charge $5 a window.
