Angie’s List was started in 1995, and the company has grown into a trusted service for consumers to judge the trustworthiness of contractors. Geared towards home services, Angie’s List can be used as a lead generation tool for small businesses.
But how can contractors and small businesses better use the site to generate leads?
1. Advertise on the Site
Angie’s List makes money from advertising, and they have salesmen that will talk to you about your service category. Keep in mind that these salesmen need to make the sale to earn their commission, so you’re in control.
But the salesperson will try to pressure you into a sale with:
- Rate increase threats
- Deadlines
Don’t worry – these are all empty sales tactics. You’ll want to make sure that you have your questions ready prior to negotiating an ad:
- How saturated is the category?
- How many searches have been made in the last month in the category?
- How many searches have been made in the last year in the category?
- How many users are there in your marketing region?
Now, when you hear the first price for advertising, know that this price is negotiable even if told otherwise. You have to be ready to negotiate, and this can result in a 20% – 60% reduction in the rate given. There are annual rate increases – sometimes double or triple the amount. You can negotiate these rates down, too.
2. Leverage Reviews and Awards
Statistics show that 95% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. If your business has rave reviews on Angie’s List or anywhere else that is reputable, it’s time to display these reviews on your website. Intelligent Service posts their Super Service Award from Angie’s, and they’ve won for 8 years running. This helps build trust with potential ads.
When the award is linked up to the company’s listing, potential consumers will be able to view:
- Overall customer rating
- Total number of reviews
- Time that the business has been listed on Angie’s
This helps build trust among potential clients because they can view a company’s reputation over the lifespan of their listing. Since a lot of consumers know and trust Angie’s list, they’ll often find your listing on the site and order your services. If a potential lead lands on your website from a search engine, they may click on your link to Angie’s List and may be converted as a result.
3. Don’t Rely Just on Angie’s
Angie’s should never be your only avenue of advertising. You have a lot of different advertising portals available. Make sure that you’re using bot Google and Facebook. Place ads on both of these platforms. Each have such immense reach, they can help you reach those people that may not use Angie’s List.
Keep in mind that the tools that Google and Facebook offer are very robust. You can refine your target audience very finely using these platforms, allowing you to offer highly-targeted ads. Never just rely on one platform because you’re putting too much of your business into one platform.
By following these tips about posting your business on Angie’s list and other popular platforms, you’ll find that many more sales will start coming in after positive reviews start getting posted.
