Put local plumbing services on the map: saving a compromised online reputation

Since its establishment 35 years ago, HEB Plumbing and Sprinkler - Kathlyn Smith had become renowned for its expertise and wide range of plumbing services. The company knew the importance of having a strong online presence and had SEO strategies in place that seemed to be working -- until another business came along and almost destroyed the great online reputation HEB had spent decades building.

“There was confusion in our community because a few years ago another plumbing company started using our well-known, long established plumbing name,” said Kathlyn Smith, HEB Plumbing & Sprinkler, Owner & Responsible Master Plumber.

HEB Plumbing was receiving negative reviews on their own site that were meant for the other company, and the longer this went on, the harder it was for customers to tell the two companies apart online. Despite the help of an SEO agency and Google AdWords campaigns, HEB was still struggling to outshine this other business online. HEB sought a way to differentiate themselves from this newcomer and make it obvious to customers who the real HEB was.

“We had a lot of negative feedback from customers who were confused. We needed to begin advertising to get the true story out there,” said Smith.

High-volume review generation

Customer reviews are by far the most powerful advertisement: 88% of customers read them, and 68% trust them as much as personal recommendations. This is why mistakenly-posted negative reviews could mean the downfall of HEB’s reputation -- it’s also why a focused review collection strategy could become HEB’s competitive edge. Before BirdEye, HEB had no strategy in place for collecting customers reviews, and because of this had only received 7 reviews in 6 years. This low review volume was not only misleading since HEB had many happy customers; it also made the impact of even one erroneous negative review that much greater.

HEB Plumbing began searching for a solution that would help generate new reviews without adding extra work to their staff’s busy schedule. This is what led them to BirdEye. With BirdEye, HEB was able to get proactive about gathering feedback from customers.

“We usually tell the customers that our office manager may be contacting them for a review, and ask if they would prefer to be contacted by cell phone or email. Then in the office, when we put their information into the computer, we send them a request for a review,” explained Smith.

With BirdEye, HEB was able to automate this whole process so every customer received a request even on the busiest day.

“The software is easy for the office and the plumbers to use. It’s also easy for our customers to use,” said Smith.

Local search domination

After launching a review generation campaign, HEB saw a 2000% increase in reviews in just the first year, and now has 4x more reviews than the competitor with the same name.

The constant stream of fresh, organic content from these new reviews moved HEB’s listings up in search results. ”Now, the company is displayed prominently in Google's local pack (the top 3 featured results for a local search) whether you search for ”plumber Bedford TX” or ”sprinkler Bedford TX”.

The SEO improvements from all these reviews brought more customers through the door: “So many people say ‘I called you because I love your reviews. You look so good online,’ ” said Smith.

To maximize the power of customer voices, HEB displays their reviews from across the web on their company website.

Now when customers search for a local plumbing service, it’s clear that HEB Plumbing and Sprinkler - Kathlyn Smith is the best one for the job.