Archives

When it’s time to make a purchase, what’s the first thing you do?  If you are like me, you jump online to look at reviews.  Wether it’s a product or service, the honest feedback of our peers is the single most reliable way to judge quality.  According to one recent study, 88% of consumers now trust online reviews just as much as they do personal recommendations!

Online reviews are a great way to get a feel for the quality of experience you can expect from a given product, service or provider.  But not all online reviews are created equal.  When searching for online feedback, it makes the most sense to look at reviews that are as unbiased as possible.

Look at sites like Google, Bing and Amazon.  These websites are free to join, require nothing of the reviewer other than that they log into their account, and offer no incentives that might skew a reviewer’s viewpoint.  These sites also effectively move the best products and services to the top of the list for searchers.  How so?  A product or service’s ranking in the search results of these sites is based solely on the customer’s feedback.  That’s not the case with other types of sites.

Take Angie’s List, for instance.  Angie’s List has become somewhat popular for homeowners who are looking for reliable home service providers.  But Angie’s List search results may not give the consumer the unbiased results they are looking for.  Sites like Angie’s, Yelp and Home Advisor are, in effect, “pay to play” companies.  Why is that the case?  Because these sites list companies who have paid (sometimes exorbitant) fees to appear higher in search results.

It works like this.  The more a service company pays out in ad dollars, the higher they will rank in the results list.  This effectively eliminates the naturally “organic” rankings that occur when no advertising dollars have to enter into the equation.  A scenario is created wherein the best companies for any given service may not be shown at the top of search results or even on the first page!  Instead, companies who have paid for advertising space will take up those top spots.  So what the consumer gets is a list of the companies who have paid the most for the highest spots, a list that pushes great companies who aren’t willing to “pay to play” down and out of your view.  Does that sound like a reliable way to find the best company?  Who’s interests are being served in that case- you, the customer’s, or the website who’s trying to sell ad space?  The answer is clear.

Consumers are best served when they can choose a company that’s been peer-reviewed without the built-in bias that advertising games create.  This is where search engines like Google and Bing, and e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay, are superior.  The reviews are unfiltered, unbiased and straight from the source.

Of course, a wise service provider will always maintain a strong online presence with every significant online review portal.  They just may have to work harder to claim their rightful place at the top of the search results.

Check out our new Houzz page! Houzz is the number one site for custom home building, remodeling and design professionals. We work closely with the best of the best in these categories. We’ll be updating our page with projects we’re working on throughout Oakland County. Be on the lookout for some amazing before and after photos and videos! http://bit.ly/1n4Fgqy

Did you know that Lake State Cleaning is Yelp’s #1 rated company for window cleaning, pressure washing, roof cleaning and gutter cleaning in Oakland County?  Check out our many 5-star reviews!  We are getting raves from customers in Birmingham MI, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester MI, Troy MI, West Bloomfield and the rest of Oakland County.

Yelp’s #1 Roof Cleaning Company in Oakland County!

Options: we all love them.  From our cars to our pizzas to our hotel reservations, we all love to pick and choose.  So we at Lake State Cleaning decided “Why not give the people what they want?  Options!”

That’s why you’ll love our online quoting system.  It quickly walks you through the process of getting either a rough or exact quote on any service we offer.  Let’s look at a couple of “for instances”.

Let’s say you are looking for window washing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  Your window cleaning needs are pretty specific- you have a budget in mind for window cleaning, but maybe you wonder how much extra it would cost to have your screens washed too.  Well, our quoting software will help you with that!  After putting your information in, the system will generate pricing for three different packages ranging from a simple inside/outside glass wash all the way up to the most detailed and thorough service money can buy.

How about this- suppose you want to have your Birmingham, Michigan home’s siding washed, but you’re also wondering about your gutters.  They don’t seem to be working so well lately… How much would it cost to have both services done at once? Our website makes it easy to find out!  Simply select both house washing and gutter cleaning services during the quoting process and fill in the details.  The software will spit out two separate proposals, each with the different packages we offer for each service!

We want to make things simple and convenient for our customers.  Our instant online quoting process does just that.  Window washing and pressure washing customers from Bloomfield Hills to Clarkston, Rochester to West Bloomfield and everywhere in between have been taking advantage of this great feature.  Just look for this icon and click to get started!

]

Check out this video of our pure water cleaning system in action.  Using pure water is friendly for the environment because we don’t have to use cleaning chemicals.  It’s also safer for our technicians, since it reduces the need for ladders.

We have two more big post-construction window cleaning jobs scheduled for April.  It’s going to be a busy month.  We’ve already booked a lot of pressure washing and window cleaning in Rochester Hills, Bloomfield Hills and Clarkston, MI.

If you are interested in window cleaning, gutter cleaning, roof cleaning or pressure washing this spring, give us a call right away!  248.910.2500.  Don’t miss out- our schedule will be full before you know it!