For over 19 years, Elite Concrete has been providing homeowners with service they can trust. With over 380 reviews and 11 Best Of HomeStars Awards, Elite Concrete owners Marcelo Manfrini and Raffy Hanimyan know how to maintain a strong and reliable business. We spoke with one of the owners, Raffy Hanimyan, to learn more about how this business maintains its clients’ trust and promotes its character through reviews.
Maintaining Trust and Showcasing Character
Inviting someone to do work in your home is a big decision. You have to be able to trust them and their abilities to get the job done. Prior to HomeStars, word of mouth was the main source to find out more about a company. Depending on the experience your friend or relative had with the company, that’s all you had to go on before taking a chance and hiring them. Raffy recalls that was the biggest challenge in running his business before HomeStars.
“The biggest challenge was to show the customer the kind of people that we are, our character. HomeStars really brings that out. That we are contractors with integrity, we are honest, we have a quality product and we treat the homeowner right. We are very service oriented so we make sure that we provide the service and the project updates that the homeowners really need and HomeStars helped broadcast that message all over Canada.”
There’s a reason Elite Concrete has over 19 years experience in the architectural concrete business. It’s being able to do the quality of work they do and having satisfied clients to back it up. Reviews tell more about a job than whether or not the concrete was poured correctly. Elite Concrete’s reviews reveal more about the company and the people who work there. Take a look at any of their reviews and you will see happy clients praising the professionalism and client-first focus that has made Elite Concrete so successful over the years.
HomeStars moderates every review to ensure authenticity so homeowners can trust the reviews they’re reading are written by real homeowners sharing their true experiences. Raffy echoes this saying that, “homeowners are looking for someone trustworthy, that’s the number one thing that I find. It is the reason why people go on HomeStars to find a contractor.”
Verifying Expectations
It’s exactly this trust factor that HomeStars takes so seriously and why we are always working on new ways to take that trust one step further. This is why we created our Verified badge program. Working alongside reviews and Star Score, think of our Verified badge as the final seal of approval to be assured that you’re only hiring the most trustworthy home service pros. Speaking from the perspective as a homeowner as well, Raffy agrees that Verified is “a great idea. Most of the contractors here are homeowners too, and I would consider that to be a great asset to HomeStars.”
Just like homeowners know they can trust the Verified companies they hire through HomeStars, home service pros are looking for the same level of trust from their clients. Raffy points out that leads that come to him through HomeStars are taken seriously as he knows these potential clients know what they want. “I know that people that are going on there are looking for a verified, qualified, possibly award-winning contractor like ourselves and that way we know they are the kind of customers we want to work for.”
Cycle of Reviews
It is clear that the power of reviews can help a business showcase more than their skills; it tells a story of who they are as a company. This is why it is so important to share your entire experience after every job so that the cycle can continue to help homeowners and companies alike. Think about a review that influenced you to buy a product or avoid a particular restaurant. Reviews give people the power to share their true experience and help educate others before they make a final decision. This is why it is so important to read reviews and write them as well.
Raffy knows the power of reviews and encourages other businesses to be proactive about collecting them. Raffy’s tips for successful review collection include using the HomeStars for Business app and following up with clients to submit a review. “I have been using the app since it came out, especially in the last year. It helps to make sure your clients give reviews, that’s the number one thing.”
When it comes to maintaining your HomeStars profile, Raffy encourages responding to reviews, both good and bad. He also suggests keeping your profile up to date with recent pictures and to promote it on your company website. “HomeStars is a pretty popular brand and everyone I know seems to know what it is. Being on HomeStars whether you are a winner or not, and having good reviews there and a good rating, brings up the credibility of your business and it is an excellent resource.”
Listening to your customers’ feedback in reviews can help make your business better by catering to their needs. Reflecting on his decision to join HomeStars, Raffy says, “for me, it made us an even better company, being on HomeStars, because now we can present what clients really want and get feedback versus just a testimonial that people just write and may not necessarily be 100% honest.”
If you’re looking to have concrete work done in your home, be sure to take a look at Elite Concrete and read their reviews to learn more about their quality of work and the character of the company.
