Your company probably already has a Google Places “Page,” but if you have not claimed it yet, you are certainly not taking full advantage of all the free benefits a Google Places listing and page provides.

Google Places is similar to the Yellow Pages in that every company with a physical address is able to be listed. However, it is very important for local service companies to have a robust Google Places Page because these pages appear near the top of Google’s organic search results when a person does a local search.

Here’s a quick overview video of what Google Places and why you should use it for your business:

To get the most out of your free listing you should claim the listing, fill it out with all of your company’s important information, get customer review, create and keep it up to date with current content and coupons, and add photos and videos.

1. Claim your Google Places Page and make it your own

To claim your Google Places Page, go to Google.com/places. If you already have a Google account you can just log in. If not, it only takes a few minutes to set up an account, which you can do from the page.

Once your account is set up you can enter your business’s main phone number to see if it’s already listed on Google Maps. If it is you can go through the process of claiming the page which will allow you to edit the existing information as well as add other details, photos and videos.

Once you have logged in and claimed your page, it is important to fill out every field available on the form. The more complete a profile, the better it will appear to your customers and prospects when they find your listing in search. There is also a place to upload your company logo so that it can appear in the Google search results.

The form will ask for basic information about your company, information about your operating hours, what payment types you accept, as well as what your business does.

You are even able to define your service area. Rather than just having a static location, you can show on your Google Places page what Zip Codes you serve or even define a mile radius around your headquarters. The video below will give an overview of how this works:

The images below show the field you can fill out on your Google Places page.

Google has a comprehensive guide that will help you claim your page and get started optimizing your Google Places page.

2. Get Customer Reviews

It’s important to make it easy on your customers to review your company on your Places page. Reviews may raise your pages rank in the search results, but even if they don’t, reviews on your page adds credibility and lets prospects know that other people have used your services and been satisfied.

On your places page there is a link that you can copy into an email and send to your best customers requesting they write a short review of your company. Google says you are not allowed to offer incentives in exchange for reviews, so you will have to request reviews from customers you already have a good relationship with.

3. Keep your page fresh with current content

You are able to leave short, 160 character posts on your Google Places page. These short Twitter-like messages can be details about the services you offer, announcements of special events, introductions of new employees, promotional offers, or any other message. When you are logged into your Places page there is a box on the right side with the heading “Post to your Place page.”

You are also able to offer coupons to your customers and potential customers for your services on your Google Places page. These coupons will be visible at the top of your Places page. With these coupons it is important to make them unique to your Google Places page so that you can easily track their effectiveness. It is a good idea to keep these coupons fresh. One way you can do that is by using them as seasonal promotions, giving you the excuse to offer various coupons throughout the year.

Keeping the messages and coupons up to date will keep your page fresh and current in the eyes of your customers.

4. Add videos and photos to your page

You are also able to add photos and videos to your places page. If you company has an ad you could upload it to YouTube so that your Places page visitors can view it on your site. You are able to have up to five videos so you could also use some of these spaces for video testimonials of your customer or videos of examples of your work.

You are also able to upload up to 10 images. These could be pictures of your service trucks, employees, job sites and work you’ve completed, or anything else that would be relevant to your customers.

For a complete check and to make sure you really get the most out of your free Google Places page, complete the Google Places Checklist.

After you are finished, share a link to your Places page in the comments so we can showcase the best examples.

The following is a guest post by Darion Miller is the Co-Author of the Service Coach Blog, which provides marketing resources to the service industry.

Loyal Customers are hard to come by today with so much competition. However, with a solid company plan on how to generate leads and turn them into loyal customers you should not have a problem. Here are seven tips to turn a lead into a loyal customer that keeps on giving:

Selling Service Agreements

Creating service agreements is a great way for your service company to provide value throughout the year. These agreements let the customers know that you stand behind your work and that you will be there if something goes wrong. Here are 3 things to keep in mind when creating a service agreement:

1. Make the service agreement simple for your customers to understand
2. Keep the agreement fair and make sure it benefits both parties
3. Create packages that will allow you to extend a service agreement over a year or a season

Be On Time for Service Calls

Being on time is critical for any service business. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes for a minute, could you afford to take time off from work, for a day or even a couple hours, to allow a service technician access to your house? Most cannot and it could mean they are really paying double for your services when considering the lost time in wages. Having a solid dispatch and mapping system will allow you to remain on time and keep your customers coming back.

Keeping Past Records of Your Customers

There is nothing worse than when a customer has to repeat information or provide the service tech with details from a previous visit. Keeping records on your customer’s accounts for at least 5 years will benefit you in many ways. One of the most important is that account information can be extremely useful to your technicians while on-site. If they know what was done in the past, to expect a certain result, or know not to try a certain technique your clients will see that your company really has operations under control and will respect your technician’s advice. When your clients trust your company they will trust your professional opinion on how to best complete a project.

Providing Free Tips & DIY Materials

Sometimes your customers just want to understand how or why you go about a project the way you do simply for their own curiosity. When a plumber comes to my house I make a point to find out what’s going on even though I know I’m not skilled enough to perform the task myself. Provide “do it yourself” articles on your company blog to answer basic inquiries that satisfy your customers questions and present yourself as a knowledgeable industry leader. Don’t forget to have a call to action to convert them into a lead!

Try and Be Accessible to Your Customers 24/7

You should try and be assessable 24/7 even if you don’t answer your phone. When something happens you need to make sure your customers know there is always a line of communication open. Make sure your website has a customer login portal where customers or potential customers can request service or have the information to contact you in the off-hours.

Here are some ways to be accessible:

• Have an emergency email address like: emergency@company.com or help@company.com
• Have a customer portal
• Have a landing page dedicated to Emergency help on your site
• Have an off hours dispatcher

Allow for Company Transparency

There is no better way to create a loyal customer base than to be transparent about your company. If a customer or potential asks you a question the best thing you can do is be honest. With the internet and company reviews (both good and bad) accessible to almost everyone anything you say can be cross checked online. Don’t take for granted how much research people do on a company, a problem, or a solution before actually handing over cash to start a job with you. Train your technicians on the best ways to handle objections or tough questions that may be asked by customers and show they how to avoid making the company look bad or misinformed.

Knowing When to Say No to a Customer

It’s tough to say no to a client especially in a down economy. However when the job is too tough or beyond your skill set it’s better to be upfront and honest with your client and recommend a few people that can get the job done right than for you to attempt and perform poorly. This will allow you to become a trusted advisor and when the client has more work they will defiantly come back to you with questions or referrals.

These 7 tips will not only make for a better service company but will continue to generate revenue through your customer loyalty.

You can read more posts about marketing service businesses by Darion Miller at the Service Coach Blog or follow @theservicecoach on Twitter. You can download his free Service Marketing Playbook.

Contracting Business Magazine named longtime ESC customer, Kahn Mechanical Contractors, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, a winner of the prestigious 2010 Design/Build Award. Kahn Mechanical Contracting became an ESC customer in April 1993 and have been a loyal customer ever since.

Most of this year’s winners of the Design/Build award have previously been awarded and named the ContractingBusiness.com Commercial Contractor of the Year. This award is all about how well the HVACR contractor’s is able to “take a leading role in providing the ultimate HVACR system for the benefit of the customer.”

Contracting Business has been honoring companies that excel in the Design/Build process for two decades through this prestigious award. The Design/Build process can allow for higher margins, warranty control, lower costs, a higher level of quality, and more satisfied customers.

Ron Rajecki, contributing editor at Contracting Business Magazine, had an excellent overview of the Design/Build project Kahn Mechanical Contractors completed for this award, as well as the work that it took to get the client to put faith in them to design and get the project done.

You can read the full article here, or read some of the highlights below:

The steps required to win a Design/Build project can be a greater challenge than the actual installation, because the contractor must win the trust of the client. Kahn Mechanical won this client’s trust, and followed through with efficient comfort and indoor air quality solutions. […] As a prior Design/Build Award winner and Contracting Business magazine’s 2008 Commercial Contractor of the Year, Kahn Mechanical was the right company at the right time to update [the JFO Group Office Building, Irving, TX.] comfort systems. […]

“We presented solutions to problems beyond the nuts and bolts,” says Josh Kahn, president of Kahn Mechanical Contractors. “We avoided discussion of air handlers, chillers, and pumps, and focused on improving dependability, comfort, energy efficiency and lower cost of ownership.” […]

“This client placed extraordinary trust in Kahn Mechanical Contractors,” Kahn says. “They allowed us carte blanche (within budget, of course) to do whatever we felt was in the best interest of the building owners. This was simultaneously an amazing gift of trust, and an awesome responsibility. In the end, the results exceeded the client’s expectations, and showed us that we continue to improve our delivery with each and every project.

“That’s the price of success,” Kahn concludes. “As an award-winning Design/Build team, we want to not only be award-worthy, but to surpass our prior accomplishments.”

(via Contracting Business)

Matt Michel, the CEO of the Service Roundtable, has some simple tip for making sure your customers remember doing business with your company.

Some companies work really hard to ensure they are remembered. The employees in these companies are downright creative in their approach. They manage to form a lasting impression that burns the company name into the customer’s consciousness. They generate such an impact that their customers feel compelled to tell their friends and neighbors all about their experience.

These strategies are no secret. Thousands of companies manage to execute them daily.

via 15 Ways To Ensure People Remember You.

You may be surprised how easy it is for you to make a long lasting impression on your customers, and how ready and willing they will be to spread the word about your service.

How many of the tips in Matt’s article is your company guilty of?