Why more reviews was just the beginning for O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing Rowville

The challenge

O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing Rowville had a very specific desire – to generate Google Reviews. “It’s so important to have that third party advocacy,” says Siobhan Butler, Marketing Manager at O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing Rowville. “We set some pretty ambitious review targets.” To pursue their lofty goals, they turned to Podium, which also solved, streamlined and improved a host of other processes they hadn’t even accounted for. 

Podium’s role

To begin, Podium’s role was simple – streamlining O’Brien processes so the company could provide fantastic customer service that made incentivising reviews easy. “Two-way text is really important,” Siobhan continued. “Everyone today is incredibly busy, and doesn’t have the time to speak on the phone. Communicating via text is so much easier for our team and our customers. Through Podium, we’ve more than surpassed our reviews target. That relatable feedback is profound for us and qualifies what we do as a business and the service we provide.”

With their reviews flowing and new customers flocking to their website, Siobhan quickly realised there were many, many more benefits through Podium. Through Podium Payments, for example, they’ve made the collection of payments quicker and easier than ever. “Roughly 20% of people are paying text invoices within an hour-and-a-half, including invoices upto $20,000 – that shows just how effective it is.”

Many other processes – both internal and customer-facing – are now automated, freeing up time for their office staff to work on more valuable tasks. “We now have almost the full Podium suite,” Siobhan concluded, “and we’re still learning new ways to use it.”

The results

Since implementing Podium, O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing Rowville has:

• Sent 1,440 feedback surveys, with an average score of 9.7/10
• Collected $62k from Podium Payments in August alone, with 20% of invoices paid within 90 minutes
• Sent 437 review invitations, converting into 213 Google reviews – double their target
• Engaged in 2,691 total conversations with customers

What’s more, O’Brien has won a series of prestigious awards, including the top business of the year award, as well as awards in marketing excellence and outstanding growth. Siobhan has a simple message for anyone considering investing in Podium for their business, “take a step back and think about how many times you personally – let alone the rest of your team – would text a client, a supplier, a tradesperson, or anyone else, then look at the volume of those messages. Then think about how much more efficient it would be if it was sat on your desktop, automated, and simplifying and streamlining your services. Don’t waste time, jump on board.”