If you serve the residential market, perform high quality work and are willing to deliver superior customer service, build your business strategy around Angie's List.

Step 1: Aggressively promote the use of Angie's List
Encourage your customers to sign up. Homeowners must pay a membership fee to see the contractor grades/reports, which is about $50 a year ($7.50 per month) in most cities. Angie's List can even provide you with free brochures to hand out to your customers. If your customer is already an Angie's List member, make sure to remind them to fill out a report on their experience.

Step 2: Thrill your customer and earn a glowing report
Bring Angie's List up during your original sales call. Help your client understand that you will do everything reasonable to earn high grades. The best way to ensure you have a happy customer at the end of a job is to completely manage expectations before you begin the work.

Here are some more tips on managing and maintaining your customers' trust.

1. Are there any hidden costs that you have not discussed and put in writing?
   
2. Does the completion date depend on good weather every day?
   
3. What damage will be done to the yard/landscape because of materials and/or equipment?
   
4. When is payment expected?
   
5. Are there any other details the customer needs to know to ensure that they will be happy with both the process and the results?
   
   

Step 3: Proactively manage your company profile on Angie's List
Angie's List knows there are two sides to every story. That's why our CompanyConnect staff acts as a liaison between contractors and consumers. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of a troublesome client. Actively monitor and manage your Angie's List feedback. When you receive an unfair customer report, don't just sit back and take it. Respond to it! After all, it's free!

Step 4: Consider advertising with Angie's List
We offer a wide array of advertising opportunities for A- and B-rated service companies. And when all ratings are equal, companies that advertise are placed higher in search listings. Members can even request the List to return companies that offer coupons first. A- and B-rated service companies may also include advertisements in the award-winning Angie's List monthly magazine, which is delivered in both print and electronic copy. You'll get great exposure for a fairly low price, certainly more bang for the buck than the Yellow Pages.

Step 5: Consistently exceed your customers' expectations
The only way you can stack the deck in your favor is to consistently exceed your customers' expectations. Each service company's report card can be viewed in addition to the individual comments that make up the report. Each report includes a description of the work, individual scores for each category and member comments.