How To Use Nextdoor For Business to Promote Your Service Business

We’re more globally connected than ever.

Social media enables us to disseminate news globally quickly, and search engines facilitate the retrieval of information with ease. Yet, for small business owners, it remains a struggle to reach their local customer base.

In a digital landscape that has prioritized national brands and big-name chains, Google has begun taking steps to adjust search results for locally-focused searches, and while local search visibility is more important than ever, small business owners don’t have to rely on Google alone to help them reach their audience.

Enter Nextdoor, an app that creates a social media environment exclusively for a single neighborhood or small subsection of a larger city or town. Neighbors can use the app to discuss local events, chime in on neighborhood news, coordinate borrowing between neighbors, - even gossip about the corner house with the loud dog.

And because it was designed to facilitate communication amongst neighbors, Nextdoor has also become an efficient way for neighbors to ask for recommendations and share personal experiences using local service businesses.

Why is this useful for your business?

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Although online reviews have gained importance, word-of-mouth recommendations continue to play a crucial role in the decision-making process, particularly when it comes to service-based purchasing decisions.

Positive reviews build trust in your brand, and compared to other review platforms like Yelp or Google My Business, Nextdoor is able to capture reviews and recommendations directly from people within your community.

In fact, local home service companies (roofers, cleaning companies, lawn services, plumbers, HVAC, pest control, and more) are currently among the most searched and recommended businesses on Nextdoor.

Think about it: If you’re looking for a lawn care, pest control, or HVAC company in your area, who better to ask for recommendations than other homeowners than your next-door neighbors? This is exactly what OHPestControlPros in Columbus, Ohio, believes, as they utilize Nextdoor as a prominent part of their local marketing strategy. 

Nextdoor has taken the next step to help users share information about recommended local service businesses. This includes creating profiles that display all comments and reviews about a business on a single page, as well as listing the most-recommended local businesses in an area by category.

Claiming your business profile enables your contact information to be easily accessible when community members recommend your business, and it helps establish brand awareness and trust within the local area.

How do I claim my local business page on Nextdoor?

To claim your local business page on Nextdoor, you must be either the owner, an employee, or an authorized member of the company.

1. Search for your company name in the Nextdoor directory
2. When options pop up, click “Claim” next to your company
3. Enter your name, the email you’d like to use, and a password. Alternatively, if you already have a personal Nextdoor account, you can claim your Local Page by clicking Sign in to use your personal account to claim.

After claiming your page, Nextdoor will verify your association with the business by calling the phone number associated with your account. You'll be asked to enter a verification code.

More than one business? You can claim up to 10 pages with a single account, or you can claim each page with a different account.

Once you’ve claimed your profile, ensure that your business listing has the correct address, contact information, logo, and information on the services you offer. Think of this as an extension of your website.

How do I maximize the benefits of Nextdoor?

Claiming your page is just the beginning of your Nextdoor journey.  Before you get uneasy about adding yet another social platform to manage, take note that Nextdoor is inherently simple. This platform is not about blowing up your neighbors' news feeds with intricately worded messages and remarkable photographs; it’s about joining the right conversation at the right time.

As with any review platform, your goal is to get authentic, positive, trustworthy reviews from real customers. The magic of this app is that those conversations happen organically.

Follow these best practices to get the most from your Nextdoor efforts:

• Don’t be afraid to respond to people’s posts asking for recommendations and tag your company, but always disclose your relationship to the business! Honesty is a vital value for Nextdoor, presenting an opportunity for you to establish yourself as a trusted resource in the community.   This is a great way to build a presence without taking over the neighborhood’s feed.
• Utilize the new Offers feature.  This feature allows businesses to post discounts and promotions for their local customers.  You can dial down to target specific neighborhoods or use the default setting to reach your maximum.  Remember, a little goes a long way with offers too; consider using two per week, at most.  For more information on setting up offers and their benefits for your business, please ask your Coalmarch representative.
• Avoid making unsolicited posts about your business in the newsfeed. Every user in your neighborhood can see the newsfeed, and spammy posts can come across as pushy and damage your business’s reputation.
• Speaking of reputation, Nextdoor is the place to see how customers are talking about your business.  Use it as a tool to monitor your reputation and address concerns that your customers are sharing. 

If you’re looking for a way to gain an edge over your competitors when it comes to building local awareness and trust in your company, Nextdoor offers you the chance to get your home service business directly in front of your customers.

Looking for more ways to get in front of potential customers, giving them the right information when it matters most at each point in their buying journey?

Our free guide, 'How Do Customers Buy Pest Control?', provides everything you need to know about what customers are looking for, how you can differentiate yourself, and how to close the deal faster.