NEW YORK (PR.COM) FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Lucas Wilson Joins Signpost as New CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth

SMB veteran appointed to drive innovation and growth at leading live receptionist business 

Signpost Inc., a leading live receptionist business, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lucas Wilson as its new CEO. With over 20 years of experience in the information technology and services industry, Wilson is a proven leader who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to drive growth at Signpost.

Lucas’s career includes executive roles such as Chief Revenue Officer at Prosites & EZ Texting, SVP of SMG Sales at GovOS, and VP of Sales and Service at Homebase. He has a deep understanding of go-to-market strategy, management, and category creation in competitive SMB industries, making him the ideal choice to lead Signpost into its next phase of growth.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future,” says Lucas Wilson, quoting President John F. Kennedy. Wilson’s belief in the power of embracing change aligns perfectly with Signpost’s vision for the future. Signpost is poised to be the trusted advisor small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) need to grow their customer base and generate as much repeat business as possible.  Asked why he’s excited about the opportunity, Mr. Wilson says, “This is truly one of those rare opportunities to listen to our customer needs and innovate.  We will now begin the journey of maximizing the value we provide our customers.”  

Brian Peters, Managing Director, HighBar Partners and lead investor in Signpost said, “We are thrilled to welcome Lucas Wilson as our new CEO, and we look forward to his leadership over the coming years to take Signpost to new heights. Under Lucas’s leadership, we are confident that Signpost will solidify our position as the market leader in home services and beyond.”

“We are excited to partner with Thumbtack. Enabling home service professionals to respond instantly to inquiries via Thumbtack will be key to growing the pros’ businesses,” said George Bilbrey, CEO of Signpost. 

Businesses that respond to inquiries within an hour are seven times more likely to connect with decision-makers, according to research by the Harvard Business Review. The combination of requests from Thumbtack’s marketplace, plus the Signpost platform’s ability to respond instantly to requests, enables pros to modernize their communications with homeowners and position themselves effectively to win more jobs. 

Through the product integration, Signpost automatically and immediately sends a text reply to every inbound inquiry from Thumbtack. This kickstarts the conversation with the homeowner which increases the pro’s chances of booking the job. Pros can include screening questions, promotions, or links to web pages in their message. To access this feature, pros can head to their settings page within Signpost and select “Instant Responders” to connect to Thumbtack. 

“Our integration with Signpost brings us one step closer to providing any back office tool a Thumbtack pro could ever need to deliver a delightful customer experience to our homeowners,” said David Steckel, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at Thumbtack. “Through simplifying and automating customer communications, Signpost saves our pros hours spent on administrative tasks, allowing them to win more jobs and focus on other areas of their business.”    

As a go-to partner, Thumbtack helps homeowners take care of their home from top to bottom, finding the right pro at the right time for their home’s unique needs, without the hassle.

To learn more about this partnership, visit Thumbtack and Signpost.

About Signpost

Signpost helps contractors attract, communicate with, and grow their client base. Available on desktop and mobile (iOS and Android), the Signpost platform centralizes job requests, tracks and facilitates communication across email, text, and chat, and generates great reviews. Connect Signpost with Thumbtack to automate lead intake and client follow-up and focus on what you do best. The company is backed by 

About Thumbtack

​​Thumbtack is a technology leader building the modern home management platform. Through the Thumbtack app, homeowners can effortlessly manage their homes — confidently knowing what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. Bringing the $600 billion home services industry online, Thumbtack empowers millions of homeowners to fix, maintain, and improve their most valuable asset. The company is backed by Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Javelin Venture Partners, Baillie Gifford, and CapitalG, among others.

Media Contacts

Laura Nelson

VP of Marketing for Signpost

lnelson@signpost.com

Gina Balistreri

Communications for Thumbtack 

press@thumbtack.com

The new chatter in the industry was driven by the FTC sending  out notices to a handful of companies warning them that making it difficult for customers to leave negative reviews is a violation of the FTC Act. We were one of the companies that received such a notice. The FTC didn’t talk to us before sending the notice. If they had, we’d tell them that we don’t review gate.

We don’t review gate because it is against Google’s policy (as well as the policy of other review services), because it may be a violation of the FTC Act (at least according to the FTC). As important, we don’t review gate because it isn’t good for our customers. Specifically:

• • Review gating doesn’t drive better ratings: Other reputation management companies have run experiments that show that review gating doesn’t drive significantly higher ratings (e.g, higher average ‘star’ rating) at all.  Review gating doesn’t work. 

• • Review gating drives fewer reviews:  The same research shows that gating drives significantly fewer reviews. Number of reviews (among many other factors) are a major determinant of organic search ranking.  

• • Fixing the root cause has a better return on effort: Over time, focusing on solving the problem that drives negative feedback drives better business results than artificially suppressing negative reviews.  

We’ll be looking at our sales and marketing materials to make it clear that we do not review gate. More importantly, we’ll continue to look out for the best interests of small businesses by improving our products to make it easier to receive and understand feedback from customers. If you are interested in what we do to help thousands of customers build more robust online reputations, here is a good summary. 

You may ask why we acquired SCS? We’re in the reputation management business. However, a great reputation starts with quick, accurate responses to customer inquiries. A survey of businesses that use Signpost indicated that our clients didn’t think they were doing a great job at that.

Consumers today expect immediacy when reaching out to local businesses. In fact:

• 30% of inquires are made after hours (on evenings and weekends)
• 50% of jobs are won by the business that is first to respond
• Leads are 21x more likely to close if answered in 5 minutes vs. 30 minutes

Owners and managers are really stretched for time and capacity when it comes to responding to inbound inquiries in a timely manner. As a result, businesses are losing out on jobs and revenue, and it’s easy for potential customers to select other providers.

This acquisition enables Signpost to provide an ‘always on’ experience for businesses and their customers – improving the sales process, delivery of services, and enhancing the overall customer experience. Businesses gain the assurance that our combined offering enables more immediate conversations with their customers, and our receptionist team allows front line team members to enjoy their nights and weekends without having to answer the phone 24/7.

If you’re a Signpost customer, this means that you can combine our existing technology – text, chat, and the mobile app, along with the live receptionist service – to ensure that your business never misses a lead. We’ll be offering a special introductory rate for Signpost clients to enroll in these services. Learn more at this link.

If you’re currently a SCS customer, we’re excited to show you how well our technology platform works alongside your virtual assistant services, and how your business can benefit. You’ll also gain access to an early adopter discount on the Signpost platform. Learn more here.

Lastly, we are excited to welcome nearly a hundred new team members to Signpost across the customer service, support, technology, and sales teams. We’re excited for the opportunity to learn from one another and grow into a stronger organization, while helping local businesses of all types to improve their customer experience and drive more revenue.

We are incredibly excited to join the Painting Contractors Association (PCA) as an Industry Partner. PCA is a leading industry organization that has built a community of paint contractors who continue to raise Industry Standards for over 130 years. It currently offers members many educational programs, including apprenticeship, business accreditation, and video and podcast content for developing both technical and business management expertise.

As a partner, Signpost aims to further the PCA mission and promote members’ business and marketing efforts. Signpost helps local painting business owners boost their online presence with an easy-to-use app to get more 5-star reviews and stand out from their local competitors.

PCA members can expect to see practical marketing tools and resources for painting contractors provided by PCA and Signpost in the next few months.

See how Signpost can help you boost your online reviews and get more exposure within your local market. PCA members are eligible for preferred pricing and an introductory offer through May 28, 2021.

Learn More

Signpost recently joined PHCC, the Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors Association as as a new associate member. PHCC is one of the largest and oldest trade associations in the United States and is built on a commitment to excellence through the best education, advocacy, and connections. It offers a wealth of practical tools and resources to help members improve their technical skills, implement best practices in business management, and grow their business.

As a member, we are excited to align with this industry organization and help more plumbing and HVAC business owners boost their online presence and get more customer reviews. Signpost provides an affordable, easy-to-use app that contractors need to get more 5-star reviews and stand out from their local competitors.

Together with PHCC, Signpost provides practical educational tools and resources which help members get the most out of their business investments. Look for more information from PHCC member communications and from Signpost. 

See how Signpost can help you boost your online reviews and get more exposure within your local market. PHCC members are eligible for preferred pricing and an introductory offer through May 28, 2021.

Learn More

ServiceMonster, a leader in field service technology, and Signpost, a leading customer communication platform, are companies that have demonstrated a strong track record of helping local business owners minimize the time spent on administrative and communication tasks, which take them away from their core business strengths. Together, they offer owners of home service businesses, like carpet cleaners, an easy way to:

• Help prospective customers find the business
• Organize the day-to-day operations
• Manage the business from the field
• Finish jobs & get paid faster
• Get more online reviews
• Create loyal customers returning for more

We love ServiceMonster!

“ServiceMonster is the go-to platform for folks in the carpet cleaning industry. Their product is first class and their teams have been phenomenal to work with as we continue to build our partnership. We’re looking forward to a bright future working with their teams as we educate folks on the benefits of using both tools to successfully run a business!” – Tom Davis, Sr. Director of Partnerships, Signpost

Get the Lead and Get the Job
For field service organizations, the joint platforms help kick off the relationship with customers, by helping them find YOU!  And once they find you, the apps make it easy for them to contact you, schedule jobs, and get common questions answered – even when you are away from the office.

On the job.

When your team is on the job, the ServiceMonster app helps you manage work orders so that each technician at every level knows exactly what needs to be completed. And with a shared job completion checklist, everyone knows what steps to take to finish a job.

After the job- Get paid and Get the review

When the job is complete, both platforms help you continue the customer-centric communication –with ServiceMonster helping you get paid right away and with Signpost requesting online reviews when the experience is still fresh. They also help you stay in touch with customers with automated customer campaigns to remain top of mind and increase your repeat business.

A note from the ServiceMonster team:

“Signpost provides home service businesses with the tools needed to maintain high quality customer communication, which is something that we value a lot here at ServiceMonster! We’re so excited to partner with Signpost in providing software solutions that make running a great business even easier.”

Why do home cleaning companies choose Signpost and ServiceMonster?

Backbone of the operation and Excellent customer service

ServiceMonster Rocks!  We have built our carpet cleaning empire with their software as the backbone of our structure.  It helps track referrals, stay in touch with our clients, and help us stay strong and grow.  They have the best customer service I have ever experienced anywhere. 

– Matthew Richerzhagen

Designed for home cleaning services

We used ServiceMonster for years in our carpet cleaning business…It was an awesome service and we could not have been happier.”

– Eric Sprag

An impeccable onboarding experience and customer success team

With SignPost our business moved up the rankings fast.  The person who gave us the orientation was very explicit in everything and their information was understandable and we were able to incorporate it immediately. Signpost is a company that I highly recommend. If you want to grow your business, Signpost is the way to go.

– Carmen’s Cleaning Service

Automated marketing support in real-time

“Signpost is here to help us with our marketing campaigns on social media sites and in developing viable leads from our website. The representatives are very friendly, professional, and customer support is always ready to provide marketing assessment.” 

-Patricia Walker, TNT Residential Pressure Washing Service

To learn more about ServiceMonster, visit our partner page.

See how Signpost can help home cleaning service businesses stay in touch with their customers before, during, and after a job.

Get Demo

Why Smith.ai?

Smith.ai was founded with a mission to help business owners succeed by helping them focus on doing what they do best. We all recognize that there are certain essential functions in almost every business that take time away from actually providing service to customers. The Smith.ai platform helps home service professionals stay in touch with prospects and customers without interrupting the time spent on the job. With virtual receptionists, service providers won’t miss a call from a potential customer and can easily schedule appointments and log details in the management system. Smith.ai offers many ways to communicate with customers; and coupled with the Signpost solution, it helps provide seamless inbound and outbound communication.

“We’re excited to offer complementary solutions which give business owners and their customers choices in the way they communicate. Small businesses can respond quickly to customer requests by phone, text or chat. They never have to worry about missing a lead again.”

 – Tom Davis, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Signpost

Learn how the Signpost and Smith.ai combination can help your business

“5 Steps to Better Google Reviews for Home Service Businesses in 2021”

How can you use marketing tools to improve your customers’ experience and boost your Google ratings? Smith.ai and Signpost teamed up to share:

• How reviews help your business appear in Google search
• How excellent customer service helps you get reviews
• Easy ways to wow your customers into writing strong reviews
• How outbound marketing can help convert leads to happy customers
• How to get more reviews on Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook, and other channels too

Watch Video

Need a 1:1 assessment of how both solutions can help your business? 

We’re happy to schedule a demo.

By connecting your Signpost and JobNimbus accounts, you’ll maximize the benefits of both platforms, specifically to:

• Sync contacts: Signpost’s integration with JobNimbus enables contractors to sync and organize contacts and messages based on important lifecycle stages. For example, contacts that are classified as leads and estimates in JobNimbus will receive messages that were designed in Signpost for prospective customers, such as new homeowner offers. Contacts in JobNimbus that have been sold or have completed jobs will receive messages that are more relevant to active customers, such as review requests.

• Automate your messaging: By connecting Signpost with JobNimbus, review requests are automatically sent following the completion of each and every job. Additionally, our powerful marketing automation engine will automatically reach and engage prospects with offers, newsletters, and other messaging. In any scenario, the integration eliminates the manual effort related to sorting through and uploading contact lists, freeing up time for higher value tasks. 

• Maximize the value of every contact and job: Automation ensures that the right messages are sent to the right people at the right time. With the Signpost-JobNimbus integration, contractors can consistently nurture contacts within their database, driving more value over time and keeping your business top-of-mind before a job is started and long after a job is complete. 

We’re excited to offer our customers this easy and effective way to get more value out of both Signpost and JobNimbus!

• If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a demo with our team. 
• Click here to learn more above JobNimbus and sign up for their free trial. 
• If you’re already a Signpost and JobNimbus customer, click here to connect your account.  

Why CompanyCam?

CompanyCam was founded in 2014 by contractors and for contractors to ensure that crews could document their jobs, communicate with one another, and save their companies an hour a day – every day. The app was designed to document projects at every stage – from initial documentation, asset storage, and eventual photo sharing with insurance companies, adjusters, and homeowners. The app is incredibly easy to use and affordable. 

We’d be totally remiss not to mention that CompanyCam has a fantastic team as well! They’re a dedicated group of professionals who are committed to helping contractors. They’re also fellow members of The Catalyst Group, a vetted group of industry vendors committed to ‘do it right’. 

What’s on Tap for 2021?

We’re excited to partner with CompanyCam to sponsor Highway to Hail 2021! This annual roadshow helps contractors start the year off right, with the latest tips, tools, and technology. The event also features the annual forecast, presented by Hail Trace. We’ll be presenting alongside Atlas Roofing to discuss all things marketing. Specifically, we’ll detail how contractors can attract, convert, and drive more loyalty among homeowners throughout the lifetime of your relationships. We’re excited to share proven tips to generate more sales, and we can’t think of better partners to help kickstart your year! Click here to learn more about the roadshow and sign up for important event updates. 

How Can I Learn more?

• If you’re a contractor who hasn’t implemented CompanyCam, visit this page to sign up for a free 14-day trial.
• If you need additional help, visit the CompanyCam resource page for additional information.
• To learn more about how Signpost can turbocharge your CompanyCam experience, connect with our team.