Real estate customers are becoming more reliant on word-of-mouth referrals, feedback, and online reviews as part of their decision-making process related to choosing a real estate businesses or realtor. Customers read online reviews about real estate businesses and agents on popular websites such as Zillow, Trulia, RateMyAgent, Google, and Facebook. Recent studies suggest:
- Almost 85% of customers rely on online reviews to make informed choices.
- 62% will make contact with a real estate agent due to the agents positive online reviews.
- 71% are very likely to do an internet search for a real estate if referred to them via word of mouth
More about the survey results here:
Businesses that do not account for reviews on the internet are missing out on a significant vector for growth. Reviews are collected from many areas of the real estate agent business. Feedback from both landlords and sales customers is very important; it should be collected and responded to directly on the review website. Some agents set up separate business profiles for their agencies—one for sales and one for property management. These discrete profiles are helpful for channeling customers to the correct team and controlling reviews for each arm of the business.
We often speak with agents nervous about getting negative reviews and worried about how to manage them. We encourage unfavourable reviews; they give you a chance to shine in full view of your customers. Responding to reviews in a professional, customer-focused manner is your best tool to combat word-of-mouth from dissatisfied customers and helps prospective customers see how you run your business and value customer feedback. Should we only focus on Google reviews? Google is certainly the most popular site that we read reviews on. However, there are many other websites that support reviews, and they should not be ignored. Other sites that should be incorporated into a review strategy include:
- Yellow Pages
- True Local
- Product Review
- Tripadvisor
- Trustpilot
A quick Google search will show how these sites collect customer reviews. How do we implement a review strategy? You need to be sure you’re on top of the popular and growing review sites and know if your business is getting reviews—good or bad. Setting up a review strategy is not difficult so long as you are using the best tools. Part of any review strategy should include both monitoring and a review invitation program. There are five key things you need to build into your Review Strategy:
- How to respond
- Who responds
- How responders access reviews and review sites (Google, Facebook, etc.)
- How to send invites
- When to send invites
AddMe Reviews takes the work out of all these steps and helps you complete this strategy in one central location. We will work with your team to ensure these key points are addressed and your review strategy employs best practices.
*Survey data and responds sourced from Zip Realty
