Get more positive reviews with our proven strategy.

Online reviews have never been so important, especially for the real estate industry – it’s a highly competitive market!

Did you know that over 90% of consumers read online reviews before choosing a real estate agent? Unfortunately, people tend to write negative comments, with only 6% of people leaving positive reviews! This can be an issue for agencies with a property management department, as it’s tenants who usually leave bad reviews – this can potentially harm a business’s online reputation.

So how can you protect your company’s reputation and generate more positive feedback? The team at Cube Online has successfully helped hundreds of agencies nationwide, to generate thousands of positive online reviews across Google and Facebook. Here, we share our proven strategy to help your agency acquire 50 positive reviews in just three months!

Seize the moment

When inviting a vendor or a tenant to write a review for your business, just follow these three simple steps:

1. Personalisation is key – you want to make an impression on your customer, so when asking for a review, make sure you use their first name in any verbal conversations and when sending an SMS or email.
2. Time is of the essence – this is the most crucial element when requesting positive reviews – timing! It’s a good idea to invite your customers to provide feedback in person and then send them a link via SMS or email to your Facebook and/or Google My Business pages. We find that people are more likely to write a review when it’s fresh in their minds.
3. Make it easy – this is something to consider; our stats indicate that sending a review invite via SMS is more effective compared to email marketing. And this is no real surprise – as a nation, 89% of Aussies now own a smartphone. Think about your audience and the ways they communicate – it’s all about making it easier for them to respond to your invite.

Seize the moment

As mentioned, if you want to generate more positive reviews, it’s all in the timing. So, when should you ask a tenant or vendor to write an online review? Here, we explore how real estate agents can ask.

New tenants

When a tenant signs a new lease, we suggest that your property management team send an SMS directly to them with a link to your Google My Business or Facebook pages. If you need some examples of how to ask, this is what we suggest:

Example conversation: “Hello Peter, thanks so much for coming in today and congratulations on leasing your new home. Would you mind if I send you a text message now to review your experience with our agency? We would really appreciate it if you would leave a review on Google or Facebook.”

Example SMS: “Hi Peter, congratulations on leasing your new home. Would you take a moment to review your experience with our agency? Simply click here and follow the prompts.”

Lease renewals

This is a great opportunity to request reviews from tenants who signed their initial lease before you had a review strategy in place. Also, if a tenant did not leave a review when they first signed, there’s no issue asking them again when they renew. Not sure how to ask? Here are our suggestions:

Example conversation: “Hello Jenny, thanks so much for coming in today – we are really glad that you’re renewing your lease. You are a wonderful tenant and we hope that you are happy with the property. Would you mind if I send you an SMS now to review your experience with our agency? We would appreciate if you could write the review on Google and/or Facebook.”

Example SMS: “Hi Jenny, it was great to see you today to renew the lease. Would you take a moment to review your experience with our agency? Simply click here and follow the prompts.”

Reviews from landlords

So, you’ve secured a new tenant for a property – the landlord is going to be impressed! When you make the call to the landlord to tell them the good news, why not ask them to review your business? If you need some examples of how to ask, this is what we suggest:

Example conversation: “Hi Jane, its Peter from ABC Agency. I just wanted to let you know we have completed the paperwork with your new tenant. I was hoping to ask you a small favour, and was wondering if you would be happy to tell us about your experience by writing an online review on either Google or Facebook? To make it really easy, I am just going to send you an SMS with the link to our pages. Thanks a lot for your time and we really appreciate your business.”

Example SMS: “Hi Jane, Thanks so much for your time on the phone. As mentioned, we would really appreciate it if you could spend two minutes writing an online review. Simply click here and follow the prompts. Cheers, Peter.

Reviews from vendors

Nearly all agencies have a strategy in place for requesting reviews either internally or with sites such as Rate My Agent. If you are requesting a review via these channels, why not ask for a Google or Facebook review as well? We suggest being a little bit more creative in how you ask. Here’s an idea: a lot of agents will send vendors a small gift after purchasing or selling a property – this is a great conversation starter to request a review. Here are some examples of how to ask:

Example conversation: “Hi Ryan, it’s Jay from ABC Agency, I hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that I have sent a small gift in the mail today to say congratulations on the purchase of your new property. I hope you enjoy it.

“Can I ask a small favour from you? I was wondering if you can write an online review for our agency on Google or Facebook about your recent experience? We would really appreciate it. I will send you an SMS with a link to make it easy. Thanks again and I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

 

The formula to receive 50 online reviews – it’s easy

So, if you want to protect your business’s online reputation and generate more positive online reviews in just three short months, don’t forget to follow our three simple steps: personalise any communication with your vendors and tenants, ask for a review when in direct contact with a customer, and make it easy for your customers by sending them links to Facebook and Google.

In addition, don’t forget to:

• Send an SMS request for every new lease signed
• Send an SMS inviting landlords to review when a new lease is signed
• Send an SMS request to each lease renewal
• Send an SMS request to each vendor after the sale
• Send the review request in person and make it as easy as possible for the client or tenant.

Software with Amazing Service

Generate, monitor and manage all of your customers’ online reviews from one place – Cube Reviews. Join hundreds of other Aussie real estate agents who use this clever software to enhance their businesses’ online reputation. Check out this video.

At Cube Online, we're all about Making Online Easy! Have a question or want to know more ways to boost your business’s online presence? Get in touch with one of our awesome customer service representatives today.