Nowhere are positive ratings and reviews more valuable than in the real estate industry. According to Zillow’s 2017 Consumer Housing and Trends Report, half of sellers consider online real estate reviews and ratings to be an important factor when choosing an agent to work with.
Meanwhile, the same report found that 48% of buyers read online real estate reviews when evaluating potential agents.
Clearly, how you’re viewed by past clients matters a great deal to your future clients. That means positive real estate reviews can be a powerful factor when it comes to driving new business.
This post will walk you through:
- Collecting rave reviews from past clients
- Including this social proof in your marketing
- Letting the world know just how valued of a real estate agent you are!
Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Ask Past Clients for Real Estate Reviews
If you want reviews, you need to ask for them! Many clients won’t go out of the way to praise you without a motivator. Even if they’ve had a stellar experience with you, your clients need to be steered to the channels where you’d like them to leave their glowing feedback.
In an episode of Placester’s Marketing Genius podcast, Vija Williams, a Seattle-based realtor, says she encourages her team to let clients know from day one that they will be asking for a review and a referral if they’ve enjoyed their experience.
Williams says:
“Your entire organization has to be review focused. And the reviews need to be asked for from the day you meet [your clients]. Don’t wait until your deal closes for reviews! Clients can review you at any point in the process.”
She recommends that you ask your clients for reviews at one or more of these five major “happy points” of a real estate transaction:
- Having a satisfying home inspection
- Getting an appraisal in at value
- Getting their final loan approval
- At the signing appointment
- At the closing
A personal touch is always welcome. To make asking for real estate reviews less transactional, try writing a personal hand-written note, thanking your clients for picking you and being delightful to work with.
Or, go the extra mile by offering them a closing gift or taking them out to a celebratory deal-closing lunch. This will remind clients of all that you’ve already done for them, and give them an incentive to return the favor with a referral or positive review.
Here are just a few ways you can turn the feedback that you collect from clients into lead-generating content:
Step 2: Bake Your Positive Real Estate Reviews into Your Marketing
Once you’ve acquired several positive reviews, you can’t just let them sit there unused!
Praise for your real estate business or skills adds an element of social proof to your marketing by backing up the claims that you make on your agent website Bio and About pages.
There’s no limit to where you can share good reviews, but here are a few popular options:
- Feature a slideshow on your home page (there is a great example at the bottom on this Placester website)
- Dedicate an entire page to Testimonials on your website
- Add a short snippet of your clients’ applause to your email signature
- Feature the praise in your direct mail flyers, magnets, brochures or calendars
Be creative! There are many places to include good real estate reviews in your marketing plan.
Now that you’ve received positive reviews, and found a place for them in your marketing plan, you should take some time to consider which location is the best home for each review.
For example, you’ll have better luck attracting sellers if you include positive reviews from other home sellers, instead of home buyers, in content that speaks to their needs.
Additionally, it’s important to match quotes that you collect to the platform they’ll live in. While a long story from a client about how you helped them buy their new home can certainly paint you in a positive light, trying to cram that entire quote into one Facebook post is not the best idea.
Instead, a short segment from your real estate reviews, or even a visually-appealing review shared via RealSatisfied, may be a better fit for social media promotion.
Your rave reviews can also be optimized for business growth. Sending a compilation to your top leads can help influence them to hire you, rather than another local agent.
They can also be used to generate more new leads! Supply your clients who have recently purchased a home with complimentary “we’ve moved” cards to send to their friend, updating them with their new address. You can include a small promotion for your real estate business along with a short positive review in order to generate referrals.
There are limitless ways to use positive reviews to fuel your business.
To recap the tips listed in this post, these are the four basic steps to gathering and promoting social proof:
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