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In every industry, a solid reputation is important to a successful business. As real estate professionals, we know it’s crucial. Businesses can be made or broken based on recommendations and word of mouth, and online reviews are a key piece to this puzzle. While you might assume you are at the mercy of the voices of your clients, you have more control over this process than you think. As one of the top 3 title and settlement agencies in the DC Metro region, Champion Title has put together your guide to cultivating a higher quantity of quality ratings and reviews. Read on to learn how you can build an online community of recommendations that does your promoting for you!
Consistently solicit reviews. This is the most important step in building your online review presence. What does this mean? Implement a soliciting program such as a follow up email at the end of a transaction to your clients whom you are confident had positive experiences. Thank them for their business (you probably already do this!) and ask if they would be willing to share their experience by leaving a review.
Make this step easy for your clients. Include a direct link to the review platform(s) you wish to add to in the body of your email. Your happy customers are more likely to go this extra mile for you if they don’t have to search for your profile on their own.
Maintain a presence on the review platforms potential clients frequent when shopping for your services. A bunch of 5-star ratings on one site is great, but there may be plenty of prospects who don’t use that particular platform. To cover your bases (and be found where your competition is), include links to multiple review sites, and/or switch up the links you use from time to time to keep up with your review needs.
Remember, reviews can, and should, be reciprocal. It’s been proven, those who receive great reviews are more inclined to return the favor. So make sure you are planting positive seeds by posting plenty of glowing reviews to colleagues and other clientele. And it’s ok to come out and ask for one in return! Chances are they will be happy to oblige.
Put those hard-earned reviews to work for you. Once you have gathered a collection of positive comments, repost them on your website, social media pages, and print campaigns! Spread the good word and let everyone see all the great things your clients are saying about you.
Handle negative reviews, in a professional manner. You will get a negative review now and then. It might be from a client you just couldn’t satisfy no matter how hard you tried, or an irrelevant review altogether. Regardless, these must be addressed with a non-emotional approach. Contact the reviewer directly if possible and try to resolve the issue. If a satisfactory outcome has been reached, kindly ask if the reviewer would consider revising his/her original post to reflect this. If all else fails, post a simple response mentioning your attempts to resolve the issue, your concern over their unsatisfactory experience, and suggesting they reach out to you directly for any further discussion. Do not go into great detail or engage in a back and forth! Your audience will appreciate your concern and efforts. And as you continue to build up your rave reviews, those negative ratings here and there will become buried in positivity.
Now that you’ve created a glowing online review presence, maintain 5 star service from beginning to end by choosing to partner with Champion Title on your next closing! For more information visit our website at www.championtitle.com or call us with questions at (703) 444-4100.
