Buying, selling, or renting real estate properties is a challenging and draining task. Many homeowners and first-time buyers feel reluctant to trust a real estate agency and brokers with their money.
Since you entrust the real estate agent with your property of considerable value, real estate agents must be well-established. Customers in the real estate business are motivated by reviews others have left for the agent. To choose a suitable real estate agent, customers must consider many factors, like their budget and preferred location. Review collection is a significant way to stand ahead in the competitive real estate market. Let’s discuss it in detail.
The Benefits of Customer Reviews
Apart from marketing, there are many other reasons why customer reviews generally benefit businesses and customers:
1. Social Proof Builds Trust
The only way newer buyers or sellers can judge your competence is by looking at the reviews left by your previous customers. Most of us like to look at a business’s reviews before spending money on their services. If these reviews are positive, the customer feels much more comfortable doing business with them. Online positive reviews help you develop social proof of your service quality. This proof acts as a source of building trust in your company in the public eye.
2. Better Reviews Improve Search Result Ranking
SEO has become an essential part of online marketing. Positive reviews have a substantial impact on your company website. Once your company name is mentioned on multiple instances by different users, the search engine’s algorithm considers it. This phenomenon can result in your website appearing in the top search results on Google.
Customers also leave reviews on social media pages and accounts. When customers share your business on their account, they share it with all their social contacts. Such involvement gives your business a reputable image in the local communities.
3. Brings More Business
Positive reviews and testimonials for your business bring more business to your company. As 97% of customers use the internet to find local businesses, having good reviews will attract more business to your company. Positive customer reviews on different websites establish a good reputation for your business in the public eye. Customer testimonials on various social media platforms also increase the chances of referrals and recommendations. This process subsequently provides you with more business opportunities by reaching new audiences.
How to Gather Positive Reviews as a Real Estate Agent?
You can take many steps to provide better customer service as a real estate agent. Satisfied customers are more likely to leave good reviews that benefit your business.
1. Get a License
While the government of the United States of America does not restrict any property owners from acting as their agents, it does require every person claiming to be a real estate agent or a broker to be licensed by the state.
The criteria for granting a license can differ in each state. However, some states, like New Jersey, will require you to take a test before permitting you. In this particular case, it is helpful to look for sources such as the real estate prep guide NJ to walk you through the process. Getting a state license is highly beneficial to boost your credibility. It encourages trust in new customers and makes them comfortable dealing with you.
2. Attention to Detail
As a real estate agent, attention to detail is one of your most powerful assets. An excellent real estate agent should always pay attention to the unique needs of their clients. This allows them to look into properties specifically suitable for an individual and helps develop a personal connection with your client. When clients observe that you can rightfully assess their needs, they will likely be satisfied with your service. This experience also encourages them to refer your business to other people.
3. Engaging Personality
Many clients in the real estate industry are about to make some of the critical decisions of their lives. In this regard, they always want to stay involved and informed. As a real estate agent, you must present yourself as an approachable and honest person, so your clients do not feel reluctant to talk to you about their needs and likings. An engaging personality will help your clients overcome the initial barrier of awkwardness between real estate agents and their clients.
What Are the Best Sites for Real Estate Agent Reviews?
You can use many websites to collect reviews for your real estate business. The general preferences can vary depending on the nature of your company and the relevancy of the targeted website. However, a few websites can be considered universally good platforms to collect reviews for your real estate business.
- Google: As the most used search engine around the globe, Google is one of the best platforms to collect helpful reviews for your business. Since most of the newer customers will use Google to search for local businesses around them, your business can significantly benefit from having a Google review database.
- Facebook: For small businesses, Facebook is an excellent website for gathering helpful customer reviews. Since Facebook is a social platform, it is an ideal place to get trustworthy and public referrals.
- Industry-specific websites are also critical regarding customer reviews in the real estate industry. Consider Zillow, a website dedicated to the real estate business. A real estate agent must have a personal and business profile setup on industry-specific websites like Zillow.
Endnote
Given the competitive nature of the real estate business, helpful customer reviews can be a significant reason behind the success of some agencies and brokers. An engaging attitude is constructive in encouraging customers to leave positive reviews. Reviews on websites like Google, Facebook, and Zillow are an expendable resource to real estate agents.
