Any client who takes a few minutes out of their day to write you a review (regardless of whether it’s positive or negative) deserves to be acknowledged, thanked and even rewarded for their efforts.
Acknowledging reviews of all shapes and forms (those you receive on your website, Facebook, Homely account or in a handwritten card), shores up referrals and return business, and shows potential clients that you’re an accessible, responsive and considerate real estate professional.
Here are three ways to show your gratitude to customers once they’ve written you a review.
Send a thank you note
Show that you appreciate their business and feedback with a personalised thank you note for every single review you receive. Depending on the format of the review your message of thanks could be an online comment, email or written letter.
Thanking clients is important in general, and maybe even more worthwhile when dealing with negative feedback in reviews. In a perfect world there wouldn’t be any negative reviews, but in real estate we know not everything goes to plan all the time. Turning a blind eye on learning opportunities and ways to improve your service won’t help you in the long run.
To show that you’re gracious, proactive, willing to listen and happy to work to resolve any client dissatisfaction when dealing with negative reviews:
-
Thank them for taking the time to write the review,
-
recognise the issue and
-
offer a sincere apology and possible solution.
Gifts
Reward and delight your reviewers with a small token of your appreciation. For example, you could randomly draw a monthly winner from all your reviewers and reward them with a voucher for a local restaurant, movie tickets or a food hamper.
Consider sending a personal thank you gift to reviewers that put in a concerted effort to write particularly detailed and thoughtful testimonials for you. For instance, if you know they’re a keen gardener send them a plant for their new backyard or if they’re renovating their new home a hardware store gift card would be a great way to say thank you.
Make a fuss
Give your satisfied client 15 minutes of fame by sharing out their written review on your professional social media accounts and tagging them (always get the clients ok before doing this). This highlights to past and potential clients your great track record of happy customers who go to extra lengths to thank you for your exceptional services.
Better yet, make your client feel like a star by inviting them to create a video testimonial about the excellent service and result they achieved with you. Ask the client to mention what they liked best about working with you with specific examples of how you went above and beyond for them. Add these videos to your website, YouTube channel, newsletters, your Premier Agent Showcase and social media pages.
A word of caution: If your target market suspect that you’re paying for good reviews or testimonials you risk losing their trust and looking disingenuous which may lead to them taking their business elsewhere. So it’s wise to steer clear of offering payment or rewards in exchange for positive reviews and customer testimonials.
Acknowledging and thanking clients for reviewing you is an important yet simple and effective means to build up relationships and your credibility as an agent. If you’re looking for more ways to build your reputation and get more client feedback take a look at these six powerful ways to get more reviews.
