You know how important those online reviews are to your property management company. Incentivizing your reviews can be good or bad and can help or hurt your online reputation.
Today, we’re talking about what you should do and what you shouldn’t do when you’re trying to increase the number of positive reviews you receive from owners and tenants about your services.
What NOT to Do: Incentivizing Clients
When we talk about bad incentivizing, we’re really talking about paying for good reviews or giving the impression that you’re paying for good reviews.
How does this happen?
Perhaps you offer a gift card or a raffle entry to any owner who leaves you some feedback online. It might seem like you’re offering a harmless incentive, but it can damage your authenticity and your credibility.
It can also backfire.
We have seen companies do this, and it doesn’t always work out. A person might write a review publicly saying that the company tried to pay them or give them a gift card in exchange for a positive review. Not only does this result in a negative review about your brand; it also makes people stop and question the positive reviews that you do have. They’ll wonder if you paid for those.
In this scenario, all of your positive reviews become stained with the suspicion that they aren’t real. Owners want to leave their investments with someone who is trustworthy and credible. If they don’t think you’re authentic, they won’t believe you can take care of their home effectively.
What you SHOULD Do: Incentivizing Staff
When we talk about great ways to incentivize, we mean your staff. Motivate your team members to ask your clients for feedback online. You can incentivize your employees in many different ways, and when they reach out to your clients to ask for reviews, those will be genuine reviews that prospective owners will appreciate reading.
You want your staff to make the extra effort in attracting good reviews from your clients. You can start with these steps:
- It’s important to have a budget. Decide how much you’re willing to spend on your staff to move them towards asking for more reviews. Break it down into how much you’re willing to spend on each positive review.
- Decide how you’re going to incentivize your staff. Perhaps it’s with PTO; people love extra time off. Maybe it will be with a gift card or an office raffle.
Benefits of Incentivizing Your Staff
This is a really great way for your staff to become more involved and invested in your online reputation. When you can motivate them to ask your clients for reviews, you’re accomplishing two important things.
First, you’re earning more positive online reviews.
Second, you’re giving your staff a great reason to provide outstanding customer service. They won’t want to ask for reviews if they don’t think the review will be five stars.
Build the online reputation of your property management company by gaining more reviews and encouraging your staff to reach out to owners and tenants for feedback. It keeps you authentic and protects you against angry clients who may feel used if you try to incentivize them for positive reviews.
If you have questions about online reputation management or growing your property management company, please contact us at Fourandhalf.
