Feedback from past clients is a great marketing tool. There’s no sales pitch or advertisement that’s as trusted as the opinion of another customer. In fact, the 2009 Nielsen Global Online Consumer 
Survey of 25,000 people found that “recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising."
Survey of 25,000 people found that “recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising."When you ask clients for their opinion you want to be careful to not damage your relationship in the process. You don’t want to ask the same customer to post a review on Yelp, Facebook, then on LinkedIn, etc, etc. That’d be too much harassment, don’t you think?
If you’d like to collect all your reviews in one place, remain in control of them, and re-purpose them across Facebook, Google, your website, blogs, listing presentations, etc. you should leverage a survey tool like Survey Monkey or ReachFactor.com to handle the job. Some services like ReachFactor also give you a dedicated Web page that displays your reviews and contact info (without any of your competitors being shown) for lead gen potential.
Blind surveys get about a 50% response rate. These are surveys that are emailed (or sent) to clients without prior notice. 50% is not bad, but keep in mind that each review will help you rank higher in Google, maintain your commission structure through an enhanced reputation, and close more business. Each review is worth money -- so we should all strive for a 100% response rate.
Here are 3 tips many of our clients use to get a 100% response rate.
Here are 3 tips many of our clients use to get a 100% response rate.
1. Make Some Phone Calls: Call your clients in advance and ask them for help. If you’ve done a great job the client most probably appreciated that you worked so hard to get the deal done. [8 out of 10 surveys clients receive are glowing reviews]. Play to their emotions and use a holiday like the new year to your advantage..
“Hi Susan, I wanted to call and just say thanks so much for trusting me to handle your real estate transaction last year. 2010 was tough but I think we accomplished something great together [cite personal anecdote]. As 2011 rolls in, I’m doing my best to collect as much feedback as I can from prior customers to help me improve. Would it be OK to send you a 30-second Survey by email? I’d really appreciate your help with this. I’m using a service called [ReachFactor, Survey Monkey, etc] so please keep an eye on your email for the Survey from them. I’ll follow up in a week just to make sure you got it. Thanks so much! Wishing you and your family a very happy new year. ”
2. Add a Personal Message to the Survey: Most survey services automatically include a template cover letter that goes out with each Survey but allow you to make modifications. It is always better to personalize each message so people are reminded of who you are and the transaction experience. We’ve seen this style of personal message work very well:
Hi Susan,
It was really a pleasure assisting you with your home sale in Calabasas. I am so happy that we were able to close at your asking price! I hope you and the kids are settled in your new place and that the weather is not too bad (I hear that San Antonio is hot and muggy this time of year).
I’m getting myself ready for 2011 and wanted to get your opinion on the service I provided. This will help me improve my service. I promise this won’t take more than 30 seconds of your time and it will really help me. I appreciate it!
[insert link to survey here]
Sincerely,
Judy
You’ll see that the message places the survey into context, lets the client know you still remember them, and then asks them to complete the survey which should take them no more than 30 seconds.
3. Send, then follow up: If you have a big client roster, another option is to send blind surveys to your entire roster then follow up only with those who don’t respond (remember, 50% will likely give you a response anyway). Your follow up should be a phone call to let them know you’ll be sending a survey from a 3rd party Survey service and you’d appreciate it if they could keep an eye on their spam filter in the next day or two. Something like this..
Hi Susan, it’s me Judy. I’m doing a year end survey of all my clients and would love to get your honest feedback. I’ll be emailing you a link to a 30-second survey, could you please fill it out? The email will come from a service I use called [ReachFactor, Survey Monkey, etc] so please keep an eye out for it. In your spam filter too - haha!
I really appreciate all your help and wish you and the family a very happy new year!
Please call me if there’s anything I can help you with.
Some survey services send reminders automatically (ReachFactor sends them 1, 3 and 7 days after your initial request) but it’s always a good idea to make a phone call. If your client has not filled out your Survey don’t think they’re ignoring you. They most likely haven’t checked email or their spam filter in a while.
So there you have it. Start 2011 with a bang. Real estate agent reviews are craved by consumers and this is the time to separate yourself from others in the industry. Be sure to use a service that helps you gain Google traffic, drives that traffic to you directly, and allows you to re-purpose your reviews into all your marketing automatically. It costs almost nothing and each review strengthens your reputation. That's priceless.
Remember the Nielsen results.. reviews are the most trusted form of advertising.
Here’s to a prosperous new year! Cheers.
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