Managing online reviews and improving the online reputation of a multifamily property are essential for attracting and retaining residents. The number one way prospects are finding their new apartment home is through online searching, and online property ratings and reviews have a HUGE impact on not only the quantity of prospects interested in a property, but the quality of those prospects.
By having a process in place to cultivate positive reviews and feedback from happy prospects and residents, you will create a digital reputation that will serve a property for years and years. .
In this post we will explore a few strategies and ideas to build a positive reputation online. Regardless of how you choose to approach this issue, it should be addressed through the multifamily continuous improvement process, which you can read about more on our blog post here.
Active Review Management
Step one is taking control of what you already have. Even if you’ve never given a second thought to the digital footprint of a property, that property has reviews and feedback, and understanding how it stands currently is where we begin.
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Monitor Reviews Regularly: Keep a close eye on review sites like Google Maps, Yelp, ApartmentRatings, and social media platforms. Set up alerts to notify you when new reviews are posted and make sure they are routed to onsite teams for fast response.
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Respond Promptly: Address both positive and negative reviews promptly. Thank residents for positive feedback and acknowledge their satisfaction. For negative reviews, respond professionally and empathetically, offering solutions and inviting them to discuss the issue further offline. The quality of a response is MORE important and MORE impactful than the original feedback.
Encourage Positive Reviews
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Request Reviews: Encourage satisfied residents to leave positive reviews. This can be done through follow-up emails after maintenance requests, move-ins, or community events. We also recommend including this is part of our live chat leasing support service.
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Incentivize Feedback: Offer small incentives, like a discount on rent or a chance to win a gift card, for residents who leave reviews. But, if you catch them at the right moment, most happy customers will be glad to leave positive feedback, particularly if it’s asked for.
Address Negative Feedback
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Investigate Complaints: Take negative feedback seriously and investigate the issues raised. Build it into your PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. Resolve problems swiftly and effectively.
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Communicate Improvements: Let the resident and the broader community know about the steps taken to address issues. This shows that you are proactive and committed to improving the living experience.
Provide Excellent Customer Service
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Train Staff: Make sure all staff members are trained to provide exceptional customer service from the start. Positive interactions with staff can lead to favorable reviews. This is one of our top priorities when training our in house centralized leasing agents. Also make sure staff know how to respond to online reviews, or designate a PM or supervisor oversee this process.
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Be Proactive: Anticipate and address residents’ needs before they become problems. Regularly solicit feedback through surveys or suggestion boxes to identify areas for improvement. Again, this should be part of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle.
Highlight Positive Features
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Point Out Successes and Showcase Amenities: Sometimes prospects and residents need a little help noticing how well things have gone. With the right messaging, you can help them understand ‘why’ they are happy with the service, and prompt them to share the experience with others. You can also highlight the property’s best features and amenities to encourage promotion of those selling points.
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Share Success Stories: Post positive testimonials, community event highlights, and success stories on your website and social media. Do this regularly!
Build a Strong Online Presence
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Engage on Social Media: Actively engage with your community on social media platforms. Share updates, event photos, and important information regularly. You don’t want to get nosey into the personal lives of residents, but instead foster an environment where community can develop and grow.
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Create Quality Content: Maintain a blog or news section on your website with helpful tips for residents, updates on property improvements, and community news. This can also include the positive feedback from online sources (once it’s available!).
Utilize Reputation Management Tools
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Reputation Management Software: Use reputation management software to streamline review monitoring, response, and analysis. There are many options for this, but here at Leasing Chat we include Multifamily Property Reputation Management as part of our core service offering - Ask us how we can help you achieve a great online reputation!
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Analytics: Use analytics to track review trends and identify areas for improvement.
Foster a Positive Community Environment
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Organize Events: Host community events that encourage positive interactions among residents and create a sense of belonging. Events like these give residents a reason to provide feedback, and helps share the great living experience of your property with friends, family, and online! For some Community Event Ideas, check out our blog post here.
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Promote Resident Involvement: Encourage residents to participate in community activities and decision-making processes. Be open and transparent about everything going on at the property to prevent residents from unexpected negative experiences.
Transparent Communication
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Open Dialogue: Maintain open lines of communication with residents, ensuring they feel heard and valued.
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Regular Updates: Provide regular updates on property improvements, policy changes, and community events.
Conclusions
The online presence of a multifamily property is vitally important to its success, and is dictated by more than just the ILS listings. Having a well managed Google Maps Business Listing, and cultivating positive reviews and feedback can drive search results, prospect interaction, and improved quality of applicants.
If you would like more information about how Leasing Chat can help your property perform better online, please contact us.