Are you on ApartmentRatings?

Just how important are consumer reviews these days? You can look at the power of sites like yelp.com and kudzu.com, or you can type in "Apartments in any town USA" into Google and see how high sites like apartmentratings.com land on the search. Whether we are looking for a restaurant, a resort, or a place to call home, consumer reviews are driving the purchasing decisions of the modern consumer.

The old way of thinking was to avoid apartment review sites at all cost. As most people in the industry will tell you, they were nothing but venting forums for disgruntled and evicted residents. But now all of that has changed. Not having reviews readily available to prospective residents puts you at an extreme disadvantage. Prospects want to see CGM (consumer generated media) prior to deciding where to live. They do not trust traditional advertising, including your website.

Solicit Reviews! What happens when we solicit reviews rather than sit around and wait for them to appear? We usually see a much more positive response. Maybe it is because our residents appreciate the fact that we are asking for feedback? Maybe it is because without a reminder to review our properties, only the disgruntled residents are motivated enough to post on their own? I don't have the answers, but I do know that when you ask for feedback, the response is overwhelmingly positive.

Take for example Dental TLC in Atlanta GA. I recently went there for the first time based on the high number of positive reviews. When searching for them online, I noticed that they have 283 reviews on Yelp, Kudzu, and other rating sites, giving them four and a half out of five stars.

Upon leaving my appointment, I was handed a water bottle, toothbrush and toothpaste, and this card.




I asked the receptionist about the review card and she said that a majority of their business comes from their online reputation and word of mouth. She credited the fact that their patients are great about writing online reviews. Talk about bang for your marketing buck!

Get some feedback from your residents. It will not only help with resident retention, but it is becoming a necessary marketing piece in order to capture today's renter. If you don't have any reviews, rest assured your prospects are searching for a property that does!