Most businesses these days rely heavily on internet marketing. And part of Internet marketing is the comments left by your current and past customers. In today’s world, it’s not who you know that matters, but what people who know you say about you on social media.

In today’s Internet world, instantly accessible through the use of smartphones, the social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google, Yelp, LinkedIn and others allow access to online “rating” current of a company. You can also post a review of a business instantly with the same tools. This is good for consumers and may be good for business… or not. When someone is unhappy with the service you just provided, the food they had for dinner at your restaurant, or the product they just bought that broke, you can tell the world right away. They feel better and their internet rating has plummeted.

These days, it is very important that your satisfied customers leave positive comments about your company on the Internet. People looking for anything from a restaurant, a haircut, a jewelry store, or a property manager can search for a business based on its ratings online over a cup of coffee. Why would you choose a company that has 2.5 stars out of 5 when you can choose a company that has 4.5 stars out of 5?

But how do you get your customers to post positive reviews? In the property management business, we have two main groups; owners and tenants. Each is approached in the same way and good service is not limited to either group. We work hard to provide the best service to our landlords and renters, and by providing excellent service to both groups, we have a broader audience to reach out to. But don’t stop there, reach out to everyone you do business with; current clients, former clients, suppliers and professional contacts as well.

All personnel in our company are instructed to be aware of positive feedback received from any viable business contact. If they receive a compliment or some positive word about a situation or problem, we follow these guidelines:

– Send that person a pre-formatted email requesting feedback.

– In the email, the staff members thank the person for the compliment and ask them to do them a favor and post a positive comment online.

– Ask for a “five star” rating.

– Provide the links in your email to the social media platform where you want them to be posted. This is important as most people will need your guidance to get to the right online platform where you want them to post. Plus, you can control where they post so it has more value in your overall rating.

– Thank the landlord, tenant, or business contact again and let them know you appreciate their time and positive feedback.

Unfortunately, you won’t always get positive feedback, and that’s hard to control. On some social platforms, you can rebut the negative comment and sometimes that will get it removed. Also, when you ask for “five stars”, that will give positive feedback more weight than negative feedback and your rating will increase.

The best policy, of course, is to provide excellent service to ALL of your customers. Since the Internet and online qualifications are not going away, just consider this part of your daily business life and keep it up! And remember, Rome was not built in a day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *