Reviews and What They Mean to Your Brokerage

Word of mouth is a critical component of your brokerage's growth and reputation. Of course, this isn't something you can create out of thin air. It has to happen naturally, because your future clients have an innate sense of manufactured word of mouth.

Your potential clients may use your website to access MLS listings, they may explore the local communities and discover information about the neighborhood, but they will want to know more about you before finally settling on an agent.

You need to give homebuyers a reason to choose you over the competition, and reviews and testimonials will weigh heavily in this decision. Think of them as a way to help homebuyers prequalify agents and brokerages before making first contact. This will help them feel confident that they made the right choice.

Let's take a closer look at what reviews can mean to your brokerage.

Why Reviews are So Important – According to the Statistics

There have been a lot of studies that show exactly how important reviews really are. Some of the more salient points include:

• 85 percent of consumers use online reviews to evaluate local businesses
• Consumers trust peer recommendations (including online reviews) 5x more than traditional advertising
• 62 percent of consumers say they would choose to contact a real estate agent found online if the agent has reviews that were clearly posted by real customers
• When asked if they would contact an agent that had many 5-star ratings as well as a few 2-star ratings, 19 percent said yes, 33 percent of customers said they were "likely" to contact the agent, and 38 percent were "somewhat likely"
• 43 percent said that if they got an agent recommendation by word of mouth, they'd still do an internet search to learn more about the agent.