Boosting the Reputation of Your Rental Property Management Business With Yelp

As a responsible rental property management business, you want your online reputation to be a strong part of your overall business reputation. How can you boost the reviews of your rental property management business on online venues such as Yelp?

Your Online Reputation Matters

Online reviews can be either a huge advantage or a hindrance to your business. The Business Journals states that "nearly half of adults in developed markets learn about companies via social media." Just like in-person word of mouth, social review sites such as Yelp can really influence public opinions about your company.

Be Proactive

To build your online reputation, you need reviews on sites such as Yelp that provide feedback to others considering your rental property management services. Asking for reviews needs to be an automatic part of your tenant and owner communication process. Ask for reviews when tenants leave, but do so during the time they're your tenants as well, as people are busy with a move and can easily forget to write a long, positive review.

Have Exceptional Customer Service

When you're compassionate, communicative, and well-organized, your owners and tenants will likely enjoy your customer service overall. Ensure that you have a strong property maintenance schedule and that you communicate well with your tenants. Property management software can help you create online communication portals for both owners and tenants, making communication simpler. If someone posts a negative review in response to a real situation at one of your properties, work to respond and resolve this situation if possible. Even if they decide to keep that negative feedback online, you'll appear to be responsive and sensible in your response.

When you create a company with excellent customer service, you'll reap the rewards in other ways as well. By creating satisfied customers, you'll build brand advocates. According to Property Management Insider, these individuals "are highly satisfied customers and others who actively promote products they love and care about." They'll leap to your defense when they see a negative review.

Aim for the Top

You want your business to be in the top search results for rental property management companies in your area. Beyond that, you also need to have positive information about your company rise to the top of search results when people look for your name. Create blogs, webinars, eBooks, and other content that's valuable and attractive to tenants, owners, and the rental property management community at large. Promote this content, and you'll become a trusted resource online and that positive content will rise above any negative reviews in the search engines.

Monitor and Take Action

If someone is angry at your business or another business is posting fake reviews, this can do a lot of damage to your online reputation. You need to monitor online reviews as part of your work week. Think of it as maintenance for your online reputation. If you find a damaging review that appears to be real, address it as a customer service issue. If the review is obviously fake, you can ask the website to remove it or you could leave it and let it get buried by positive reviews. A fake posting situation that continues over time may warrant legal action, especially if you can determine the identity of the poster.

"We’re so technology-driven as a company and that's what we're touting to our clients. When we meet with them, we're showing them how we do owner payouts, how the portal works. Owners love the ease of use." - Deb Newell / Real-Time Leasing

As a rental property management company, you strive for excellence in customer service. Propertyware can help you achieve your goal. Our cloud-based property management software products can assist you in diverse areas of your business, from managing lease agreements, organizing maintenance schedules, and analyzing data. Sign up for a free online tour today.