Did you know that online reviews continue to grow? According to a recent study, 82% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase decision and 60% look at reviews on a weekly basis (Podium, 2017). In fact, 91% of 18-34 year olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Bright Local, 2018).
One of the biggest decisions we ever make, financially and emotionally, is choosing a home. HomeViews’ mission is to support those looking to buy or rent a new build home by sharing useful and trustworthy insights about what it’s really like to live in a residential development.
Here at HomeViews we saw online traffic grow by over 400% in 2020. Lockdown life has meant that more people are turning to digital platforms and online reviews to help support their buying decisions – and it’s no different for decisions about where to live.
It’s therefore more important than ever for developers and operators to make sure they are collecting up-to-date reviews. As a result, prospective residents will see a fair and balanced view of a development’s performance. As we reported recently, we’ve seen no significant dip in ratings during lockdown. Therefore in the list below, we’ve put together five ways HomeViews partners can collect new reviews from residents.
1. Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey
As part of the package our partners receive, we offer a Customer Satisfaction Survey. This is a great way for partners to engage all residents and demonstrate that they are proactively seeking feedback.
We see the best results when a survey is run alongside a number of activities. For example, posters and leaflets can be used as well as the wider team being engaged in asking residents to complete a review.
(For more information on running your Annual Survey, please contact the Accounts team.)
2. Creating a monthly/quarterly reviews campaign
A great way to get a steady flow of reviews each month is by creating a fun campaign. For example, we run a ‘Lucky Dip’ campaign with Fizzy Living, where all residents are asked to write a HomeViews review by promoting the campaign on the resident app/portal.
HomeViews then selects at random a review each month to win. This ensures there is no bias between positive and negative reviews. A prize is then awarded to that reviewer. Fizzy offers winners a month’s free rent but this could also be a luxury hamper or a £100 voucher of their choice.
Within your terms and conditions you can request permission to use their images or name within your social media so you can demonstrate to prospective residents that you are proactively seeking feedback and reviews’
3. Notification push
Operators can set up a tile/push notification to ask residents to submit their reviews within a resident app/portal. This can directly link to a development’s Write a Review page on HomeViews. This could be integrated within your CRM so that an invitation goes out 3 months after a resident has moved in, renewed their tenancy or annual anniversary of moving in.
HomeViews can support partners by providing example email copy if requested.
4. Leaflets and a reactive invitation from teams
As you will have personally experienced in a hotel or restaurant you are more likely to write a review when asked personally by a member of the team you know have built a relationship with, Management teams inviting residents to write a review is one of the most effective ways of collecting more reviews. HomeViews can design bespoke leaflets that teams can then reactively hand over.
5. Ongoing review incentives
As part of your Annual Survey, HomeViews provide an incentive to the first verified residents to write reviews to thank them for their time. This is regardless of what rating the resident gives their development. We then support your team within a specific time period to collect as many reviews as possible. We can set up a monthly incentive that partners fund as a top up and promote. For example, the first 20 reviews each month get a £10 Amazon voucher.
This campaign can be promoted on portals or through leafletting. HomeViews will then automatically send vouchers to verified resident reviews. This means that there is no admin for partners other than paying a single invoice.
Not sure how to respond to your reviews? See our guide here on different ways to respond to your resident feedback.
HomeViews provides verified resident reviews of the UK’s housing developments. We’re working with developers, landlords and the Government to recognise high performers and help to improve standards in the built environment.
