Rental property ownership can be lucrative, but doing it right is very time consuming. Often rental property owners are so busy keeping up with the mandatory tasks that the less pressing needs fall to the wayside. One of those needs that rental property owners can fail to view as important is customer feedback on their properties.
Most rental property owners fail to implement a customer feedback management policy, but utilizing a property manager like Martin Feinberg can easily remedy such a mistake. Experienced property managers know how to attract new tenants while also enhancing the experiences of current tenants through customer feedback.
Because online reviews and social media recommendations can greatly impact how prospective renters see a property, understanding how to use customer feedback is important. Most professional property managers accomplish the task by asking for reviews. They often also monitor all social media mentions and review sites. Though it can be time-consuming, property managers are usually better set up than owners to do so.
Property managers can learn more about customer experiences by posting social media surveys, using guest registration cards on their websites, visiting online review sites and renter forums, and completing face-to-face interviews with both prospective and current tenants.
Property managers will understand that some reviews will be difficult to hear, whether justified or not, and others will be flattering. They will also understand that getting the most out of customer feedback means not ignoring any of them.
Customer service experts typically use four strategies to manage their online reputations. Property managers can do the same.
Say Thank You.
Property managers should recognize all positive customer comments and respond
Own the Mistakes.
When a negative review is deserved the property manager should apologize. Then steps need to be taken to make sure a bad experience is unlikely to happen again in the future.
Respond
Property managers need to respond to reviews as soon as they are discovered. Managers should promise to investigate and take corrective action for all negative reviews and always thank commenters for their feedback.
Use Technology
Technology allows property managers to instantly respond to digital inquiries, and collect information that can be used to positively shape the customer experience.
Rental property owners need to remember than reviews and recommendations figure into how Facebook and Google rank a business. Property managers can help owners by implementing a customer feedback management policy that acknowledges the importance of all input, good and bad.
