Page 9 - Redbrik Estate Agents: Winter 2018

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reviews and recommendations where do sellers and landlords go? Certainly good old fashioned word-of-mouth plays a part, as does the increasing in uence of social media forums, but there is also a new resource, one that creates an interesting debate - the review site!
At Redbrik we have not joined (translation - paid for our business to be listed on) one of the ever growing number of estate agency review sites. Instead we have chosen to rely on the organic process of recommendations and the kind clients who have expressed their gratitude for our services on sites like Google and Facebook.
It is something we have looked at and always shied away from. Why?
Because we feel that these are sites that are open for misuse and manipulation.
There are ongoing investigations into the validity of many of the reviews posted on some of the bigger forums by businesses, especially the online only varieties, where their online reputations are crucial.
The removal of signi cant numbers of 1* reviews and negative comments, while at the same time questionable 5* reviews are posted is concerning.
It is a scary thought that the story
line of one of my favourite TV drama series, Homeland, could be a reality. On the show people are paid to write thousands of fake reviews to shape public opinion. On my Twitter feed
I recently highlighted an article in propertyidustryeye.com, where they had spotted a ‘super-fan’ of online agents, who had posted three 5* reviews on Trustpilot of three di erent British estate agents this year.
Moving three times in a year is a feat in itself, but I mentioned the word British, as the article points out the reviewer lives in the USA!
So while we are not rushing to join the raft of online review websites, we do have big plans for the next ve years. Plans that will no doubt evolve and be shaped by the market conditions, technology and our clients needs, but one thing is certain, we will make sure we keep striving to look after our customers and try to deliver the best experience possible.
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