In previous versions of ReachFactor, you were able to pick and choose which reviews you wanted to syndicate. In our latest release, the choice is either to syndicate all your reviews or none of them. There are a few reasons why we did this.
The primary reason this change was made was to provide you with more exposure.
We are currently working on partnerships with newspapers and other media that we can feed your reviews. This will be a huge benefit to you. All of these partners stipulate that we cannot selectively provide them with reviews on an individual basis as this would be misleading to their audience.
Secondly, removing the ability to pick and choose reviews keeps all agents on the same playing field. Consider that even an underperforming agent gets good reviews every now and then. With our old system, all an underperforming agent had to do was weed out all the negative reviews and keep the good ones and viola.... they look like a superstar (which of course is not fair to the other 99% of agents who actually worked hard for each and every client and earned their stellar reviews).
Finally, publishing all reviews (both good and not so-good) is an opportunity for you. An executive at Citsearch recently noted how businesses with a mix of great and not-so-great reviews actually generated more leads than businesses with only 5-star reviews. Why? Because the consumer found those businesses to be more credible. The key is to comment on the negative review. “Thanks so much for the honest feedback. Our transaction moved at such a brisk pace because of the bank's short-sale deadlines. I'm so sorry you felt hurried, but my goal was to get you the deal you wanted - which I'm so glad happened. I realize I should have communicated this better. I would love to discuss if there are other areas I can improve; you can reach me at 415-555-1212. I hope to speak with you soon.”
Every business (even Ritz-Carlton) gets an occasional less-than-favorable review. Customers know and even expect this. Responding to the negative review generates confidence that you are an agent who takes care of their customers no matter what.