You can write the most compelling advertisements, create the most user-friendly website filled with lovely floor plans and easy navigation, price your rentals well and have a beautiful facility, but there is one thing that will entice renters quicker than almost anything else you can do. That’s using testimonials from actual tenants who let them know how great it is to live in your property.
Testimonials allow prospective renters to see what it is that your tenants really love about where they live. Adding them to your website is a simple way to see a dramatic increase in the number of rental applications you receive through your site.
The key is, how do you find them? First off, you ask. Invite tenants to share their feelings about your property on the site. Give them the space, maybe through a Facebook fan page, to leave their comments. Sure, you may get some negative reviews, but you’ll receive a lot of positive ones as well. If not, you need to go back to the beginning to create a good place to live.
No one wants to see only positive comments about anything they plan to spend their money on. All positive ratings sound phony, and fishy. Instead, let people voice their authentic feelings and see what kind of results you get.
Another aspect of letting people post their comments about your property online is that you see where you need to improve. If someone says it took three weeks to get a leaky faucet fixed, maybe you need to see what’s holding up your maintenance techs. If someone brags about how they have the most comfortable carpet they could want in a rental, you’ll know that you made a good choice and to hang onto that style.
Using testimonials to attract tenants is a simple way to build your property rental business and keep more of your properties filled, which means more money for you. Don’t be afraid to let folks share what they think about you—good or bad. After all, as Hollywood stars are known to say… the only bad publicity is no publicity.
