The Power of Positivity 

The level of trust survey respondents had in a business, however, depended in part on the number of positive reviews that were available. Thirty-two percent said they were willing to trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations if there were multiple reviews. The growing number of consumers who are not satisfied until they have read multiple reviews highlights the importance of convincing clients to make the effort to give an agent an online rating. The need for positive reviews, in turn, is reinforced by the high number of respondents who are more trusting of businesses with higher ratings. The need to believe that reviews are genuine indicates that consumers are savvy to the possibility of fake reviews versus genuine consumer feedback, and that they are alert to the possibility that some businesses may attempt to plant positive reviews.

This growth of trust in online reviews has led to many agents increasing their activity on review sites. The T3 study showed that nearly 39 percent of agents now consider online reviews a “very important” component of their digital strategy, and about 33 percent are approaching them as “relatively important.” Only about 3 percent dismiss online reviews as “not important.”

“I’d say 30 to 40 percent of my business leads come directly from Zillow,” said Martin Melchor, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway Anderson Properties who has 26 reviews and an almost-perfect rating on that site. “It’s huge now. The other big source for me is the Houston Association of Realtors site, where I have about 42 reviews.” On HAR’s site, he has a 4.94 out of 5 rating.

“If someone is coming to us through a referral from a family member or a friend, they look for reviews and the credibility that they provide,” Melchor said. “That’s what they’re really looking for: trust and credibility. If there’s not a referral source, they look to the online reviews.”