Get involved! How to respond to negative (and positive) reviews.

"Do not ignore ApartmentRatings.com."  "Respond to residents who complain."  "Engage in a conversation."

There has been many great articles about the importance of engaging in conversation and being actively involved in social media.  In a recent blog post, Charity Hisle says, "This is the perfect opportunity to set things right, make necessary changes or state they've been made."  Eric Brown of Urbane Apartments says, "The shift is pretty simple, we started and work at participating in the Conversation. That’s it, while it sounds pretty simple, and it is, it seems to be pretty hard for apartment communities, otherwise they would be doing it."  Both Charity and Eric are thought leaders, paving the way for a long overdue entrance into social media, and reacting to trends in consumer behavior.  At it's core, the message is clear... JOIN THE CONVERSATION.

But that seems like a general statement in an even broader and vague social media strategy.  So similar to the Airforce's response to social media, here are some strategies on how to handle 4 online personality types.

1)  Flamer, Troll

This person is looking to insult, incite, and personally attack others.  The conversation is usually fairly hostile and he/she may be flaming for acknowledgment, entertainment, or to get a reaction from you.  One of the distinguishing factors is their anonymity.

Example: "The property manager sucks more than all of Nicolas Cage's movies combined.  The management sucks so bad, life on earth stops.  They are so bad, I'd rather sleep outside in a box."

Option 1:  " I apologize that you had a bad experience with our property.  We are doing our best to improve our management and property so that future residents do not have a similar experience.  Most importantly, we are working on listening to past residents and I would like to get more feedback from you.  Please email me at feedback@gmail.com.  Nicolas Cage is horrible so we have some work ahead of us.  Thanks for being so honest!"

Option 2:  Do not respond or acknowledge their existence.  In fact, often times, they will use it to rebuttal everything you could possibly say.

Do not be surprised if the response goes something like this, "No F***ing way would I even give you advice, unless it's a virus.  Thanks for being so stupid!" In which case, the rest of the community just discredited his original post.  Many people do recommend not responding to flamers and trolls.

2) Critics

This group makes up as much as 25% of internet users.  Though some of these people fall into the flamers/trolls, they are more constructive and sometimes will be transparent with their identity.

Example: "This apartment is below average.  Though it is in a great location, the property is old, run-down, and has some deferred maintenance.  Parking is difficult, but on the bright side, it's close to public transport so you may not need a car.  If you can spend a bit more, there are better options in the area."

Option 1:  "That is false.  We have plenty of parking, and our building is in top-notch shape."

Do not do one sided rebuttals.  If so, expect another rebuttal to come from the users who posted this saying something to the effect of, "The manager is lying, parking sucks, etc."

Option 2: "Thank you for the constructive feedback.  We purchased the property from the previous owner and have also noticed some deferred maintenance.  We've made some improvements with the parking situation and have had some positive feedback from residents.  Also, we're attempting to compile a complete list and prioritize which ones are most important to residents.  I was wondering if you could take 5 minutes and add to our maintenance, www.uservoice.com, what you would like to see improved .  Let me know if you have any questions!"

Uservoice.com, getsatisfaction.com, etc. all work very well with compiling feedback and building a community around the feedback.  The key here is to convey that you are trying to make improvements.

3)  Spectators, lurkers

These are people that are not actively submitting content, but rather reading and consuming the information.  This is typically the largest group of users, with some estimates north of 80%.   You want to connect with them.

The best way is to actively seek feedback.  Post a feedback button in your signature.  Email all current and past residents asking for feedback and advice.  Feedback does not have to be about the property, but maybe something like, "a resident asked me yesterday the best bar in the area.  Does anyone have any recommendations?" Establish some type of rapport before you ask for future help.  Most importantly, this allows you to identify who may potentially be an evangeslist.

4)   Evangelist

This is the most important group to engage because they are the people who will spread positive WOM.  With minimal reward or recognition, they will most likely continue to evangelize on your behalf.

Example: "This apartment is in a great location, well maintained, and management is responsive and responsible."

Option 1: Post online, "Thank you for your kinds words.  We have made a conscious effort to listen to our residents and make improvements according to feedback.  I'm glad to hear the time and effort is paying off.  We're always looking for ways to be better, so please email me any additional thoughts you have."

Option 2: Email the resident directly with something to the affect of, "Thank you for the kind words and I am happy you enjoy living here.  We're always looking for ways to be better, so please email me any additional thoughts you have.   Additionally, we're actually compiling for testimonials to post on our website.  I was wondering if we could use your review on our website.  I'll send you a $10 itunes gift card as a thank you."

Option 3: After doing both 1 & 2, "Hi, we've noticed that someone wrote an unfair review about us on _____.com.  I was wondering if you would share your experience."

Use all three options!

Eric Brown, Mark Juleen, Charity Hisle, Mike Brewer, and many others are right.  Use blogs, twitter, facebook, ning, yelp, yahoo answers, (insert shameless plug here) rentwiki, etc.  It's time to start engaging with users, but in the correct way.  And most importantly, be yourself.

What do you think?

Ps. Trying to get together ideas for the apartment industry and then track results.  Help out at http://socialmediaideas.pbwiki.com.

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