The following article was published by Buildium
“We all work hard to build our reputations. I was speaking with a potential property management client yesterday, when I asked him if he had any questions about my firm. His reply was simple; “Yes, are you honest?” I chuckled and reminded him that he was a referral from one of our oldest clients. The fact of the matter is that people like to do business with those they know, like, and TRUST. In property management the TRUST part is a big piece – after all the owner of the property is basically saying here is my single biggest asset, you’re in charge; please make me lots of money.
In the old days you would go to a chamber of commerce meeting, or an apartment association meeting, or a similar in-person event (we still do these things). In today’s internet-driven world, clients often first find you online then send you an email or fill out an online prospect form. The consumer will then conduct research online to find out all they can about you and your firm. The hard part is knowing what is said about you online – have you ever given thought to how many websites are out there?
It would be impossible to independently search all of these locations to see if someone has tweeted, posted, liked or criticized you or your firm. Luckily you don’t have to, as there are services on the web like ReputationDefender.com that you can hire to keep an eye on things. These types of services can not only monitor your reputation, but can actively assist in promoting a good reputation and suppressing negative content.”
If your in business, purchase a membership. You do not want to have any bad comments said about you. I even had a competitor make a nasty comment about me. It was nearly impossible to have it removed. Don’t let that happen to you.