ESTAS Insights Newsletter Edition 14

INSIGHT FEATURE

Customer reviews are now more important than word of mouth recommendations, here’s why...

Customer reviews are now more important than word of mouth recommendations, here’s why...

At the end of 2022 my wife and I finally made a decision we had talked about for years. It was one of the most important decisions we could make together but for some reason we had failed to make it until now…

The decision was to finally make a legal will. "How disorganised! How irresponsible!" I hear you say! I know, and I apologise to you all but as the saying goes ‘life just always seemed to get in the way’. But not this time, I was determined to make it happen but where to start? I didn’t know any local solicitors so I asked my financial advisor (who I trusted having used him for many years) who recommended a local firm who he said were ‘very thorough’.

I picked up the phone and was about to call them when I suddenly thought - hang on, I’m in the business of customer reviews I should really check them out online first – even though I had a trusted personal recommendation. So, I Googled ‘Best solicitor’ in my town and as always the ‘map of 3’ came up which included the firm recommended to me. Excellent! I thought, no need to do anymore research, but then I saw they had only a handful of reviews (9) compared to the other two firms who both had 30+ reviews.

It was then that I decided to do more online research. The Google review ratings of all three firms were similar, around 4.5, but of the nine submitted to the firm recommended to me, 4 were over a year old and another three were the classic ‘but’ reviews. You know the ones, the review starts off well enough then halfway through there is a ‘but’ which effectively turns what started as a positive review into a negative one.

Looking at the other two firms they both had similar customer review ratings and a number of reviews, but one stood out. Their reviews were more recent and all of them had been replied to by the firm’s Director. When I moved onto their own website - which wasn’t very well designed to be honest - however, it had more recent reviews streaming and again all of them were replied to. The reviews weren’t all perfect and a couple of them were one star but the Director of the business had taken the time to reply and explain the issues. All of this gave me confidence that even if there were problems in the process the firm would address them.

On that basis I went against my trusted word of mouth recommendation and picked up the phone to the other solicitor and I’m glad to say my choice was vindicated. We have a nice new shiny will in place and I feel like I’ve already achieved my personal admin goals for 2023, right where’s that Gin & Tonic!


Quiz: How agile is your estate agency?

Quiz: How agile is your estate agency?

Do you dream of speedier selling times, simpler processes and happier clients? Discover how becoming more agile can give you the edge you need to succeed.

It's a challenging time for estate agents. With surging inflation, rising borrowing costs and squeezed profit margins, pressure is mounting on all sides. Trying to predict the future is a fool's game right now, but one thing is certain. To navigate these complex and turbulent times, estate agents must be ready to respond and adapt quickly to whatever the market throws their way.

But how? Enter: Agile.

If you're not all that familiar with the term agile or this is the first time you've ever heard of it, this could be the perfect time to explore it a little further. Agile isn't just for tech companies; it can help any business perform better. Take our short quiz and find out how agile your agency already is, you may even surprise yourself, you might already be more agile than you think!

Take the Quiz


What makes winning an ESTAS Award so special?

On 22nd October this year we will be hosting the 20th annual ESTAS Awards. Each year the top agents, conveyancers and mortgage brokers gather in London to see if they have managed to scoop one of the most prestigious awards in the UK property industry.

The reactions of the winners never fails to surprise me, the sheer emotion etched on their faces says it all because winning an ESTAS Award is like nothing else in the industry and here’s some of our winners to explain why…


Watch here

If you would like more information about how your business can experience The ESTAS go to https://www.theestas.com/contact-us



Previous Newsletters:

EDITION 13
To make sense of turbulent times, we need data more than ever

Back in June, when we released our Q2 property data in our quarterly Property Trends Report, the data reflected a relatively positive story. Overall, the market seemed to be moving towards a normal and balanced state, closer to the more stable conditions [...]

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EDITION 12
Phil Spencer reveals best agent, conveyancer and broker firms for customer service

The largest annual event for the UK residential property industry took place on Friday 14th October when the prestigious ESTAS Customer Service Awards sponsored by Coadjute were hosted in London. As with last year agents, conveyancers [...]

Read more

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