Gen Z

Ratings & Reviews

By Yardi Blog Staff on Aug 16, 2021 in Marketing

The tech-savvy members of Gen Z are no strangers to browsing and shopping online. As a generation with high expectations, ratings and reviews are a large part of their online buying process. But just having ratings and reviews isn’t enough to win their business. You have to be strategic if you want to stand out from the competition.

REACH by RentCafe is digging into how Gen Zers use ratings and reviews. This information will help you figure out how to achieve glowing ratings from your young renters.

Why are reviews important?

Before jumping into how Gen Zers use ratings and reviews, it’s important to first understand just how essential this aspect of your business is. For one, reviews help potential customers gauge an item or service’s quality while simultaneously informing your business about what works and what could be done differently.

Additionally, reviews improve your search rankings. Did you know that, without them, there’s no chance of showing up in the Google local pack?

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, reviews increase the likelihood of conversion, and isn’t that the goal of your digital marketing strategy? Ratings and reviews inspire customers to reach out to you, increasing the probability of them converting. RentCafe.com conducted a study of all the apartment search journeys that resulted in a lease and found that ratings and reviews were one of the top three features that lead to conversions. When you’re looking to draw in Gen Z renters, ratings and reviews are a critical part of the marketing process.

How do Gen Zers use ratings and reviews?

As part of a survey series with more than 10,000 Gen Z participants, 65% of Gen Zers say they consider ratings and reviews always or most of the time when searching online. This reiterates the important role reviews play in the apartment search and points to the importance of reputation management.

Also, in the survey, 29% of Gen Zers said they left a rating or review always or most of the time. A larger group, 39%, said they left a rating or review when the purchase was significantly good or bad.

In a related series of video interviews, Gen Z member Natalie commented that she’s more likely to leave a review if she’s “had an extremely great experience” but not if it’s a “lukewarm, typical experience.” This means that the customer experience you provide to Gen Z needs to be epic. Emotions play a big role in how Gen Zers perceive an experience, so it’s smart to go above and beyond.

4 ways to get 5 stars

Now that you know just how important it is to provide an epic experience, here are four ways to get a raving review from members of Gen Z:

1. Be responsive

Members of Gen Z like to express their thoughts and opinions, and they value having their voices heard. Monitoring and responding to their needs and feedback will go a long way in persuading them to share a glowing review.

2. Be authentic

Drop the pomp and circumstance and focus instead on providing authenticity. Members of Gen Z care less about perfection than they do about a personal and genuine experience, so tell it like it is.

3. Provide convenience

Young renters are set in their habits when it comes to technology, and that includes an expectation of convenience. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and loads quickly to ensure that Gen Zers can engage and transact efficiently.

4. Be reliable and consistent

To get that 5-star review, you need to do more than just respond to Gen Z customer needs and feedback once or twice; you need to do so consistently and reliably. These young renters need to feel that they can depend on you. If they can, you’re one step close to an amazing review.

Asking for a review

It’s important to understand both when and how to ask for a review from Gen Zers. One way to do so is to ask in person or on the phone. Another great way to ask for a review is to send a thank you note. As keynote speaker Drew Davis points out in this video, a good thank you note contains an introduction, expresses gratitude, explains why you love what you do, asks for a review and thanks the customer for their business.

When asking a Gen Zer to leave a review, you should guide them to review you on Google. The ability to get into the Google local pack is directly tied to your Google reviews, so give people a link to review you on Google My Business.

Additionally, you should provide a place to leave reviews on your website. One good practice to engage renters of all ages is including existing reviews alongside a call-to-action button that invites them to write a review.

Want to learn more?

Check out this video to see Gen Zers speak about how they use ratings and reviews. Also, make sure you didn’t miss our Gen Z introduction and our analysis of how Gen Z searches online.