How Online Reviews Will Boost Your Brand and Increase Sales
Online reviews now carry as much weight as personal referrals for many buyers. How brokers can build a review strategy — and what TenantBase's own 4.9-star, 968+ review track record does for partner brokers.
As a society, we've become quite invested in what others have to say about us — especially in the world of consumer-facing business reviews. Qualtrics, an experience management company, has published research on just how much weight online reviews now carry: a large majority of younger consumers say they trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and a similarly large share say reviews directly influence their purchasing decisions.1 As younger professionals continue filling the ranks of corporate decision-making, reviews are only becoming a bigger part of how business gets chosen.
Referrals have always mattered in commercial real estate, but online reviews are increasingly treated with the same weight — particularly by younger decision-makers. A consistent review strategy across Google, Trustpilot, and LinkedIn builds trust, supports SEO, and gives prospective clients real evidence before they ever pick up the phone.
How to Secure Online Reviews
Referrals from past clients remain one of the most effective ways brokers win new business in commercial real estate. Since younger professionals increasingly treat online reviews as equivalent to a personal recommendation, it's worth treating reviews as a front-burner priority rather than an afterthought.
Start by asking: do you currently have a process to request and collect reviews from current and past clients? There are several places reviews can live — Google, Trustpilot, and LinkedIn among them — so it's worth having a deliberate strategy for where you aggregate them, rather than letting them scatter across platforms.
LinkedIn tends to work best for individual brokers at larger firms, since a review there highlights personal accomplishments directly. Google and Trustpilot are more company-focused and can meaningfully support your SEO strategy and domain authority. Try searching for yourself or your company right now — what comes up is what a prospective client sees first.
The Value — and Risk — of Accepting Reviews
The upside of positive online reviews is straightforward: increased trust, direct feedback from real clients, and a meaningful lift in SEO rankings for local organic search. The downside is real too — research suggests many consumers treat a rating below roughly 3.3 out of 5 stars as a signal to look elsewhere. A weak review presence doesn't just fail to help; it can actively push prospective clients toward a competitor.
This cuts both ways, which is exactly why a deliberate strategy matters more than hoping reviews accumulate on their own.
TenantBase's Own Track Record
TenantBase has made a significant, sustained investment in becoming a trusted brand on Trustpilot, which also provides direct benefit to partner brokers.
Partner brokers can benefit directly from this track record — some incorporate TenantBase's overall score onto their own site alongside their individual reviews, giving prospective clients immediate, verifiable proof of credibility before a conversation even starts.
Build Your Online Presence Faster
TenantBase helps brokers build a real online presence — connect to a comprehensive digital infrastructure and a proven review track record, without doing the heavy lifting yourself.
Join as a Partner BrokerFrequently Asked Questions
1. Qualtrics. Online Review Statistics You Need to Know.
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