Reviews from real, honest customers have always been best - but there are new reasons for operators to keep their reviews clean!
The Federal Trade Commission has been eyeing fake reviews since 2022, announcing that the agency was looking for ways to combat deceptive and unfair review and endorsement practices. In 2023, the agency formally proposed a new rule banning such practices, and in 2024, the final rule came.
In August of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a final rule banning the purchase or production of fake reviews, among other practices. The agency aims to tackle deceptive advertising online by deterring bad actors and creating a more transparent online experience.
So, what exactly is in this final ruling, and how does it affect self storage?
The ruling, now in effect as of late October, prohibits several variations of fake or deceptive review practices. The practices that have been banned include:
Now, let's break these rules down.
First, the FTC addresses fake or false consumer reviews. These are reviews from someone who doesn't exist, such as reviews generated by AI or someone who never had experience with the business. This rule prohibits the production and selling of such reviews.
While you can't sell fake reviews, you also can't buy positive ones. The FTC prohibits businesses from providing compensation or other incentives to someone in return for writing positive or negative reviews.
Insider reviews are also banned. These are reviews written by an employee, manager, or even a family member. This is not to say that your family couldn't review your facility if they rented a storage unit there, but they must clearly disclose their relationship with the business. If you want to stay on the safe side, you can avoid reviews by family members altogether.
Businesses are also no longer allowed to have company-controlled review websites. Basically, a business should not have full control over which reviews are and are not accepted.
While nobody likes a negative review, one thing you should not do is suppress it. Suppressing a review means preventing or removing a negative consumer review. This does not apply to reviews that are clearly fake or obscene, and Google has a procedure to remove such reviews. However, removing honest reviews from actual customers violates the FTC ban.
The last rule prohibits businesses from buying indicators of social media influence such as likes, follows, and shares. This is meant to prevent businesses from appearing to have robust online support when that's not actually the case.
Breaking these rules not only means putting your business's integrity in question, but it could result in huge fines.
A hefty punishment was recently delivered to a major fashion retail company after they were caught preventing negative product reviews from surfacing on their website. The FTC is now sending $2.4 million in refunds to nearly 150,000 customers. The company agreed to pay a total of $4.2 million to settle allegations.
While this settlement is unusually large due to the size of the company, the fines are heavy no matter how large your business is. The FTC can fine a business up to $51,000 per violation.
Even one fake review can lead to a big bill!
The FTC final rule affects the self storage industry the same way it affects every other industry.
There are no industries or businesses that get a pass when it comes to the FTC. Anyone who conducts dishonest review practices will be subject to FTC fines and risk putting their business's reputation in jeopardy.
But don't worry, you're still allowed to ask for reviews! Asking for reviews is completely legal and even encouraged for business owners. Certain platforms may have different policies, but simply asking for a review from a real customer is not a violation of FTC rules.
Just remember, your reviews should only come from real customers who rented real storage units. Give the customers what you promised and stay honest!
