By Carla Olivo, PCSgrades Director of Strategic Communications

Each year approximately 650,000 service members are issued orders to relocate to a new duty station. The summer PCS season alone is when an estimated 390,000 military families will pack up and move. A Defense Manpower Data Center Survey of Active Duty Spouses reports that 37%  say buying a home is a current family goal.

It is no surprise there are many military/veteran families looking to the PCSgrades REALTOR® network for help buying and selling their homes .

A Unique Realtor Network

PCSgrades is a trusted third party platform founded and run by fellow military members and spouses. This unique website provides the Armed Forces community with a voice in the PCS process that has never existed before. More and more military and veteran families are turning to PCSgrades for all their relocation needs in large part, because PCSgrades.com is not the same old tired REALTOR® network we’ve seen time and again.

EVERY review is submitted by military members, veterans, or their spouses has real meaning to the military/veteran community. There is a level of trust that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. The military and veteran consumer are significantly different than their civilian counterparts. A PCSgrades Focus Group survey shows that when considering similar products and services, more than 50% of military consumers choose companies run BY and FOR military and veteran families even before price.

Word of Mouth

Military and veteran consumers are very loyal. Without the traditional roots our civilian counterparts enjoy, we depend on each other for needed information. Word of mouth marketing is never stronger than between military families when sharing information to make a move go smoother. When moving to a new city, one of the first things we do is reach out to our military network. And that is EXACTLY what PCSgrades is – a network where military families can share trusted reviews on housing, neighborhoods, REALTORS® and more!

Real estate agents featured on PCSgrades are the most reputable and highest-rated, not because we “certify” them as such, but based directly on feedback from the people the military community trusts the most – our fellow military members, veterans, and spouses.

Here are a few other important highlights:

  • Unlike other REALTOR® networks, REALTORS® can’t pay for inclusion on PCSgrades.com. Instead, all professionals and communities must first be reviewed by military and veteran families.
  • PCSgrades provides REALTORS® a chance to proactively engage, interact, and ultimately help shape the online reputation created by their clients. This is not another unfiltered and unrestricted social media forum for disgruntled clients to rant unfairly.
  • While any REALTOR® with reviews from the military community can be featured on the site, those with a veteran or spouse background are highlighted with distinctive badges.
  • Not only do REALTORS® receive instantaneous notification for every new review, but they have the ability to contact reviewers through their PCSgrades username to thank them for their review or begin a dialogue toward resolution.
  • For an overall grade of “C” or below, there is an automatic 72-hour hold before the review is published.
  • Reviewers have a total of 90 days to personally edit or delete their own reviews. So there is ample time for REALTORS® to clear up any confusion or make things right.
  • Finally, REALTORS® can professionally post their perspectives and opinions alongside a reviewer’s open comments.

Free Choice

One more game changer…PCSgrades members are not assigned a REALTOR® of our choice. Instead they can make their own choice based on reviews from their military peers. This is particularly appealing to a community that typically doesn’t have a lot of choice in the relocation process.

One final bonus…the website is completely free and has no annoying ads.

If you are a REALTOR® looking to serve the military community, contact PCSgrades for more information on how you can become a featured REALTOR® on the one-stop website that’s changing how military and veteran families help each other with frequent relocations.