How much effort do you put into educating consumers, either in person or on your website/blog? In my experience the more educated a customer is the easier they are to work with and as a customer I a more inclined to work with someone who takes the time to educate me about their product or service. Some customers ask questions and force us to educate them while others will not. That's why it is important to understand the level of knowledge each potential customer has about the real estate process and help them learn and understand what they do not know. Whether you are a realtor, mortgage broker, or title agent it is important to educate consumers and make them feel comfortable with the process.
One way to educate potential customers is through your web presence. This will also help you differentiate your site from others. Put up an FAQ, write articles about your area of expertise, post consumer focused information on your blog, or offer a place for users to ask questions on your site. This will not only offer a place for customers to come and find answers but it will also help your search engine presence and hopefully make you a resource for consumers. This can have a very positive effect on leads. One of the things we did at myClosingSPACE was add a section called myClosingUniversity. It is a section that goes over the entire closing process for both new purchases and refinances. It may not lead to many conversions immediately but it is educating potential customers who may think of us at a later date when they need our service. The web is a great way to teach people who may not be clients now but who will remember you in the future when they are in the process of looking for a home or a mortgage.
While the web is a great way to educate potential customers or people just browsing it is still very important to educate current clients or potential clients you are meeting face to face. Before sitting down and getting into the home search or details about a mortgage we should all be discussing how the entire process works and make sure they understand everything. Ask them questions and try to get them to ask you questions. It may be a good idea to make up a pamphlet or something they can read at their own leisure. Engage them so they feel comfortable with you and the process. This can go a long way to building a beneficial and trusting relationship. The real estate industry has a bad reputation among a few people and a little extra effort spent towards educating instead of selling can go a long way in breaking down that reputation.
Make sure you are listening to clients and supplying them with all of the information they need. By utilizing everything at our disposal to teach customers we can create more long term relationships and get more referrals from happy clients. Education is the key in life and real estate.
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