Making a good impression on your clients is everything for real estate agents. You work in a career where word-of-mouth marketing is king, so we know you want your clients to say nothing but good things about you. According to a recent Business Insider article, the best way to do that is to hold on to your loyal customers, in their words, turn them into "Zombie-Like Addicts."
The article cites a study that shows it costs five times more to win a new customer than to keep an old one. In terms of real estate agents, that means holding on to your favorite clients, and impressing them so that they return to you when they buy or sell their next home, and then proceed to refer you to all of their friends.
Business Insider says that there are four ways to keep customers coming back. Here they are, but with a real estate marketing twist.
1. Reward Patrons for Their Loyalty --> Provide Your Services as their Reward
Everybody loves a "free prize" that they feel like they earned as a loyal customer. Real Estate agents may not have a product that they can offer, but they definitely have a service. Whatever it is that you specialize in, whether it be home staging or first time home buyers seminars, offer your services to new customers. This can also translate over to old customers in terms of the follow through after they have bought the house. That means sticking around for awhile, offering to help them get acclimated in their new home, well after you've gotten your commission check, will show them that you really care.
2. Provide Stellar Customer Service --> The Client Will Talk
Like I said above, people talk. If you make them angry or they have a negative experience, they will be sure to tell other people not to use you. And now, with the myriad of networking sites on the internet, they won't just tell them in person, they will write a bad review on Yelp, post it on Facebook, or Tweet their gripe. With that said, a happy home buyer or seller will also tell the world if you really impressed them. For example, one of our clients, a Chicago Real Estate agent, currently has 6 raving reviews on Yelp.
3. Invest in Value --> Be the Best Agent First, Then Advertise It
Good service comes before anything else. Of course, marketing and advertising in the real estate world is an essential part of the job, but if you don't provide really good service when that lead finally contacts you, it doesn't matter how high up you are on the Google search engine results page.
4. Let Customers Shop Whenever and Wherever They Want --> Be Available Everywhere!
In today's immediate gratification world, people have access to everything, at any time, in any place. You need to make sure your website is updated as much as possible, that it looks good, provides relevant information, and that it is easy to navigate. Customers are not coming to your agency store front to ask about your business. They are searching "Homes in Anytown, USA" online. As real estate virtual assistants, it is our job to make sure that you, the real estate agent, show up as much as possible in that search. We are finding more and more ways to make you available, anytime, anywhere (Check out our blog on QR Codes!). On top of being available to potential clients, you also need to be available to the clients you already have. Whether it's by email, by cell phone, by Facebook, or by text messaging, let your clients know that they can reach you in multiple ways.
Maybe some of the above tips sounds like common sense, and they are. But finding ways to execute them is the hard part. What are creative ways that real estate agents can reward their clients? How do you encourage customers to post reviews for you on Yelp? What are some good techniques to get in front of potential customers? As a Virtual Assistant company that has been working with real estate agents and their marketing for more than 10 years now, we know the answers to all of these questions and more. If you want a little more insight, give us a call us anytime you want (or e-mail us, or Facebook us, or Tweet us!).
Stacey Clarke
Copywriting and Marketing Coordinator
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