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Setting Marketing Strategies

Analyzing the Business Climate

Creating Your Market Identity

Planning Your Advertising

Coordinating Company and Salesperson Marketing

Developing Public Relations Strategies

Enhancing Customer Service 		  Enhancing Customer Service

Services Customers Want Most

According to the 2004 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, buyers say what they want most from their real estate professional is:
  • Help finding the right home to purchase (57 percent)
  • Help with price negotiations (10 percent)
  • Help with paperwork (10 percent)
  • Help learning what comparable homes are selling for (10 percent)
  • Help understanding what they can afford (6 percent)
  • Help finding and arranging financing (3 percent)

Customer Services That Can Set You Apart

It’s often wiser to grow your business by selling more services to the clients you already have than acquiring new ones. It never hurts to have something extra to offer that goes beyond customer expectations.
  • Offer concierge services to buyers and sellers. Act as a liaison for painters, plumbers, cable providers, gardeners, movers, and whatever other services are needed. Charge a small fee for the referral service. Follow up with both clients and vendors to see that the work was satisfactory. —Harley Rouda, Real Living Inc.
  • Offer yearly assessments of homes. Provide a CMA, a suggestion for new amenities that could be added to the home, and an assessment of whether or not it’s a good time to refinance. Charge a minimal $25 or so for the service.

Tips for Overcoming Bad Customer Service

One bad service incident probably won’t sour a customer on the company, if you act promptly to make things right. When problems arise:
  • Be sure that your second response solves the customer’s problem. Failing a second time is a sure-fire way to lose a customer.
  • Make amends for the hassle. Offer some sort of reward (commensurate with the size of the problem), even if you solve the issue.
  • Reward proactive employees. Set up a reward program for associates and employees who solve problems well for customers.
  • Look for root causes. Find the reason for recurring problems and solve the underlying issue.

TIP: Turn a dissatisfied buyer or seller into a happy one by listening, listening, and listening some more. Make sure you have all the facts. Then do everything you can to resolve the problem quickly and smoothly, even if the complainer is in the wrong. —Hal Kahn, CRB, CRS, The Manager’s Guide to Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Brokerage Council™ of the REALTORS® National Marketing Institute

TIP: Don’t just aspire to adequate service with few complaints; strive for exceptional service that will amaze the customer. —Kathy McKenna Harmon, CPM , ARM, MMA Inc., Minnetonka, Minn.

3 Questions for Assessing Customers’ Service Needs >		    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






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