Realtor Radar: Cultivating Client Loyalty in the Age of Homeownership
Client loyalty is one of the most important factors in ensuring your business stays afloat. Since most people own at least three houses in their lifetime, you have opportunities for repeat business and should continually try to earn it!
Even if your past clients don’t buy another house, they likely know people who will need your services. If you stay fresh in their mind, they are more likely to refer their people to you, giving you even more reason to continue pursuing your past clients.
Reasons You Need Client Loyalty as a Realtor
You might wonder why you wouldn’t only focus on ‘new’ clients after you help existing clients buy or sell their homes. Here are a few of the top reasons:
- It’s easier to do business with past clients or even their referrals because the base relationship is already created
- You spend less money on marketing to try to earn a new audience
- You spend less time trying to find a new market because you’ve done the work to get this audience already
- It opens up more opportunities for referrals
10 Ways to Ensure Client Loyalty
Now that you know why you should encourage client loyalty, how do you do it in today’s competitive world?
With your audience likely receiving tons of other marketing materials and coming into contact with other opportunities to get to know other agents, how do you stand out?
Here are the top ten ways!
1. Get to Know Your Customers
Get to know your customers really well when you work with them. This will make it easier to market to them in the future. As you get to know them, you’ll learn about their future plans, which can help you gauge whether they will have business for you in the future. For example, if a client only plans to live in the house you sell him for two years, you know that this client will be on the market again in a couple of years.
You can also get to know how your client operates. Do they work in a business where they could offer you referrals? Maybe they have a large network of family and friends that could be future clients.
The more you get to know your customers, the more you’ll understand how you can help one another. This will help you understand how to market to them to keep yourself at the top of their minds.
2. Involve Yourself in the Community
Getting involved in the community shows your clients that you care. When you do volunteer work, you show your clients that you are there for what matters most to them. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing someone you did business with give back to the community.
When they see you out and about in a way that isn’t about real estate, they are more likely to tell others about you, even if they aren’t talking about real estate at the moment. It’s in these casual conversations that referrals may happen in the most natural way possible.
3. Stay in Communication with Your Clients
Don’t become a stranger after closing your client’s transaction. Stay in touch by sending cards on birthdays, holidays, or periodic email updates. This is a great way to provide value-added services if they are on your email list.
For example, your emails could offer free tips on anything home-related or related. You can discuss hot topics in the area or offer assistance with anything that’s trending.
This is all in an effort to stay at the top of your client’s minds for themselves or people they know who are looking for real estate.
4. Send Periodic Gifts
Don’t be afraid to reach out with small token gifts again to stay at the top of your clients’ minds. These gifts can be something personalized with your information, such as pens or magnets, or they could be something personal, such as flowers on a milestone birthday.
These gifts aren’t to ‘buy their business,’ but as a token of appreciation for doing business with you in the past. These ‘special touches’ don’t go unnoticed and often lead to higher sales or referrals because of the personal touch offered.
5. Create a Robust Website with Ongoing Education
Sometimes staying in touch with your clients is as simple as creating a robust web presence. Make your website as user-friendly and helpful as possible to keep your audience coming back.
Sure, your website will have current listings and encourage new clients, but it can also be a place your existing clients can know they can come back to for education. Consider publishing blog posts, video updates, or sharing links to important educational topics to keep your audience learning and show willingness to help them.
6. Stay Active on Social Media
Social media is a big part of your virtual presence and is a great way to connect with your audience on a more personal level. Keep your social media accounts active and personally respond to comments on your posts.
You can also use your social media pages to showcase other businesses and your dedication to the local area. Encourage interaction by posting polls and questions and asking for suggestions from your audience.
7. Create a Referral Program
Referrals are the highest form of compliment, and you should always ask for them! Sometimes, your clients need a little encouragement to tell others about you. Create a loyalty program or another way to get your audience to keep telling others about you.
While you can’t pay your referrals directly, there are ways to reward them for spreading the word about your services and encouraging more people to refer you.
8. Use CRM Software
Managing current and past clients can be a full-time job, but fortunately, with today’s technology, you can streamline the process. Using a powerful Customer Relationship Management Software program, you can keep tabs on your customers no matter where they are in the sales funnel.
You can use your CRM to send out periodic flyers or emails, special deals, and reminders about your referral program to keep you at the top of their minds without wasting your time.
9. Host a Client Appreciation Event
If it’s been a while since you’ve connected with past clients, consider hosting a client appreciation event. This is a way to show your audience that you care and want to reconnect with them.
If it’s been a while since you’ve seen some of your clients, this may open opportunities for more business if you catch them when they’re in the market to buy or sell again. You can host intimate gatherings, like a dinner or a large summer barbeque, with more people and more opportunities to network.
10. Network with Other Professionals
The final way to stay in connection with your past clients is to involve other professionals. This goes back to number one ‘getting to know your clients.’ When you get to know them on a personal level and understand what they need/want, you may be able to help them in other areas.
If you have a large network of other professionals, you may be able to refer your clients to them, creating a close-knit relationship within your circle and showing your clients you truly care.
Think Outside the Box
Thinking outside the box is the key to cultivating relationships with your clients. Yes, you are there to help them buy or sell houses, but there is so much more that you can do. Developing a relationship beyond the real estate transaction is where it’s at and what will keep your existing clients coming back when they need your services.
There are hundreds of ways to help your clients, but only you know what they need the most. Listen with intention, stay in contact with them, and keep providing value-added services without requiring a sale in return, which will happen naturally.
Final Thoughts
Retaining clients in today’s world is easier than ever with the internet and social media. The key is staying in touch and constantly providing little surprises to keep your clients at the forefront of your mind.
Find ways to automate the process with email lists, referral networks, and CRM software. The more engaged you are with your previous clients, the easier it is to keep your pipeline going. While networking and finding new clients should always be your goal, don’t overlook the importance of your existing clientele!
