Making Great Customer Service A Full-Time Gig

If you ask 10 brokers what great customer service is, you’ll get 10 different answers.  But they’ll all tell you that they provide “great” customer service.

What does good customer service really mean and how does it impact your business?

Here’s a few thoughts on this:

1. Speak your customer’s language and be responsive. With so many ways to communicate these days, it’s no surprise that it’s no longer a one-size fits all world in how best to communicate and follow up with customers. Find out how each of your customers like to communicate with you and use that method. If they like texting, text them. If they don’t like texting, don’t text them, call or email them. No matter how you stay in touch, make sure you always return calls and inquiries quickly. If you don’t respond, the next guy will.
2. Be a resource. Offer information, assistance and guidance – even if there’s nothing in it for you in the near term. Not only does it position you as a knowledgeable, trusted resource, but people will remember you and your efforts will pay you back in dividends.
3. Make it personal. In the age of digital and online options in real estate, is important more than ever before to bring that personal touch to the real estate process. Practice your hellos and goodbyes and include as many opportunities as possible in your prospecting activities for personal connections. Digital is convenient, but it doesn’t replace a handshake, making eye contact or that personal touch.
4. Stay top of mind. Staying in touch is everything in real estate marketing. Don’t just focus on the hot prospects. Nurture all your contacts – you never know when they or a friend or family member will need your services. The more you stay in touch, the more likely you’ll be the one they call when they need real estate help.
5. Exceed your clients’ expectations. Let’s face it, when it comes to service, how often to you get more than you expect? Most people are content to put in a minimum amount of effort to get a job done. And when someone goes above and beyond, you remember the experience and recount it to your friends and family. Don’t be content to just check the boxes. Provide your clients with memorable experiences and be the one that they talk about.

Creating Memorable Experiences

In some brokerages, customer service often takes a back seat to sales. Yet the truth is that a consistent focus on building a relationship with both clients and potential clients brings significant rewards in the long term:

• Builds a positive brand reputation for you
• Fosters word-of-mouth recommendations
• Brings business right to your doorstep.

In most cases, lackluster customer service doesn’t necessarily mean clients are treated badly. It could mean greater focus is placed on keeping business and sales ticking over as quickly as possible and Customer Service takes a back seat as a result.  There are lots of reasons this can happen:

• Agents lack the time to provide any extra service or information.
• Closing Sales is a natural priority and they only focus on hot prospects
• They don’t have an efficient way to maintain touch points with potentially hundreds of buyers/sellers.

The most successful brokers and agents we see, however, have found a way to balance the customer service elements through a combination of the right processes, tools and technology. When you add a great brand name to the equation, everything works together. Now you can be both effective, and efficient, which makes clients feel special and you exceptional.

The Weichert® brand is known for its systems and tools that build business while fostering satisfying customer experiences. If you are a growth-minded broker looking for ways to make your brokerage more productive and get to the next level of results, talk to the Weichert franchise team today.  Visit our website at https://www.weichertfranchise.com.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/making-great-customer-service-full-time-gig/