Establishing an Effective Client Retention Strategy is Key to Real Estate Success

Byplusroi

April 2013 Issue

Establishing an Effective Client Retention Strategy is Key to Real Estate Success

Think about how much work and time you spend to bring in a client. For every buyer or seller that closes with you, you’ve been through countless showings, disqualified umpteen unqualified buyers and unrealistic sellers, and competed and lost many times. With the effort that you put into gaining clients, setting up a client retention strategy that ensures your clients keep doing business with you may very well be the smartest marketing expenditure you can make.

Some of the follow-up programs that our clients have found success with include:

  • 3, 5 or 7-year company branded cross-media campaigns including personalized e-mails and postal mail such as greeting cards, letters and surveys. Longer term programs keep your name in front of your clients when they are most likely to return to the market, or have a friend or family member to refer to you.
  • Real estate email marketing campaigns that keep you in touch with your prospects, clients, and referral sources. The e-mails should connect the recipients to your website, blog and social media sites. Don’t forget to include your online lead generating survey form!

Your clients deserve special treatment and communications after a successful transaction, but you need to be moving on to close your next sale. Holding onto a client could start with a closing gift or a personalized “Thank You” card. It’s also important to let them know that you care about what they think by sending out a client satisfaction survey. Your buyer and seller surveys should be designed to evaluate how they perceived your service, as well as what their future real estate plans include.

Other types of media to use include in your program are greeting cards, newsletters, and postcards, but the best strategies are focused on content and value, rather than just on marketing materials.

  • Get personal – Call clients and reach out so that they see you as a person, rather than just a photo on an email.
  • Add value – Every touch with a client should add value to them, making sure that they always think of you as a valuable resource and member of their personal team. Share not only market updates, but how you’re improving your skills to serve clients better.
  • Ask for referrals – Your clients want to refer you to their friends and family, but they’ll forget to do it if you don’t remind them.

Real estate is a relationship business.

How do you keep in touch with your past clients and still have time to help your current ones? That’s where the Connections™ client retention program comes in. Our turn-key solutions are personalized, unique, and effective. And best of all, once the initial set-up is complete, you don’t have to manage it. We’ll take care of everything. Contact us or call me directly to learn more.