We are starting to become used to customer loyalty being the marketing bedrock in many industries. Take the food and beverage industry, for example. Whether it is social media campaigns, correlated points systems from multichannel distribution or simply free sandwiches, we know how important repeat purchase can be.
In the world of real estate, it might not seem as straight forward. Large scale (even once in a lifetime) investments are not bought in the same way you buy your coffee. However, customer loyalty is just as invaluable and building a real estate rewards program can mark the difference.
In real estate, the benefits and outcomes of your customer loyalty program are similar. The difference is how it takes shape.
Why Customer Loyalty Programs Benefit the Real Estate Industry
From the outside realtors have an easy job. Show people round a property, tell them how great it is and then help them through closing the deal. This view completely negates finding the listing in the first place, winning the listing for your firm and dealing with all the myriad aspects of a sale. Let’s not forget that real estate agents are brokers, branching the void between buyer and seller.
In most states, a real estate agent will have to have a certain amount of class time hours to get their license. These hours educate realtors on the workings of an often complex system which takes genuine ability to navigate. Making it easier for the customer is one of the most important parts of brokering the deal, but it’s also one of the reasons a customer loyalty program can be so valuable.
The differences which the real estate firms engender compared to other businesses are not merely problems. They are also great opportunities. Unlike many businesses, your salesperson or broker will develop the kind of bond which requires trust. Whether you are buying property for your home, for a business or for investment, dealing with an unreliable real estate agent can lead to massive headaches. These can range from undisclosed structural damage, zoning permit problems and even neighborhood issues.
This is one of the main reasons customer loyalty is such a great opportunity. The bond which is formed can help in one specific sale, but it also spreads the word for future investments. Like few other businesses, almost all of your clients as a real estate agent have the potential to become extremely fruitful ambassadors for your brand.
The other major benefit for a solid customer loyalty program in the real estate industry is housekeeping. We don’t mean literally keeping a house clean, although this may indeed be something you get involved in. We mean keeping all of the disparate aspects of selling a property together, streamlined and, most importantly, set up for analysis.
This is why customer loyalty programs are a win-win. They not only help the customer to get a good deal, feel positive about the interaction and see benefits which wouldn’t otherwise exist. They allow your brand to streamline the process, analyze data and troubleshoot any problems with figures.
How to Make Customer Loyalty Programs Work in the Real Estate Industry
Closing Listings
A real estate agent only has leverage when they have listings. If you show someone round a property and the prospective buyer doesn’t like it, you aren’t going to close a deal without another property to offer.
With a customer loyalty program, you are able to maintain contact with your clients in a way which will help you close listings. Closing listings means connecting with the seller. We don’t just mean getting in touch. We mean, knowing your seller as much as you know the buyer.
This throws up another unique problem/opportunity (probletunity?). You need to convince the seller you are the one to get them the best deal while doing exactly the same for the buyer.
If you have a customer loyalty program which markets your brand on social media, records data and has different communication strategies built in, then you are set to close a listing. Social media allows you to make your name known and build up a reputation. It can’t be underestimated in any business.
Data analysis keeps records of your interactions with the seller, especially if you have already sold with them before. The more you sell with a person, the more likely they are to sell with you again. You can ask them to fill out a survey, see what other businesses they have interacted with and simply build a customer profile which helps you know answers to their questions before they even ask them. Your customer loyalty program doesn’t have to be an app, but even a mailing list can work wonders in real estate.
Having customer loyalty software which then is able to communicate with the seller in as many ways as possible without inundating them needlessly means they’ll think of you when it comes time to sell again. Knowing their likes and preferences is done by analyzing with this software.
Enticing Buyers
Once you have the cache of listings, you have the leverage to sell. Your customer loyalty program can be as simple as providing better furniture options for making referrals, connecting on social media to share testimonials or pushing the client up a viewing list in return for providing service reviews.
However, breaching the gap between buyer and seller is where you can really get creative with your loyalty program. Using the data you have collected, find out what else the seller might be wanting to put into the deal. Do they run cleaning services for industrial spaces? Do they have equipment for restaurant or gym premises? Whatever it is, you can help them to use it as leverage in getting a deal, all while providing something extra for the buyer.
In turn, the buyer can use their power as a customer to make referrals, act as brand ambassadors or simply provide invaluable feedback. Like any other loyalty program worth its salt, this can build them rewards which can come along before, during and after the deal is made. While the specifics of this may be tricky to get into here, they are all made so much simpler by the right customer loyalty program, supported by the best customer loyalty software.
