Normally, a REALTOR® has a core group of customers that are most likely to provide referrals. They also have another group in their data base of customers that are possibly willing to refer business. Let’s call this group “almost core.”
A serious effort to cultivate those relationships with meaningful information and help in many ways will keep the REALTOR® “top of mind.”
If the REALTOR® can increase the amount of referrals from the core group and cultivate the relationship with the second group, moving them into the core group more business will come from referrals, and the return on marketing expenses will prove to be more effective than marketing to the masses.
How do you know who are core and who are almost core?
I contend the more you know about your customers the more likely you will be able to cultivate the relationship.
Examples of knowledge items that might help your relationships:
Know how many children are in the family and when they might be graduating from high school, or when one is getting married.
Know where your customer works and relay information about their employer when important things happen.
If a customer becomes unemployed, contact them and get their resume. Maybe you can network for them. At least you can offer to network for employment.
Be sure you have a way to track activities of your data base. If you do not have a system for that, many systems are available. Know who is opening your emails, who is reading any newsletters etc. Also, ask your customers what kind of information would be helpful to them that is not real estate related.
Often realtors focus their investments on quick payback periods, saving money and striving to drive short term sales. In the long term customer loyalty efforts are slighted, causing diminished returns in the future. There is a science to understanding client loyalty, to recognizing the value of loyal clients, plus creating and maintaining loyal clients.
Arnie Goldberg arnie@a-gmarketing.com
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