Past-Client Marketing
Building your Future by Going Back to the Past
In real estate, Past-Client Marketing works because of one simple reason: TRUST. The process of moving a prospect in real estate through the sales funnel is a difficult and arduous task. It takes time, effort and consistency to make forward progress until the prospect signs up and becomes a client.
When a prospect becomes your client, there must be a reason why he decided to finalize the investment through you and not your competitor. Of course, pricing and terms are serious considerations but for the most part, people finalize their decisions to invest based on who they trust more.
Investments in real estate can be substantial. Whether the investment is for speculation or personal consumption, people who invest in real estate are generally those with a considerable amount of investible or disposable income. It is also likely they are associated with others who have the capacity to make similar investments. If a client found his or her experience transacting with you a pleasant one, there is probability you will be contacted again for future business.
In real estate, past clients are a great resource for repeat business and referrals. For some agents, they have been able to sustain their career by maintaining contact with previous clients. But how do you maintain contact without becoming a nuisance? The answer is by adapting basic principles or strategies of Relationship Management.
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Share relevant news
The real estate market is constantly changing. Demand for types of property, development or investment trends could affect real estate prices. Keep track of who your clients are and the reasons why they invested in real estate in the first place. This way you can categorize which bits of information can be shared with whom. Clients who are long-time investors in real estate are constantly researching on property development. They will always welcome relevant information from you.
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Keep your memory alive
Some of the most successful real estate agents send their past clients small gifts or tokens to keep their memory fresh. Gifts which are personalized or have relevance to the personality of a client will be highly appreciated. For example, a client who has a penchant for collecting coffee will appreciate a distinct coffee mug or perhaps an exotic blend of coffee beans.
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Remember their special occasions
Greeting cards and gifts are not meant for Christmas Day only. Past clients highly appreciate it when you remember their birthday or the date he or she transacted with you. There are some agents who even take the extra effort to send gifts on the birthdays of past clients’ children and wives. It is a great way of establishing a solid relationship and building on trust.
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Surveys
Customer service departments are building up their repertoire by focusing on market retention activities. These are functions that are designed to impart the message that the business cares about the customer “beyond the sale”. Surveys are a great way to re-connect with a customer or client especially if the sale is still fresh or he or she is in the process of moving in. Surveys are structured to find out if the experience has been pleasant, if there are issues that need to be addressed or if there is anything the client wants but hasn’t had time to discuss.
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Give a quick call
Of course giving past clients a quick call is a tried and tested method of re-connecting. If you are familiar with the past client’s usual schedule you may want to check with his or her assistant if a quick call is advisable. The purpose is to touch base and maintain warm relations.
As you can see there are several strategies you can use to re-connect with your past clients. And these will be worth it. But implementing Relationship Management strategies take time and effort which you may not have considering the pace of your schedule.
At Outsource Workers we have Virtual Assistants who can conceptualize strategies for you and ensure the opportunities to reconnect will lead to renewed business or more referrals.