One of the greatest resources affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is their research department. A key member benefit is their annual Home Buyers and Sellers Report. They ask consumers who have transacted using a REALTOR® if they would use their REALTOR® again in a future transaction. Every year, more than 90 percent indicate that they would use their REALTOR® in a future transaction.
That is fantastic information, giving brokers a clear opportunity to retain customers. Unfortunately, there is bad news to report here, as people who have transacted with a REALTOR® are not using their previous REALTOR® in future transactions. In fact, research shows that only one in five consumers report using their REALTOR® more than once. Before brokers think about growing their new business, they need to solve this problem. Ask yourself, why are four out of five of your customers doing business with your competitors instead of you?
There are many reasons for this. Agents leave the firm or the business, consumers move out of the area you serve, their sister becomes a REALTOR®, or one of hundreds of other reasons. However, the No. 1 reason why consumers say they did not use their REALTOR® again is because the REALTOR® did not stay in touch.
Does this make any sense to you? This is not new information. NAR has been screaming this data to members for more than a decade. Sure, staying in touch with past clients is hard work, but that hard work is getting easier every day. Here are a few ideas that you can implement today that will help you fix the customer leak in your business.
1. Brokers need to build customer databases for their agents and keep records of customers in case the agent drops their phone in a toilet. You need more than the HUD-1. You need to require your agents to provide full contact records, and you need to validate the data by calling and emailing the customer to thank them for their business.
2. Get a CRM. You need customer relationship software for the company and the agents that allows you to keep that database of contacts updated. CRMs also provide the ability to send agent-branded emails and newsletters to customers.
3. Build a customer retention program that continues to offer value to homeowners between transactions. For example, you know that services like MooveGuru will help people with all of the moving requirements, but the service is also designed to keep offering brokers the resources to continue to provide services homeowners need. The best part is that we put these programs together for you to leverage local resources and brand the service to your brokerage. We even integrate the service into your CRM or transaction management system for you. You don’t need to do (or pay for) anything.
Stop losing your customers to competitors who are deploying these common-sense solutions to maintain customers for life. Contact us at [email protected] so that we can launch this product for you.
Scott Oakley is CEO of MooveGuru. For more information, please visit www.mooveguru.com.
