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Tag: reputation

Your Real Estate Brand vs 2013 – a world of data & reviews

Chris Drayer | Monday, December 3rd, 2012 | 1 Comment 1 Comment
[ Industry | Marketing Tips ]

Perhaps scare tactics should be reserved for Halloween, however, in 2013 we will see the growing divisive nature of customer service & brand quality.  Real Estate brokers and brands beware.

HomeLight RealEstate realtor expert finder

HomeLight helps consumers find Real Estate experts that fit needs and wants via real data.

With empowered consumers searching for answers and online agent review sites full of polarizing data like homlight, there will be a greater divide between the haves and the have nots in the form of stars, smiles, likes, testimonials, recommendations or  even linkedin’s new influence score.

Real Estate has relied on the the referral model for over 90% of its leads for decades.  Now, more of those referrals are checking up on you online before pinging you.

So, what is at stake? If you are a single agent rookie – not much.

If you have helped build a brand a team or perhaps a company, you know it did not come easily.

  ”Customers will not hesitate to defect to competitors or go social with their complaints if your business does not deliver on its service promise“. -

When companies fail to deliver on their service promise or fail to value a focus on customer service, they run on the edge of a cliff.  They might not fall, but its a gamble.  The greater risk is to have a landslide of brand erosion beneath their feet.  When a landslide is imminent,  there is no stopping it, evacuate the brand.

Only 1 out of 20 angry customers tell the offending company.  Who do they tell?  They attack your credibility from your sphere using social media.

The GoodLifeTeam has a Great 4.5 Star Score

The GoodLifeTeam has a Great  Score

This is not to say that everyone needs GoodLifeTeam* style 5 Star oriented service.  For now, there is still room in the market for lousy mom and pop shops that frequently drop the ball.  (& thus RealEstates lowly overall lack of trust title among professionals will remain secure).

The trick is to determine if your brands values align with caring for customers.  If so – how do you  make improvements to your reputation when you only see  5% of the angry or upset clients?  That’s not statistically sufficient data to warrant change.  Where is the data?

You value sales. You track sales data.

You value recruiting. You track recruiting data.

If you also value quality customer service and experience – you ought to track and measure these as well.  If not,  how will you know if you are delivering on your quality service promise?

Measure feedback on your brands reputation. With data, you are free to follow your vision and deliver quality service – both as a leader and as a brand.

 

 *Full Disclosure: TheGoodLifeTeam is a RealSatisfied client.

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We Have A Bad Reputation

Geeky Girls | Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 | No Comments No Comments
[ Industry | Marketing Tips ]

RePosted with permission from http://TheGeekyGirls.com 

By Laurie Davis

Real estate agents have a bad reputation. In a 2012 Gallop poll asking to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in different fields, Real Estate Agents landed just above Lawyers and below Bankers….  don’t know about you but that just doesn’t sit well with us. We recently answered a few questions about reputation along with a few of our friends and it’s clear, there is an elephant in real estate’s living room…

Reputation is a hard thing to fix. It takes a lot of work to overcome a widespread poor impression held by the public. The first step is to provide exceptional service, but to do that you have to know what the consumer really wants. The only way to know is to ask if the service you provide is meeting their needs and expectations. We may be afraid to hear the answers, but if we aren’t providing what they need, isn’t it better to know? If we can make adjustments and become better at what we do, we can stop perpetuating the bad reputation. Listening to consumer panels at events like Hear it Direct andInman Connect has given us a few ah-ha moments.

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear”. – Socrates.

Next, managing reputation and knowing what people are saying about you is important – now more than ever. Every consumer has a voice and an audience in this digital age. If you ask for feedback and then listen – you may be able to avoid a bad review or comment in a place that you have no control over. There are so many review sites on the internet… how do you even begin to get a handle on it? We started using RealSatisfied about a year ago. It has given us a way to monitor how we are performing. Our clients are able to tell us the good, the bad and the ugly – and it gives us the opportunity to fix what went wrong. The best part is we have easily gotten a lot of great testimonials as a part of the RealSatisfied process that we now can display – on our own sites and on some of the review sites.

It seems that the key in all of this is communication. Asking, listening and then responding in a positive constructive way. Recently the question was asked in one of our favorite Facebook groups,Raise the Bar, “When there are “problems” on transactions, what, in your experience, is the number one cause of those problems?”. The answers all boiled down to one thing…. a break down in communication. Communication is the most important thing in any relationship…. why would the relationship with your clients be any different? So let’s stop tip toeing around that elephant and start doing something about it….


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Referral Madness

Chris Drayer | Thursday, March 29th, 2012 | No Comments No Comments
[ Marketing Tips | Product Updates ]

Customer retention is key to generating referrals and referrals are a key component of growth in real estate.  This easy tip will help you grow.

You are in the Real Estate Referral Business

I don’t need to tell you that happy customers tell friends and family about your amazing real estate skills and great attitude.  You also know that if they have a negative perception, upset customers are 7x more likely to drag your name and brand into the mud.  Right or wrong, people really like to complain. Frequently these days, upset customers do so in social media. A negative social media blast from an upset client can close more doors than there are in the downtown Hilton.

We Talk the Talk

RealSatisfied helps you reach out to those upset customers and calm the situation immediately after a tough close.  This allows upset sellers or buyers to vent directly to you rather than online.  Customers provide the real reasons for frustrations to a 3rd party like RealSatisfied – giving you an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.

Reaching out to home buyers and sellers for feedback lets them know you are listening.  This makes clients happy.  Happy customers are way more likely to refer more business.

RealSatisfied Referrals

Get RealSatisfied Free with the easy built in Referral tool under Admin.

We Walk the Walk

Turns out, we are in the referral business as well.  Brokers and agents love RealSatisfied and want to share it with colleagues, so we built a cool referral system that credits you $9.95 (one free month) for each referral that signs up for RealSatisfied!  Free RealSatisfied for life?  Its for the taking!

RealSatisfied will help you get testimonials, referrals and more happy customers.

Check out our one min video to learn more about RealSatisfied.

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Aussie businesses falling down on customer service: Survey

Phil Kells | Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 | No Comments No Comments
[ In the News | Industry ]

This article was originally posted on StartupSmart by Michelle Hammond

A third of Australian consumers believe businesses pay less attention to giving good customer service in the current economic climate, according to a new global survey.

The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer includes a random sample of 1,021 Australian consumers. The same survey methodology was used in Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, the US and India.

The report reveals Australian consumers place a greater premium on service than most.
Continue reading…

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Listening to your customers and delivering a better experience.

Phil Kells | Thursday, March 24th, 2011 | No Comments No Comments
[ How to | Industry ]

Feedback – we all know it’s important and we all know it’s good for us (and our businesses), but how many of us actually do it? And importantly who act’s on feedback to improve their business.

I was reading a post recently that discussed giving customers a better experience – Part of that is understanding the customer experience that you currently deliver and what you need to work on. Establishing a regular feedback process in your business is the first step in developing that understanding.
Continue reading…

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