As a real estate agent, you need to more than just inbound marketing if you want to guarantee long-term success. Every now and then, you need to head back to the very source of your business in the first place.
In 2012, repeat business accounted for an average of 21% of real estate agents’ business. That’s a significant chunk of your commission, and it was even more for agents who’d been in the industry for over 16 years, who came in at 40%.
If you want to be truly successful, repeat business has to form part of your marketing strategy. Here’s how you can integrate it and start reaping benefit from it:
1) Add a personal touch when thanking clients
If you’ve completed sales recently where buyers have been overly happy with your service, nice work. You can, however, do more than simply tell them their business is valued – you can show them.
Send letters to your clients after completion along with a gift. This doesn’t have to be expensive, just a point of reference to keep you in their minds. You should be careful to stay within any laws surrounding gift-giving, as the last thing you want is to wind up in legal trouble.
2) Speak with them offline as well as online
Social media is a great method for communicating with past clients, but visiting them in person can help put a face to your name.
Find out about their interests and check up on how they’re doing in the property. If you can avoid being overly promotional, you’ll help to solidify a bond that’ll increase your chances of attaining repeat business. Make sure you don’t overdo the sales aspect, because clients definitely won’t want to see you if all you do is talk about when they’ll need representation again.
You can also do this by sending monthly or quarterly email updates, asking for feedback on how your clients are doing, as well as keeping them in the loop with any notable business developments.
3) Make the most of social media
Email marketing and face-to-face communication aren’t the only ways off staying in touch. Social media can be a powerful tool for driving repeat business, too.
Research shows that using social networks to communicate with your audience makes them significantly more likely to use your services in future. Use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to convert your former clients into brand evangelists and they’ll start recommending your services to friends and family.
4) If you can’t win repeat business, get referrals
If you can’t get repeat business from your clients, not all is lost. Your potential customers are increasingly likely to check out your reviews online before enquiring, so give them something to see.
Ask previous clients who’ve been happy with your service to leave you a review online, detailing what they like about how you conduct business and what benefits they’ve seen.
Have you used techniques that have resulted in a rise of repeat business? Share your secrets with us in the comments box below!