Be exceptional this season: Novel customer service - by Richard Du

Richard Du, Agorafy

As the calendar year winds down, we look forward to spending more time with friends, family, and  community members. While some professionals may take their foot off the gas pedal during the holidays, savvy real estate practitioners know that there are business opportunities to be had. For instance, we find ourselves at many gatherings and chance meetings that have the potential to generate deals. In such instances, real estate professionals make new introductions, reconnect with past clients, and earn new business.  If you find yourself in said situations, you will be happy to have thought of ways to not just network, but to reinforce your brand’s value and spotlight your exceptional customer service.

Customer service is critical to many industries. But customer service is paramount in real estate. To illustrate this point, a few years back, Forbes reviewed a customer service survey conducted by Genesys. The survey found that bad customer service cost organizations $338.5 billion globally per year in lost business. This point was not lost on the real estate industry. In fact, according to their clients, real estate professionals took customer satisfaction extremely seriousl. The 2012 Genesys Global Survey listed the top three industries for customer satisfaction as: Real Estate: 96%; IT Services & Consultancy: 95%; and Healthcare: 94%.

Forbes commented further on the connection between real estate and customer service. In Customer Satisfaction By The Numbers: An Industry Breakdown, guest contributor and former Zendesk COO Zack Urlockerm wrote that “[i]t is not unexpected that Real Estate is at the top [of the customer satisfaction survey]. This industry is built on personal relationships and is an example of where self-service has proved to increase customer satisfaction levels.” Poignantly, today’s newest real estate technology solutions support real estate professionals by offering an elevated user experience, better access to higher quality information, as well as online tools to connect and work together with clients.

Interestingly, Urlockerm noted that “[o]n average, a real estate company only gets about 200 customer service inquiries per month that require human interaction. More than 1,400 customers per month are able to get answers through self-service means. A recent trend in customer service is that people are happiest when they can get answers quickly by themselves.”  Notably, self-service has been accelerated in recent years with the many digital options available to support customers.  However, a personal touch is always a key differentiator. Pairing new real estate technology and exceptional personal service can, therefore, be extremely powerful in ensuring a seamless customer experience and supercharging your business results.   

Earlier this year, The Economist’s Intelligence Unit conducted a study on The Value of Customer Experience in the Digital Age, regarding the importance of customer experience for today’s businesses. Here, “customer experience” encompasses every contact a client has with a company and its product or service, including in-person and digital contact. In particular, the study found that exceptional customer experience (CX) boosts business results. The Economist found that increased attention and investment in CX resulted in improved customer retention, better customer satisfaction, lowered operating and customer acquisition costs, as well as increased sales.

What does customer experience have to do with holiday parties and bumping into a client on the street or in the mall? Well, these moments are yet another opportunity to connect, build and strengthen relationships, create gratitude, and exhibit your exceptional customer service.

So what can we do to improve or “optimize” these more casual interactions? Here are a few helpful service tips Forbes contributor Carmine Gallo took from successful brands like Ritz-Carlton and Apple.

First, approach people with a warm welcome. Call the person by name and be genuine and authentic in your greeting. Should business questions arise, politely match the client’s needs with possible solutions. Similarly, listen for and resolve issues or concerns that may hamper a deal or impact the client’s expectations or timelines. If appropriate, take time to solicit feedback on past services or future offerings as well. Finally, end the conversation with a fond farewell and an invitation to meet in the near future. The farewell is likely to be the last thing the client remembers, so a pleasant good-bye with an offer to follow-up or meet regarding the business matter is invaluable. Thereafter, circle back with the client in the weeks ahead. 

At Agorafy, we understand that the customer experience is important to real estate professionals and users, alike. That is why we are innovating for the future of the real estate industry. Our company’s willingness and ability to respond quickly to our new users, agilely adapt to customer needs, and create value for real estate professionals sets us apart – not to mention the platform’s sleek user experience, cutting edge technology to search property information, expanded marketing capabilities to directly submit and broadcast your listings and professional experience to the world, and the wealth of verified market data that is available for both commercial, residential and investment sales listings.  So over the holidays, check us out at agorafy.com and harness the power of our digital real estate marketplace to showcase your experience and properties, and start connecting with colleagues and clients based in the shared values of better data, transparency, and a great customer experience!

Richard Du is the founder and CEO of Agorafy, New York, N.Y.