Customer service is the key to customer loyalty

As society rushes forward and adopts the newest technologies, real estate firms must necessarily adapt and stay ahead of the pack, operating at the pace of tomorrow's business standards - if not faster. But, technology is never a replacement for customer service. At best, technology is a supplement to enhance a customer's experience. Thus, a customer's overall service experience, be it with or without the latest technology, is best kept the primary focus of the real estate professional. Fortunately, with the right real estate technology solutions, it is possible to save you and your clients' time, effort and money while also improving customer experience to everyone's benefit. Advancements in technology are changing the way that the world connects and conducts business. The real estate industry continues to integrate new and exciting real estate technologies - like Agorafy - that are helping to better link professionals and clients, improve data transmission and analysis, generate efficiencies, and ultimately speed parties' abilities to transact. Moreover, multi-channel communication - voice, text, email, fax, chat, and social media - now offer numerous ways for professionals to reach and converse with customers in real time to address questions, share information, and move deals forward. These interactions should be viewed as a blessing, allowing well positioned firms to wow their clients with a superior customer experience and, thereby, lay the groundwork for future customer loyalty. Because with ease of contact comes more opportunities to impress a client and exhibit the professionalism and value your real estate services provide. Thus, real estate firms and professionals principally committed to customer service are best suited to take advantage of modern tools, gadgets and resources to satisfy customer demands and, ultimately, capture market share. The cornerstone of the real estate industry remains the relationships that real estate professionals establish with their clientele. To create and maintain said relationships, real estate professionals must be competent and technologically equipped, but also friendly, understanding, and often times compassionate. As mentioned, while technology can help speed an introduction or provide an avenue for immediate client contact and information transfer, a real estate professional's experience, integrity, skill, and knowledge tend to determine a customer's level of satisfaction. Seasoned real estate professionals understand how important it is to be human, be accessible, to listen to or empathize with a client's concerns, review specific customer requirements, actively ask questions to avoid pitfalls, and provide insight and advice on an assignment. Taking the time to understand who your client is, what their goals are, and interacting as community members and not just business colleagues or cyber friends, shows a willingness to form and strengthen meaningful relationships that go beyond simple mechanical methods to close a transaction. Now, more than ever, real estate professionals must combine the best in technology with exceptional customer service, a personal touch, and an unmatched client experience. This way, real estate professionals ensure that they are moving at the speed of business and protecting their client's interests, while, at the same time, solidify lasting relationships with the friends and colleagues they will look to for repeat business and future referrals. Notably, at Agorafy, we are grounded in a culture of customer service. Our team knows how important it is for users to have a positive and seamless customer experience; particularly, with regard to the clients of the real estate professionals we serve. That is why we are working hard to build the best and most powerful real estate marketplace available. Today, our open, on-line platform provides real estate professionals with an exceptional, tailored option to professionally list available spaces with high resolution photos and detailed property description. Listings are accompanied by direct contact information, insightful property information and offer professionals an opportunity to present their customized profile in a highly sophisticated, modern manner. We believe that Agorafy's design and evolving feature set offer an optimal and advanced user experience, starting with the initial property search all the way through taking action to fill their real estate service needs. Moreover, we are regularly releasing new features to continually improve user capabilities and experience. Without a doubt, Agorafy's web and mobile options make searching and connecting around commercial and residential real estate quick and easy. However, our team is never content and we are constantly engineering to make Agorafy bigger, better, faster, stronger. To that end, we always encourage users to submit feedback to us at [email protected]. Our team wants to read and respond to your questions, learn about your concerns, and hear ideas for new features and product improvements. In the end, we hope to grow together to better serve your needs, your clients' needs, and the needs of the greater real estate community! Richard Du is the founder & CEO of Agorafy, Inc., New York, N.Y.