Real estate technology continues to advance. Digital tools are helping speed information transfer, allowing stakeholders to connect more quickly and easily. Gadgets, databases and algorithms are bringing new insight and next generation analysis capabilities to the palm of our hands. Advances in features like video, 3D, virtual and augmented realities are quickly reshaping how we view, learn about, and explore physical spaces. But, while the past few years have introduced the world to a number of notable technologies, the real estate tech revolution is really all about – YOU! Whether you are a real estate professional or a property searcher, real estate technology is being developed to serve you. What you want is what tech companies aspire to provide. And where you go, is where every tech firm wants to be – across desktop, phones, and mobile devices. In fact, our real estate technology will happily accompany you anywhere in the stratosphere to meet your needs. The ultimate honor being that of the opportunity to earn your trust and retain you as a loyal user and customer! In many ways, building and developing customer loyalty starts with delivering an exceptional customer experience. Gaining respect and loyalty may also require a certain level of flexibility and evolution of a product, service or brand over time. Companies frequently work to respond to the marketplace, create a reputable and dynamic product or service, only to fail to adapt to customer demands, new technology, and other variables. However, with the right juice, businesses can attract and retain loyal customers, forming incredibly powerful and valuable long-term relationships. Not surprisingly, customer loyalty is critical in the traditional real estate business. In fact, repeat customers are often a driver of a real estate professional’s deal flow. Are you hearing back from your prior customers? Good job! It is always worth your time to think about effective ways to stay in touch with past clients, be it through marketing, outreach, or personal contact. In an Internet-first world, we also need to constantly evaluate how, as real estate professionals and technologists, we connect and interact with our clients. Today’s digital age increasingly poses challenges to customer retention. In fact, customer loyalty may be harder to come by now when compared with decades past. In an October 2015 Harvard Business Review (HBR) piece, entitled “Why Customer Gratitude Trumps Loyalty,” Mark Bonchek notes that today’s consumers are “considering more brands and switching providers more frequently than ever before.” Therefore, companies are challenged to rethink “what loyalty really means in a digital age.” Mr. Bonchek offers three guideposts for businesses and professionals looking to build customer loyalty in today’s technology-driven society. First, loyalty must be reciprocal. Here, Mr. Bonchek highlights the difference between consumers and marketers when thinking about loyalty. Research shows that consumers expect brand loyalty programs to reward customers. Conversely, marketers believe loyalty programs provide consumers an opportunity to show their commitment to a brand. Thus, businesses and professionals should note this disconnect and work to bridge the gap. For instance, real estate professionals need to work to engage customers in ever more meaningful ways, including through real estate technology channels. Next, brands need to recognize that loyalty is “about emotion first, behavior second”. While brands often quantify brand loyalty by using a “repeat customer” metric, it is important to remember that a purchase is the result of a consumer’s emotional response. It is the response or connection with your brand that led them to buy or select your product or service. So nurture that connection, not with gimmicks, but with exceptional value, service and follow-up. The key point being that some promotions – lowering prices, penalizing disloyal behavior – do not always build loyalty, even though they may drive more transactions. Acquiring true, authentic and brand-loyal customers may require a more holistic view of the customer-brand relationship. Again, this starts with high-quality service and value, and continues through to your client follow-up and relationship management mechanisms. Thirdly, and most importantly, Bonchek advises brands to foster gratitude from customers; loyalty will follow.  Bonchek defines gratitude as “a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Bonchek explains that gratitude is “inherently reciprocal”, combining “both emotion and behavior”. “There is a feeling of appreciation and an expression of that appreciation through some kind of action. Gratitude therefore can serve as the basis of a relationship beyond the transaction.”  As Bonchek writes, “[c]ultivate gratitude and loyalty will naturally follow.” How do we generate gratitude? It is not as easy as giving away freebies or nice gifts, says Bonchek. Generating sustained gratitude means fostering a shared purpose with customers. Bonchek provides two simple examples. First, he spotlights a t-shirt company that was able to impart a sense of shared purpose with customers based in “creative expression”. The company sent personalized messages to customers to connect around creative expression printed on their t-shirt order and to thank the customer for their business. Second, another brand created an outreach program to “create an emotional connection” around health and wellness. The company engaged customers on social media to express support and appreciation for customer’s individual health accomplishments. This was not a sales campaign, but a method for connecting with customers, praising their health successes, and feeding that sense of shared purpose between brand and customer. In a 2013 article, Purpose is Good. Shared Purpose is Better, Mr. Bonchek provides a framework for companies and professionals looking at the idea of shared purpose. He instructs them to ask: “What is the shared purpose that: (a) We and our customers can work on together?; (b) Is a natural expression of who we are and what we stand for?; and (c) Connects how we make money with how we contribute to the world?”  So whether you are a real estate technology company or a traditional real estate professional, consider what shared purpose you have with your users and customers! At Agorafy, we are mindful of the power of shared purpose and gratitude. In fact, we are eternally grateful to all our users. In many ways, shared purpose and gratitude were stitched into our company’s DNA from day one as we work to build a digital home for the real estate community. And today, we continue to work together with our users to build-out a robust and modern online real estate marketplace. As you know, we look at buildings from the ground up, to provide a fresh look at NYC real estate and provide the added insight that our searchers demand. Through the shared values of transparency and better data, we are partnering with our users to improve the online real estate experience for everyone. Together, we can unite the real estate community and amplify the industry’s economic affects on our neighborhoods and beyond. The results will be great! Contact us at [email protected]. We can’t thank you enough! Richard Du is the founder and CEO of Agorafy, New York, N.Y.