What is good customer service in the real estate business? How would you define good customer service? I have some ideas on that subject, and I’ll share them here for your consideration. Customer service does not exist in a vacuum. It is a function of many factors that make up a business and the people. What are those factors?
The Foundation of Good Customer Service
Good customer service is built on a business model that puts clients first. This is huge. Some businesses are not focused on their customers. They have their own agendas. How they market, how they sell, and how they treat their customers is based on the almighty dollar. Granted, making money is what a business is supposed to do, but when money making becomes the dominant philosophy that rules all other decisions, you don’t have a system built on good customer service.
That kind of business model compromises customer service in a hundred little ways. Customers are generally happy as long as their transactions go smoothly without a hitch, but if there are difficult issues to work through, they often find out their agent is missing in action. However, a business model that is designed with the customer at the center of everything has a dramatically different approach to customer service. Every question is answered with the customer’s best interest in mind. Agents have the knowledge and experience to handle anything that comes up. They also have the courtesy and professionalism to give their clients the best customer service. In this model, not only is customer service consistently great, customers are often giddy about the customer service their agents give them.
Customer Service and People
Good customer service requires people who genuinely care about their clients. That care must be more than just talk. An agent who puts their clients at the center of the Universe will do everything with their client’s best interests in mind, even walking away from a commission if necessary. And the service is not limited by a strict set of rules. You would never hear an agent say, “No, that’s not in my job description.” These agents often talk about how they love their clients. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for their clients.
Good customer service is responsive to clients, pays attention to their needs, and helps them through every issue they need resolved. When a client makes a telephone call to their agent, their agent either answers the call or calls back fairly quickly. When a client emails their agent, they get a responsive email quickly. Their agent can answer all their questions thoroughly, because he is a real estate expert. Why would anyone hire a real estate agent who is not a real estate expert?
Because of experience, he knows the answer to nearly every question that comes up. If he doesn’t immediately know the answer to a unique or esoteric question, he finds out and gets back to his client right away. Not only does good customer service mean all a client’s questions get promptly and thoroughly answered, the client feel like the answers were complete and detailed, and their agent has left no stone unturned. They keep getting the feeling that their agent is really watching out for them, and they are very grateful, because they don’t normally get this quality of customer service anywhere else.
Read Part 2 of Customer Service.
Last Updated on September 22, 2019 by Chuck Marunde
Awesome post.