This morning on my way into the office, I was listening to my FAVORITE radio station (NHPR). They were interviewing an author, Emily Yellin, about her newest book "Your Call is (not that) Important to Us: Customer Service and what it reveals About Our World and Our Lives"
She was discussing the observation that in these challenging and economically competitive times....many businesses were having to "re-visit" how they were spending their image and Marketing $$$$$. Many are reaching the conclusion that instead of telling people how good you are....you should show them, in an area where it really counts...Customer Service.
This concept applies equally to Real Estate.
In this Market....hanging on to a Customer is where it's at. People are looking for knowledge and instruction from their Agent. They are looking for someone who can guide them through what has increasingly become a frustrating, time consuming, stressful and often discouraging process. They need a counselor, a cheering section and a dispassionate voice of reason.
Our office has always stressed Customer Serviceand follow-thru such as monthly newsletters, frequent phone calling, monthly reports on listed properties and Buyer reality checks. This attitude has helped us build a loyal customer referral system.
I'm betting that many of us are finding that getting back to basics is what is keeping us in business these days. Investing of yourself, your time and your knowledge.
Good old fashioned Customer Service....the customers are passing the good word and coming back for more!
CONCORD NH REALTOR
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Joan Mirantz - Joni is a Realtor® with Keeler Family Realtors, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm.
Joan Publishes a monthly Newsletter "Food For Thought" under the pen name Realtor Sherpa.
(Joan also answers to Miz Maven and Miss Joni.)
Joan works in Buyer and Seller Representation with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.
"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"
Yipppppppppeeeeeeeeeeee! You're back!
I agree with you wholeheartedly! Customer service does not have to be dead - unless we kill it. And some in our profession have done just that.
If your voicemail says you'll call back ASAP, then do it! It it says you'll call back within an hour ... DO IT!
Every time one of us does not live up to our own timeline we paint the rest of our profession as non-responsive. And that ticks me off to no end!
Joan...right on! Customer service is the cornerstone of our businesss. Seems to me is should always be one of our 'basic' tools. I think all the top agents and firms feel the same way, don't you?
Anna Banana
Carol...you've been a sweetie kepping me in the loop. I plan to stay...
Hello Anna...somehow we seem to have lost some of it it in the chaos of the "bubble" but I do think we willsee a resurgance for sure!
You are so right! Some agents in our area are so bad at returning calls that I have had "heart to heart" conversations with my buyers before we write offer on their listings. One was so bad that I finally left a message for the agent that started out with "Do you want to sell your listing or not? I have the buyer so I don't really care. Please let me know."
5 minutes later the phone rang. It was him!
if we answer our phones
we won't need to call back.
what's more important to our business than a call from our customers.
use voicemail as little as possible.
jay
Joan, if ANYONE has the empathy for buyers and sellers right now, it's you- as challenging as things have been, your recent experiences will offer more to clients now, than ever before!
Joni, WELCOME HOME!! I kept waiting to hear from you and am SO glad you're back. Good old fashioned Customer Service? I'm trying to remember exactly what that was....
You can see that your "friends and family" are glad to see you back! You are tops as customer service! I think that no matter how many gadgets and toys there are, the consumers want good custsomer service!
So many businesses today need to give a lesson on customer service to their employees. It is harder and harder to come by. Great post!
Hello Mark...there seems to be a lot of that going around. In our area the worst offenders seem to be those overburdened with REO listings.
Hi jay....so glad to see you! Hope all is going well with you. We are still in NH, there is still snow,but we are now in Hopkinton!
Aww Laurie...you got that part right! But if I'm going to do the kind of business I'd like....I need to get busy on here too!
Hi Carole....I think we will be seeingmore of it in the future. Back to basics!!It never hurts.
Hey Joan...am starting to acclimate to my new routine(sort of) Being aBuyers agent I know you know what Service is all about!
YAY!!! JONI'S BACK!!! We missed you!
Customer service and word of mouth advertising are always important in any business... and thanks for promoting New Hampshire Public Radio! I am even an NHPR member! I am sure that at least on of your clients appreciates it!
Hi Steve...so when are you coming East?
I just got another great lead from Abby. We are closing next month...those guys are the best in my book!
Hi Sharon...I am doing my own stab at redecorating since our move...I will have to send you pics when I'm done!
Steve could come east to North Carolina ... and you and Geoff could come south .... OK, so I'm dreaming again. LOL
I'm SOOOO glad you're back. I've missed you!
Now get posting, wouldya!
Hi Joni,
Missed you in the Rain. Customer Service? I think I remember when company offered that........hmmm.
I would love to see the photos when you have them. Have fun with it!
Carol...
Cynthia...I missed all here too! It was just a matter of getting my spirit back on an even keel. Are you as busy as ever or has military activity slowed down a bit?
Sharon...I will definately post them. My husband thinks I've gone over the edge....sort of like "when I grow older I will wear purple"!!
I agree completely! Also, in my opinion what you say is 10% of the call and the TONE OF YOUR VOICE is the most important 90%!!
Tracey :)
I agree - great post. And while we're on the topic of customer servuce I want to know why is it that out of the 20+ REALTORS I have called today to try and tell them about a very beneficial special I have for them - only about 2 or 3 of them answered their phones???!!! How can you expect to sell something if you are not answering the telephone to assist your potential customer? Now some may rationalize that they have my # programmed into their caller ID and aren't answering because they think I am trying to sell something (which I am, of course), but if this is my 3rd time calling you don't I at least deserve a "No thanks, I'm not interested?"....... I'm just saying. :)
I have at times been bad about returning calls later than I should but I am doing better now.
I admit, I some tomes avoid calls because I know that I won't have the answer the client is looking for, so I make a call and then call them right back! Nothing worse than an unreturned phone call!
I pride myself on the fact that 90% of the time I answer my calls immediately. The other 10% are returned quickly. My pet peeve..agents who don't answer their phone..OR bother to call you back. And believe it or not I'm working on a sale right now where 75% of the time when I call the OFFICE number, it rings and rings and no one answers, not even a machine!
Good stuff Joan. I believe lots of companies would rather have it that we don't bother them. I think they are right! We should take our business elsewhere! Unless they follow your blog that is :)
Hi Joan~ I always answer my phone unless I am on the line with someone and can't get off, but then I always call people back within an hour or so of their message.
Hi Joan -- I view this as the cornerstone of my business to build repeat clients and referrals for years to come. Without it, I would be like a gerbil on a wheel.
This is the crux of success in the biz. Follow up is so simple, yet it is the most missed and important item in building great relationships.
Joan, excellent reminders. Ultimately customer service comes down to our future business.
Well said my friend and welcome back. Glad to see you're here and back in true form.
I love this post!
When I first got into this business I was so intimidated. I joined the local RE/MAX office and felt so out of place. After all, these folks were all seasoned professionals making a lot of money! LOL
My first year in the business, I was in the top ten of my office of over 100 agents. I was the only agent in the office that was cold calling every night from 6-9 p.m. and was actually embarrassed that I had to do this task. Many of the agents told me I was wasting my time but what choice did I have? I did not have any business yet.
I just kept plugging away at the cold calls, knocked on doors, placed door hangers, and gave my card to everyone I met. When the phone rang, I answered it!
Once I found out that I had actually done well compared to the rest of my colleagues, I called many of my clients to simply ask them why they chose to work with me. The #1 response was that I answered my phone, and followed up with them as I said I would.
So while I thought all these slick Realtors in their Cadillacs, fancy suits, and large marketing budgets were out of my league.....The reality was that all I had to do was answer my phone, and it put me ahead of 90% of my competition.
Thank you for sharing this, and I look forward to hearing the success stories in 2009!
Have a Profitable Day Everyone!
Harrison Painter
Back to basics indeed. I think now is one of those times where we find out what really works and what doesn't in terms of generating leads and turning them into clients.
"Hello, thank you for calling our office, you are an important customer. However, you will NEVER figure out how to speak to a real, live person, no matter what buttons you push. So just try listening to our automated messages for 45 minutes and see if any of them can answer your question. If not, go to our web site www.... and look around for the answer for another 45 minutes. If you still can't find the answer on our web site, please send us an email, which we will never answer. Have a great day!"
Join my new AR group and post your blog at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice
Regina P. Brown
Nothing discourages more than voicemail hell. Nothing is more refreshing than a human answering on the first ring.
If you put you name and phone number on your for sale signs ~ then you need to answer your calls.
Customer service is very important. We need to treat our clients well, regardless of market conditions.
Answering the phone or returning calls promptly is just good manners.
Great post.
You got us all thinking about "exceptional customer service". What is it in the real estate world?
Have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Joan, I love this one and Congratulation of the feature. I think this is definitely one change for our business culture that needs a real honing and hopefully others will see this as the opportunity that it is for business at all levels to re-factor the Customer Service and bring it to a new level. And this post is a great reminder for all of us to keep this ever present as both a need and a responsibility to our real estate consumers and clients.
Hi Joan -- customer service was becoming the lost quality for many business's in "boom times".
Some things along these lines seem to be returning on the customer service front due to the current economic state of affairs. Even Dell now have peopleactually answering the phone and forwarding you to the folks who can actually assist/help you (this is with the paid warranty of course.)
For agents I do think Voice Mail has its place for communication sake and that calls should always be returned within a reasonable time frame. I never believed in answering my cell phone when with a client/customer (I put it on vibrate) unless there was a very good reason why which I let the folks I was with know before hand. Also, if they left the requested reason for calling it gave me time to collect it so that when I returned their call we could intelligently discuss what they wanted to know.
It's also just good, sound common sense and courtesy to return calls in a timely fashion!
Sue of Robin and Sue
Great reminder! I continue to be amazed at how many realtors and stagers do not give the courtesy of returning phone calls. It's such a simple thing, but makes a big statement to the customer as to how you run your business. Good post.
It drives me crazy when I call an office on the weekend for setting up an appointment and I get an automated line that says Press 222 for this Realtor, and 223 for that, etc. I think some Realtors and firms think that if we make it complicated our clients will need us even more and are more likely to employ a Realtor. Being empathetic tells us that most people live busy lives and that the more we uncomplicate it the happier all of us are. We live in a wiki world, and how many times have you had a call that you couldn't answer because you were on another call, then you call right back and they say thank you for being so prompt.
I love good customer service. I love it when people ANSWER their phone more than leaving a message. I rarely leave a message! kM
Nothing makes my eyeballs roll more than hearing "please listen to this whole message, as th options have changed". I understand the value of the automated phone system to a large company with many divisions. But, could they at least first offer the option to dial a person's extension if you know it? It seems this is always among the last options. I sometimes wonder just how many work hours are wasted listening to those automated messages.
My company, from its inception in 1995, has taken the opposite extreme in an effort to stress the customer service aspect. Sometimes, as a smaller company, customer service and seamless communication are all there is to differentiate one's business from the rest. Thus, we never installed any voice mail at all. A person always answers. Our customers appreciate it, and it really helps our customer retention rate.
Thanks for the post, Joan. There are multitudes in business who would do well to take your advice.
Hi Joni,
Congrats on being featured! I agree with the above - "Please listen carefully, as our options have changed", and "We appreciate your patience" repeated over and over. are two of the more annoying aspects of not being able to speak with a human being...
Great graphic, BTW -
I agree with you 100%.
Nothing worst for me is when I call another agent about one of their listing and their Voice mail and their email inbox are full. Then when you call the office they just forward you back to the full Voice Mail box.
WHOOPS!!! Now this is definately a comments stream I need to answer quickly! :0)
Tracey...excellant point. Smile as you answer your phone...it works!
Marisa...I think in many ways it boils down to common courtesy!
Mike...the most any of us can do is to try to do better!
Hi Bridgett...It sure doesn't help to make your client feel unimportant and that is definately the resul of unresponsiveness!
Kimberly....I think many offices these days are probably trying to save $$$, but not necessarily in the right places!
Winston...I know how I personally react to poor communication. I look elsewhere!
I think I have some definite skills when it comes to customer service, but I think I am only using a fraction of them. I need to re-buy the book, Raving Fan.
Vicki...a great habit to stick with!
Chris...I love the analogy!
Lester...Yup...overlooking the obvious!
Hi Missy...and from reading your posts, I know it's one of your strong suits!
Thanks Charles....glad to be back.
Harrison...sounds like developing good habits....paid off!
Hello Mark...sort of like planting your own garden!
Regina...Point taken!
J.Philip....and Lord help you if you push the wrong button!
Sandy....great point!
Christine...I think the outsourced and automated CS dabaucle is finally coming full circle!
Linda...nice to meet you and I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
William...hello my friend. I agree...Hi tech has its place, especially with younger clients, but you can't beat a good old fashioned real "hello!!"
Sue...you are a girl after my own heart. I never answer my cell when with another client. You made some excellant points!
Patsy....thanks...It makes them feel important!
Joe...I can't tell you how many times my speedy responses are received with shock...people just aren't accustomed to it!
Kristin...I've been known to just hang up and move on!
Thanks Patrick...my broker feels strongly about a human person answering during business hours(I'm on "floor" right now!)
Hi Brain...Longtime no speak!...I've recently moved and will be featuring the many historical aspects of my new home...keep an eye out! Lots of old houses!
Bettina...you are the first to bring up that annoying feature...and boy is it annoying!
Brien...I'll have to check that one out!
You're right. Mnay times the front line person (secretary) these days seems short with people or not so nice. These businesses must realize how important it is to have a friendly face/voice when a customer calls.
Joan - What a concept! Good, old fashioned service. Thanks for a very refreshing post. Ralph
OMG....I agree with you totally. Unfortunately "Customer Service" is a thing of the past for the most part. Sad to say but true. People just don't care like they used to. They think they can disregard the service that it's not there problem.Ha ....... sad but true. How do we bring things back the way they used to!!?? I wish I knew.
Patricia Aulson Portsmouth NH Real Estate
Carol, it isn't just in this business. it seems to be in EVERY business. Have you ever listened on the radio to Clark Howard, the guy who teaches you to save money?
He calls it "customer no service". And he is right! Perhaps now that we are in tough times, we have a chance of seeing a change in attitude.
Carol,
I hate it when I get voice mail and the recording says "I'll call you back at my earliest convenience." That always makes me pause. What's up with that. You are telling me I don't matter until you're ready.
Hey Carol! I hate that too! But I hear it all the time on voice mail messages. Replace the word 'convenience' with 'opportunity' and it makes a world of difference.
Erica....it's amazing because that is what the fron office person is being paid for!!
Ralph....with a face like that good service is a given LOL
Hi Pat...I agree our area seems to have been sucked up by the numbers machine mentality. I do think this "new" Market model is going to (hopefully) chnge that!
Norma...I agree...these times will promote many changes. Most of them more personal
Deborah....that is exactly what that is saying!
Patrick...good thought!
So glad your back! And showing off right away with that gold star!
Joan,
I found your wonderful post through my Google search alert, which is programmed to tell me when people are talking about my book. I am impressed by how many people responded to you. Thanks for mentioning my book and for being so passionate about something that is now a passion for me too. I have had such fun talking about this all over, and the New Hampshire public radio interview was a particularly good one.
I hope my book helps to fuel a conversation that we need to have in this country and around the world about how customer service is a reflection of how we treat each other in public generally. I've come to believe has a greater impact in all our lives than we may acknowledge. So much of what we experience dealing with customer service we go through in private. But Americans make 43 billion calls to customer service a year.
Everyone in real estate already knows how important customer service is, because you are all about service. I think some laggard corporations are catching up with the way you have to think to survive. The new idea (that is really an old one in many ways) is that customer service is the new marketing.
I won't go on. But please feel free to visit my website at www.emilyyellin.com, and to contact me directly there. We are going to have a forum up soon to have just these kinds of discussions, and to motivate people on all sides. Thanks again for the mention.
All best,
Emily Yellin
Rich...thanks! It was fun talking to you today. I love having a voice with the face!
Hello Emily...I'm so glad you jumped in here. Our business does depend a lot on our customer service. That's why I jumped on the subject as a Blog topic when I heard you on the radio. That was really an excellant interview and I hope all check out the link to hear it!
You can be sure I'll check out your website....and congratulations on your success!
It sure is! And this is the kind of motivation that we all need to be reminded of....no matter what kind of market we're in. It's that level of service that brings them back as well. Good for you Joan!
Hi Sally....good to see your face! This is one of the areas we should all make an effort to excell in!