In today’s competitive business environment, real estate agents are no longer just competing against each other. Instead, they are competing against the expectations set by some of the world’s very best companies. This new landscape is one with empowered customers who are very much in the driver’s seat. Large multi-nationals recognise that we are in the Age of the Customer, which is why they are investing inordinate sums of money to improve their customer experience.

It’s not that real estate standards have dropped; instead, customer expectations have grown exponentially. The rise of social media and online reviews has meant that we are being held accountable more so than ever before, and are struggling with the customer-centric evolution.

Today, there’s an even greater need to strive for professionalism among real estate agents. It’s important to avoid shameless self-promotion and instead focus on assisting and informing. As an industry, we need to continue to build a reputation for providing quality information and high levels of service, to better manage client expectations.

The four principles for real estate agents to better manage client expectations in a changing market.

1. Implement a Customer Service Charter

As a principal or manager, developing clear customer service standards will have an enormous impact on the success of your business. By putting in place a written charter that defines the purpose, scope and standards of your agency’s commitment to customer service, it will ensure both your agents and customers know what to expect. In turn, your charter will define greater transparency around the customer process.

2.  Improve your customer on-boarding process

Getting your on-boarding process right is essential for making sure that new customers feel valued and supported by your company. There are tangible gains to be made from a focus on customer relationship management – such as loyalty and customer retention – and it’s likely that your real estate agency will be more profitable as a result. Research shows that up to 70 per cent of customer complaints could be avoided if there were better on-boarding processes.

3. Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) around customer service and experience

Tracking performance is key to improving it – so it’s crucial for a principal or manager to put in place measures that will help them drive business success. Setting networking, listings and client communication targets is a good place to start. Developing a short survey to send to buyers or vendors – after they have bought or sold with your agency – to gather customer feedback for your agents, is another way to measure client satisfaction. These days, clients expect agents to offer them not just market information, but local knowledge. Developing KPIs for agents around building area knowledge – and even getting involved in a local cause – is crucial to retaining the maximum number of clients as possible.

4. Embrace technology

According to research, 85 per cent of customer interactions will soon be managed without a human.[1] As cutting-edge companies turn to artificial intelligence and other technologies to transform how they interact with customers, the real estate industry must also begin deploying a variety of technology-enabled solutions to strengthen the customer experience. Taking advantage of online virtual offices, setting up interactive surveys, improving customer’s mobile app experience, and ensuring timely and effective handling of customer enquiries are good places to start. The challenge for agents is maintaining a personal connection with their customers and a nuanced understanding of their needs, while ensuring the highest standards of personalisation, choice, speed of delivery and quality in every interaction.

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