BATTLECALL GUEST EXPERT: Tabitha Naylor, Apex Financial Mortgage 

Referral marking is one of the best ways to let others know about your real estate services. Perhaps the best thing about it is that you don't have to pay any money for it. There is not much work involved with marketing to past clients; in fact, the majority of
that work is done by your clients themselves.

 

People like to spread the word when they receive a good service. This word of mouth is known as referral marketing. When your clients have a positive experience with you, they naturally want to tell others about it. The more people who are informed about your excellent services, the more clients you will have. The more clients you have, the more money you will make. So, when marketing to past clients, you make money off of making money.

 

The largest part of your business's referral strategy should come from the way you operate your business. The other part is developing an awareness of your marketing tactics. Your clients must know that you want them to refer your services to others. Otherwise, you can't rely on them to do so. If you have already been informing your clients that you would like them to refer you to others, then you can relax, the brunt of your marketing strategy has been completed. On the other hand, if you made the assumption that your clients will naturally refer others to your business, you have some work to do.

 

Assuming you haven't informed any clients that you would appreciate them spreading good words about your business, you will need to determine how to integrate this into your overall business practices. Each customer you deal with from now on should know, in some form or another, that you would like for him/her to refer another client to you. You might consider offering some kind of discount for each referral. Many real estate businesses offer such
incentives.

 

More than anything, you need to commit to always operate in a manner that will give clients a reason to refer others to you. If a client does not have a positive experience with you, chances are that the client will tell someone of his/her bad experience. This will counter your marketing efforts. All it takes is 'one bad apple'. Be aware of your actions at all times.

 

If there are several facets to your business, make sure each client knows of these services as well. There may be times when a client only receives one of the services you provide. This same client might know someone who is in need of another service that you provide, but does know to refer the person to you. When this happens, your marketing has failed. Your strategy must include informing clients of all the services you provide. By doing this, you are maximizing your efforts.

 

Developing a referral marketing strategy is not difficult to do. The two major aspects include letting clients know to refer you to others, and giving them a reason to refer you. Once you have done both of these things, your marketing efforts will begin to bring in new clients for your services, increasing your profit.