When it comes to creating a world-class customer experience, you have to define and clarify what “world-class” means to you and to your customer base so you know what winning looks like. In other words, before you can meet or exceed your customer’s expectations, you have to know 1) who your customer is and 2) what they expect.
I’ve worked with several real estate industry professionals in my career, both personally and professionally. When my wife and I sold our starter home and bought a new one, we had the experience of working with a couple of different agents who stood out in distinctly different ways.
Agent #1
The agent we used to list and sell our home had a very professional appearance, a great-looking website, and a very polished listing presentation. After meeting with her, our expectations were set…and they were high. Once we got into the process of scheduling showings and looking for new houses, things were a little bumpy. She was usually late to appointments, always had an excuse and set a generally negative tone for our interactions, because the experience began to be more about her and less about us. It wasn’t all bad, but remember our experience was measured against those original expectations. The audio just didn’t match the video.
This particular agent is a lovely person who has a lot of experience and talent when it comes to real estate. Her downfall came down to two things: 1) She was too busy. She said ‘yes’ to everything without stopping to think what that meant she was sacrificing. In this case, her level of service and her personal stress-level suffered. 2) She didn’t have a very good assistant. When considering your brand, consider your team. Who you hire to support you can really make your brand stand out in a really positive—or really negative—fashion.
Agent #2
On the other side of the transaction, we met another agent who was the listing agent for the house we ended up purchasing. From the first time we spoke with her (via phone), she was warm, personable and very focused on how she could help us. When we met in person (our agent was out of town), the experience was the same. With each subsequent interaction, she reset and exceeded our expectations of what the experience of working with her should be. Unfortunately, her online presence is pretty unimpressive. But she probably doesn’t need it. Why not, you ask? Well, guess which one we will be using to sell our current home? Guess which one we’ve recommended multiple times over the past few years? The experience matters more than anything.
This agent’s formula for success was super simple: follow-through and do what you say you’re going to do…and then do a little more. That’s it. It works for any business of any size in any industry.
Take a few minutes out of your day and examine the expectations you’re setting and whether or not they are in alignment with your customer’s needs. Them make sure you’ve got the right team in place to help you exceed them every time.