Using the iHouse Website Blog to Retain Clients

Every realtor knows the importance of retaining past clients. They are not only great sources of referrals, they can give you repeat business year after year. Experts say that it takes 5 times less money and time to retain existing clients than to go out and look for new ones. The “80-20” rule applies to every industry, even real estate. 20% of your past clients (or a small percentage) will bring you 80% (or more) of your referrals. This is why it is crucial to retain old clients. Here are some ways you can do that using your iHOUSE website’s blog:

Social Media Engagement

This allows you to apply tactics and technologies to achieve business objectives. However, don’t make it a passive experience, make it a proactive one. Anytime you upload new posts to your blog, reach out to your clients and tell them what kind of information they’ll find in the posts. Engage with clients who mention your brand. Recent studies show that clients who get a quick and effective response are more likely to recommend a brand to others. On the other hand, only 19% of clients who don’t get a quick response will recommend a brand.

Get Referrals

Past clients can give you many referrals and help you to network with their families, friends, and business colleagues. However, many realtors are afraid of asking for referrals. Others simply forget to do it. This is a big mistake because referral marketing provides a low to no-cost method of getting very good leads. There are three types of referrals and it is important to know which one you want.

1)     The first and most basic type of referral is when you request clients to give you the names and email addresses of people who might want to do business with you. This is a rather low-value referral.

2)     The second type of referral is when clients discuss your business with potential referrals and can attest that they are interested in learning more.

3)     The third and highest type of referral is when past clients introduce you to the referrals or arrange a meeting between the two of you. This is the most valuable type of referral.

Post Relevant Blog Topics

If you want to keep your blog readers engaged, you must generate new content. While many blog owners agree that “content is king,” they will be the first to admit that blog post ideas are not always easy to come by. If you are short on blog post ideas, here are some ways you can find inspiration:

1)     Write blog posts based on frequent customer questions. Your clients ask you questions because they see you as an authoritative figure in the real estate industry. Use their frequent questions to make blog posts. Chances are that there are other people asking the same questions on search engines and they will be directed to your blog.

2)     Peruse popular blogs in the real estate industry to get ideas. This does not mean that you copy other people’s material or ideas. Search engines are constantly working to minimize content spam so this won’t work in your favor. Create your own original content on the topics.

3)     Use Quora and Yahoo Questions to look for the most searched topics in your industry. Both are Q&A sites featuring questions with responses containing opinions, facts, and funny stories that are voted on by members.

In these hard economic times, it is of utmost importance to retain existing clients. It is also crucial to engage them actively so as to keep them happy and prevent them from going to the competitors. It is very easy to take customers for granted and assume that they will always be there. However, this is never the case.