Attract Success With Real Estate Referral Marketing
Imagine you need a wedding planner for your sister’s wedding.
What would you do?
Ask around your family, friends, and colleagues, right? If they’ve had a good experience or know someone good, they’ll recommend them to you.
If none of the recommendations works for you, it’s only then you search for other options. Maybe run a Google search, or click on an Instagram ad.
The point is, even in 2023, when there are hundreds of genuine options to discover a business, people still rely heavily on referrals. The same goes for real estate businesses. 82% of all real estate transactions are the result of contacts from previous clients, referrals, friends, family, and personal contacts.
So it’s a no-brainer that you should invest your marketing dollars in referral marketing. How? Well, that’s what we’re here to answer.
Here’s a glimpse into the ways you can boost your referral marketing –
- Build an online community
- Sweeten the deal by incentivizing the referrals
- Strike while the iron is hot by targeting the happiest moments
- Add value to your client’s lives
- Follow up
5 Ways to Invest in Referral Marketing as a Real Estate Agent
1. Stay on Top of Clients’ Minds by Building an Online Community
No matter how happy your clients are with your services, they won’t remember to refer to you unless you remind them of it. Don’t be offended; it’s human nature! Besides, it’s easily treatable by the holy grail of online marketing – social media.
Social media is a huge relationship center for real estate professionals. Tell us a better way to remind your clients about your business than attracting them to your profile via real estate-based social media posts. Your business will be on top of the minds of anyone you are connected to on social media.
Host live streams and interactive stories and collaborate with local businesses. Consistently sharing real estate market and lifestyle content online will encourage your social connections to share it with their friends and family.
2. Sweeten the Deal
People want to be seen and appreciated. Use this psychologically in your real estate referral marketing via positive reinforcement.
If you recognize and appreciate your clients for giving you a referral, they’re more likely to recommend you to more people. And note that positive reinforcement doesn’t always have to be monetary. Sometimes, a simple call or a “thank you for the referral” card does the deed.
If your budget allows it, don’t hesitate to take it further by dropping off a flower bouquet or giving cash rewards. The more thoughtful you are, the more business you win. They’ll likely become loyal clients and offer you more referrals.
3. Strike at the Happiest Moments
If you’re successful at a deal, there are a few moments when the client gets to celebrate. It could be a win of a negotiation deal, approval of a document, or closing of a complicated transaction. These are the times when emotions are running high, and the client appreciates your services from the bottom of their hearts.
Target such moments to subtly remind your clients how much you appreciate them sharing their positive experiences via reviews and referrals. All you have to do is ask them, and they are likely to do the deed.
4. Add Value to Client’s Life
There are two kinds of clients — one, who care about the real estate industry only until they buy or sell a house. Two, who either deal in real estate regularly or like to stay updated with the industry for the sake of opportunities or interest. Either way, the second category would appreciate you more if you share key market insights or other informational material with them.
Why should you do it?
Because if your material helps them, they’re likely to like you and trust you. You’ll position yourself as a credible market expert. Again, it keeps you on top of their mind and makes you more ‘referable’.
5. Always Follow Up
When you’re nurturing a client, following up with them is a priority for brokers. However, when the deal is successfully locked, following up with past clients usually takes a backseat. If you follow this pattern, it’s time to break it.
Again, it’s about staying on top of your past clients’ minds even after the deal. Note two things here — first – you wouldn’t get a referral unless you ask for it. But second, if you only keep asking them for referrals, they’ll eventually stop opening your emails.
So, the middle ground here is to add value to every interaction by giving past clients helpful information or simply showing a genuine interest in them. All you have to do is automate your email or SMS marketing so that it reminds you or triggers a follow-up email.
If you play your cards right, referrals can build a real estate business. Need help structuring and/or strengthening your real estate referral marketing strategy? ZipperAgent can help you. Give us a call at 1-800-350-3695 to increase the number of leads via referrals for your real estate business.
