Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Contrarian Approach

Our digital world has brought about some wonderful efficiency in communication and has reduced costs. But, it has also made it easier to lose the personal touch which has now become a luxury. This opens up a tremendous opportunity for luxury real estate marketing professionals to gain a competitive edge by thinking like a contrarian.

In a time starved world where email-only customer service is the order of the day, a personal phone call can go a long way to build client loyalty. Here is an example.

Recently, a mistake was made on our account by an internet service to which we subscribe and our account was suspended. The only way that this could be remedied was via email customer service. There was no phone number given on their Contact Us page. Frustration set in because it took way too much time to write them and prove that the mistake was theirs not ours. Two days later the account was suspended again for the same reason. Again, the burden of proof was on us which took more of our time. And, we are one of their best customers!

This reminded us the Lily Tomlin sketch on Saturday Night Live where she played Ernestine the telephone operator. Her famous lines were, “I work for the phone company and it is not my job to think!” And, “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We are the phone company.”

Finally, we requested, by email, that a senior executive of the company call us, as there was no resolution via email customer service. Plus, we were ready to find a new service provider. We did get a call and the solution became apparent to the executive in less than 30 seconds. We now have her direct phone number which is rarely given out.

If your competition in luxury real estate is heading in one direction take the opposition direction and stand out. Be a contrarian. Maintain your personal touch, even after you have sold the home. It will go a long way to build client loyalty and referrals.

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