Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Helping Realtors Spread ‘Positive’ Word of Mouth in 2010

Many say finding a good real estate agent is the key to enjoying a painless real estate experience. I have to say I totally agree. When I was a first time home buyer I didn’t think to ask anyone for a referral. The only real estate agent I knew was my own Mother. However, I was in Florida and she was in Las Vegas. So when I started working with the first realtor I was disappointed and frustrated. She really didn’t listen to what I wanted although she had asked me a million questions in the beginning of the process. I guess I just assumed everyone was like my Mom, who always worked hard to find her clients the house of their dreams.

After working with a second realtor I was complaining to my Mom and she said, “Don’t you have any friends that have purchased homes or sold their homes who could refer a realtor?” I was like, oh yeah. Of course I knew some friends. I had numerous friends that I could ask….and finally when I did I ended up with a great realtor. I had never even heard of the office she was working for but I soon realized it didn’t matter where they worked as long as they were working for me! She was wonderful and we even ended up becoming good friends. Most real estate agents stay in business because satisfied clients refer them to friends, family, and colleagues. You should ask those you know who they have worked with and what their experience was. As any great salesman, the most successful agents make customer satisfaction their top priority.

With social networking, relationship marketing and review sites being so prevalent these days, its imperative real estate agents and offices begin realizing that “word of mouth” is now being utilized online more than ever before. There are plenty of Web sites that will refer agents to you but that is no assurance of quality. Here at eCompliments it feels so good to know we have a platform to help realtors spread positive word of mouth about their business.

Just as any business on our site, when real estate agents or offices utilize our PRO package, they will get the tools to spread positive word of mouth about their business, help them be found through a Google search increasing their search engine optimization (SEO), use their happy customers as their volunteer sales team to “share the good” about them, manage their online reputation & create a positive web presence, increase their customer base, gain positive name credibility and develop strong customer experience, loyalty & feedback and last but not least, get customer analytics.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post on Relationship Management, traditional advertising is going to the wayside. eCompliments can help realtors gain the competitive advantage they need, all in one place.

Posted by Angelica Michaels


Monday, January 11, 2010

What is Relationship Marketing anyway?

Relationship Marketing is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns conducted during the 70’s and 80’s which emphasized customer retention and satisfaction rather than a dominant focus on point of sale transactions. In a nutshell, it is about keeping existing customers happy, rather than constantly focusing on attracting new customers. In fact, servicing and selling to existing customers is viewed as just as important to the long term success as attracting new customers.

In a recent white paper put out by Peppers & Rogers Group they found customers trust each other’s opinion far more than they trust a company’s brand. And in today’s climate, Social media makes it easier and far more convenient to access and act on those opinions. The principle is simple - if you treat your customers right; your customers will advocate your product/service to other people for you in a sense acting as your “partner” or “volunteer sales force” by potentially gaining new customers for you and spreading positive word of mouth.

Take a close look at some of your neighborhood businesses to see how well they are flourishing. Doubtless, everyone has cut back during these economic times. However, there might be another reason some businesses are surviving whiles others tank. In good times and bad savvy business people should have but one focus ---- their customer.

That is where eCompliments Pro comes into play as it provides Relationship Marketing tools to help businesses strengthen their brand and credibility, enhance their customers experience and loyalty, turn their customers into a volunteer sales force in spreading positive word of mouth about the and help increase SEO and their online web presence.

by Angelica Michaels


Monday, January 4, 2010

What’s your New Year’s Resolution this Year?

It’s 2010, can you believe it? With each New Year I find myself thinking “wow”, this is the year we are in? Where does the time go? I always love starting a new year however. If you had a fabulous 2009, cherish it and be thankful (and good for you!). If you had a bad year then now is the time to stop dwelling on the past and look into the future at all the new possibilities and opportunities that await us. So what’s your New Year’s resolution this year?

A common resolve you hear is “I’m going to start exercising” or “I’m going to loose weight”. I can tell you that getting a parking spot at my local gym the first few weeks of January can be a challenge…but come February it’s back to normal. Other popular resolves are, “I’m going to quit smoking, drinking, spend less or save more.” These are all great promises to make yourself but still a challenge to stick to for most of us. Of course we have good intentions but many of us soon fall off the wagon. I believe one of the reasons could be is that when you want to make changes in your life permanently but disguise it as a resolution it almost sets you up for failure. Losing weight, exercising or deciding to quit smoking are lifestyle changes that should be made if you are serious and committed to being healthier, right?

I was thinking why don’t people make resolutions that can make you feel good and make others feel good as well? Like, well….sharing the good! I find in my own life I am surrounded by negativity and pessimistic outlooks. But those that know me know I am the exact opposite of that. I wish I could just get everyone to be more positive! So I say it’s time to loose that Scrooge bah humbug attitude people! We are in a new year and can make it anything we want it to be! It’s my reasoning that being positive, nice and wanting to help those around me makes me feel good, make others feel good and thus results in being positive and having a happier life.

So when is the last time you complimented someone? Giving compliments is a great feeling, really it is, just try it and I think you’ll agree. It’s a win-win! You may be reading this thinking, “Hey, you work for eCompliments so it’s obvious to be talking about compliments”. But in actuality, all of us who are part of the eCompliments team had that positive, optimistic persona before we joined this organization. That’s why we wanted to work here. We have the belief we can change the world by “sharing the good”. Yet I don’t always find myself making a conscience decision to give compliments to people in person. So that is my New Year’s resolution this year; to compliment at least one person a day. How about you? I think you will be rewarded too if you give it a try. Share the Good! Happy New Year everyone!

Angelica Michaels