“You no longer get to choose how you communicate. Your clients do.” – Chris Smith, Inman News
A truer quote has never been spoken. Today’s clients are a diverse group of age, culture, and technology pundits, and if you want to keep up with your clients, you need to communicate with them on THEIR level and that is THEIR choice. If you are not willing or able to communicate with your clients the way that they want to be communicated with, then you are going to lose clients.
Here are some of my most recent client communication preferences:
Facebook
Text Message
Google Plus
Google Talk
Skype
AOL Instant Messenger
Email
Phone
LinkedIn
Snail Mail (Really? Come on…)
My most recent clients are from out of town. They wanted to talk face to face before they signed a buyers rep agreement, but obviously that was not possible… or was it? I asked them if they had an iPhone, and they did. I instantly sent them a request for a FaceTime chat. I ended up showing them a property through FaceTime yesterday. I had never done it before, but it would certainly be something that I will do again in the future with my next out of town client.
If a client has an unusual request for communication, can you accommodate it? Would you feel comfortable doing it? What is the most unusual request you have had?
An agent in the office I was at sat down with the home inspector after an inspection to give the summary report to the out of town buyer via Skype. Both the client and the inspector were impressed at the idea!
That is exactly what I am talking about John. Using technology to enhance communication and your capabilities. This can be a great WOW! factor for a client (and apparently an inspector too)