We’ve talked about the importance of having a highly-skilled team of professionals working in your property management organization, but what about the other side of the coin? Aside from your employees, your customers are the single most important group that you should be focusing on. In such a competitive industry, one of the biggest keys to success is attracting and retaining a solid customer base. The best way to achieve this is to become customer-focused. Here’s how.
Start from Within
Since you’ve already done such a great job at hiring and training top talent in the property management field, this shouldn’t be too difficult. It starts by developing a culture that is focused on keeping customers not just satisfied, but delighted. Include customer service as part of on-boarding as well as ongoing training efforts.Get buy-in from senior management, and make it an expectation for everyone.
Go Above and Beyond
Whether it’s delivering a report promptly or penciling in a last minute meeting, make wowing your customers a priority all the time. Look for chances to go a step above and deliver truly exceptional service. Over time, this will begin to shape your reputation and word of mouth marketing will naturally follow.
Meet their Needs
What do your customers want? More importantly, what do they need? Understanding the unique pain points of your clientele can help you deliver more precise and effective service. It’s equally important that you provide your customers with the tools they need to make their lives easier, such as online account management or electronic payment options.
Include them in the Process
Want to know what would delight your customers the most? Ask them. Include your customers in the service process by regularly polling them. Listen to what’s being said, either through complement or complaint. Learn from these comments and continuously hone your strategy to make it better. Remember, a customer-centric business is agile and able to evolve and improve.
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Be the Differentiator
Along with technology, it’s critical that your firm establish itself as not just different from the rest, but better than the rest. How? By offering more than what your competitors do. What can you provide to your customers that others cannot? Find out what sets you apart and showcase that. The more effort you put into setting yourself apart, the more likely you’ll be to not only attract more leads, but keep your existing customer base so happy they’ll never want to leave.
What special things are you doing to consistently exceed the expectations of your customers? Please share some words of wisdom in the comments below!
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