A Shortcut for Generating Repeat Business with Your Website

There are plenty of ways to keep in touch with clients after the sale, but today we're going to focus on a behavioral "hack" that changes consumer preference from search portals to your website.

First, we need to determine why a consumer who's no longer searching for a home would want to visit your website. We'll use that as the "hook" to lure them back to your site.

The answer is as simple as plain human curiosity. Nearly every homeowner wants to know what's happening with other properties in their neighborhood--what's just been listed, price changes, when homes have sold and for how much. Furthermore, buying a home represents one of the most significant financial and emotional investments that people make in their lifetimes. As with any investment, people want to know that its value is growing and that it compares favorably to others.

We're going to tap into this need to know by automatically sending this information to former clients via your brokerage's website. To pull off this hack, you're going to need a virtual office website because it provides access to a wider set of data (active, pending, expired, sold). If you have an IDX website, you can execute a limited version of this hack, but a VOW like Quantum Leads is ideal because offers listing data beyond what is currently on the market.

It's a simple two-step process:

1. Using your VOW, identify a subject home that you've represented.
2. Set up the homeowner, your client, with email alerts for new listings, sold, expireds, price changes, etc.

The beauty of a VOW is that because the listing data comes directly from the MLS, you can offer this information well before property search portals can. This puts your client in the enviable position of being the "first to know" what's happening in their neighborhood. And because VOWs offer even more market data than third party sites, consumers have no reason to slink off to a search portal after receiving an email alert from your site.

Brokers can make this part of their post-sale process. Once a transaction is complete, set up an email alert for your buyer on the neighborhood their new home is part of. Make sure you customize the alert template to include a call-to-action that encourages the recipient to contact you with questions or to find their home's value.

There you have it--a five minute trick to drive more traffic to your brokerage's website. What methods do you use to encourage repeat business?