Buy an ad or build a relationship?

Unintentionally I set a rather controversial strategy for marketing of our real estate agency Elephant Property when we started in January of ’09: an advertising budget of almost nil.

We rarely purchase advertising, instead preferring to focus on building relationships and providing exceptional service to our current clients that makes them want to talk about us. Now, don’t mistake me, we market our properties for rent, but, what I’m talking about is actually marketing the business.

This strategy always meant that fewer people looking for a property manager were going to know about us than the top advertisers in our field. However, when people do hear about us, they typically hear it from a trusted friend or adviser.

In our field – residential property management – we typically deal with three main groups of people. Our clients (property owners), tenants and our suppliers (mainly tradespeople).

I’m sad to say, but in many real estate agencies only the first group – property owners – are seen as being worthy of first-class service. Tenants are often treated with contempt or as a necessary means to an end. And tradespeople are rarely lauded for the amazing work they do which makes our lives and jobs so much easier.

I’m proud to say a lot of our business comes from our tradies referring clients to us. Many of them deal with multiple agencies and there really is no greater compliment than knowing they choose to refer our services because they have an in-depth knowledge of how many real estate agencies operate.

But it is a rarity in our field to have tenants recommend your services. A fine line has to be walked between being overly-friendly with the tenants to the point where it’s a disservice to your clients (the property owners) and being unfairly unjust with tenants and treating them like second-class citizens.

About 10 months ago a tenant of ours in Launceston, met a lady in Hobart. They got chatting and the Hobart lady mentioned that her child was having trouble renting out a property that was located nearby to the Launceston tenant. Thankfully we’d developed the relationship with our tenant where they felt comfortable saying “you should talk to Elephant Property”.

Cut to the present day and that one conversation that would have never happened if we treated tenants in a typical fashion lead to us gaining that one property to rent. Furthermore, those clients referred us on to a friend, and bought a second property and the original woman in Hobart is about to bring over the fourth property in this line of relationships to us.

Each time we’ve pitched for the business without going up against competition and with the knowledge that the person we’re talking to has been given an honest, heartfelt testimonial by someone who knows and appreciates our service.

Let me tell you, that initial meeting is a completely different one to a meeting generated by an advertisement. There’s already an in-built connection, an existing level of trust and the foundation has already been laid for a great ongoing relationship.

A billboard or an advertisement can deliver your message. But to me, having a strategy in addition to any marketing which fosters a desire in people to personally tell other people about your business creates stronger leads for ongoing business.

What are you doing to ensure EVERYONE you interact with is encouraged to recommend and refer you in a heartfelt, genuine manner?

Kirsty Dunphey is the youngest ever Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year, author of two books (her latest release is Retired at 27, If I Can do it Anyone Can) and a passionate entrepreneur who started her first business at age 15 and opened her own real estate agency at 21. Now Kirsty does lots of fun things which you can read about here. Her favourite current projects are Elephant Property, a boutique property management agency, Baby Teresa, a baby clothing line that donates an outfit to a baby in need for each one they sell andReallySold, which helps real estate agents stop writing boring, uninteresting ads.