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When it comes to marketing yourself or your business, what’s your point of difference or unique selling point?
I’d wager you’ve dedicated time, effort and not insignificant resources trying to stand out from the crowd. You’ve considered it in your branding. It’s probably factored into your marketing, and even your physical office space might subtly showcase your USP.
But is there an additional and easier way? Is there something you can build into your business each and every day that ensures customers remember you, reach out to you and refer you to their friends?
It’s the little things
Take a good look around. Whether it’s the supermarket, coffee shop or your encounter with a service industry, what are the tiny touches that make that experience memorable?
How do people go above and beyond in small ways to make you feel valued, important and welcome?
While those industries may not be the same as real estate, the principles of great service are universal. It’s about empathy, anticipating the customer’s needs, meeting those needs in a timely manner and exceeding expectations where possible.
Sometimes we need to take a look beyond our own industry to see how that can be done. As a customer, what are the tiny touchpoints that make that experience special? Or has a business missed a golden opportunity to wow you with their service?
It’s how you make people feel
As the old saying goes, it’s not what you said or did, it’s how you make people feel that they will remember. That’s absolutely true when it comes to carving out your point of difference in real estate.
It’s not just the fact we return phone calls. It’s about getting back to people in a timely manner, and responding to their inquiry in a warm and friendly way.
It’s the way we acknowledge people’s messages via SMS if we can’t get back to them instantly. It’s providing all the information to a buyer in a detailed email, and it’s about executing this task quickly in the knowledge they are eagerly waiting.
It’s the sold to settlement process, including touching base to check in and reaching out on that critical settlement day.
It’s each of these things and more. Importantly, it’s about genuinely valuing that person by envisaging yourself in their shoes and considering exactly what they need and how they might feel in that moment.
It’s not complicated
We often think that our unique selling proposition needs to be obviously and overtly “unique”. Yes, trying to differentiate ourselves within a large and often competitive market has its place. But the simplest USP is to just give great service.
So consider, what does your service look like? Is it timely, efficient, warm, friendly and willing to go the extra mile to genuinely look after your clients?
Sure, people recognise standout marketing, and that might draw some through the doors. But it’s service where you can truly stand out from the crowd. People remember how you made them feel, and that’s the key differentiator that will see them refer you to family and friends.
So when it comes to USP, why not “up your service” as your unique selling point? It’s not difficult and it won’t cost you a cent. It just takes the right attitude and service behaviour.
In a sea of sameness, you have an incredible opportunity to make great customer service your USP.
Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency, Australia’s first multibrand real estate network.
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