Put Your Best Foot Forward: Lessons in Online Customer Service from Zappos and Beyond

Steve Jobs famously said, “Get closer than ever to your customers.” Social media and the Internet have allowed us to do just that: we’re with them as they sit in their living rooms browsing for homes, in coffee shops reading our blog posts and perusing our websites, and at any second of the day checking their smartphones and tablets. With that increased power comes the responsibility to provide even greater levels of customer service, to set ourselves apart from our competition, to meet immediate response expectations, to navigate social media channels with their ever-evolving rules of etiquette, and to present our listings and marketing messages through acceptable channels. Online customer service now has the power to define us as real estate professionals.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Study the customer service success stories of companies like Zappos and ModCloth, whose online customer service practices have set high standards.
  2. Devise an online customer service plan – to work with your existing business and marketing plan – and incorporate it into your everyday business.
  3. Strive to establish and nurture short- and long-term online relationships and put follow-up plans in place for nurturing those relationships until the consumer is ready to take the next step.
  4. Hone your social media presence and online communications to simplify your exposure and maximize your time – assess your current online presence and decide which platforms are working and which are time-sucks.
  5. Identify the top sources of your online leads and create a plan for higher lead conversion rates using a hyper-focused social presence and customer service plan.
  6. Decipher the mystique of top-drawer customer service and make it work for your real estate business.