A brand’s ability to create “positive, emotional experiences that drive customer loyalty” has a direct correlation to repeat business, according to a recent report from NewVoiceMedia. And bad service resulted in the loss of an estimated $75 billion for U.S. companies last year. “Customers want and expect more than ever before – because that’s what we have we taught them,” says customer service expert and business coach Shep Hyken.

Real estate isn’t immune. According to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Buyers and Sellers, which surveyed close to 8,000 homeowners who had bought or sold in the previous year, only 12 percent used an agent that they had worked with in the past to buy or sell a home.

Customers are becoming what NewVoiceMedia calls “serial switchers,” always on the hunt for better service. “We promise our customers that we will deliver amazing service, and we may. But, whether or not we do is for the customer to judge,” Hyken says. “And, here is where that judging gets interesting. They are no longer comparing us to our competitors. They are comparing us to the best service they ever received from anyone.”

The main reasons customers switch is because they feel underappreciated, Hyken says. Making that emotional connection and staying in contact with past clients is the biggest change broker-owners and their agents can make to ensure their clients are happy and use them to buy or sell again in the future. In fact, the NewVoiceMedia report shows that 86 percent of customers who had an emotional connection with a company or someone in customer service were willing to do business with that company again.

Source: “$75 Billion Dollars Is Lost Due to Poor Customer Service,” May 2018, Shep Hyken; “Serial Switchers Swayed by Sentiment: How Bad Emotive Customer Experiences are Costing Brands Billions,” NewVoiceMedia