Service Marketing

Providing something useful to our clients and our potential clients--being of service--is a tremendous way to build relationships, trust, and grow and maintain a customer base. Providing a free report when someone joins your mailing list, sending a new contact an article or a resource you think they might find helpful, or providing a free newsletter that contains useful information are all ways of establishing your credibility, creating a positive relationship, and following up.

The common idea here is providing quality service to the person you are connecting with. This type of marketing doesn't work if you are providing them junk. I don't know about you, but personally I toss the magnets that I receive in the mail with a picture of my local realtor on them.

Recently, I received what I think qualifies as my most appreciated marketing gift ever. Remember when postage went up one cent last month? That very day, another bright realtor, one whom I'd never met, sent me a brief note and enclosed a sheet of twenty one-cent stamps. Her investment--minimal. Her timing--perfect. The value of her service to me (who just happened to have some snail mail that HAD to go out)--priceless. Finding those stamps in my mailbox at the end of a very long workday, was a fantastic gift.

Put your thinking cap on. What can you provide that would absolutely hit that sweet spot? How can you be the person who is there at just the right time, with just the right, small but highly-appreciated gift? Don't undervalue what you have to offer. Often, like the stamps, it's a matter of thinking ahead, being considerate, and responding with impeccable or creative timing. I'd love to hear what your favorite freebies have been.