Real Estate and property marketing case studies

I recently reviewed the book “Effective client management in professional services – how to build successful client relationships” by Jack Berkovi (see blog http://kimtasso.com/book-review-effective-client-management-professional-services-build-effective-client-relationships-jack-berkovi/). The article will appear shortly in http://www.pmforum.co.uk/magazine/. Meanwhile, I summarised the key points from some of the real estate strategy and property marketing case studies for ease of reference:

Property surveyor

Wanted to increase current 20% rate of conversion from leads to instructions
Spoke to various partners to create six different types of seller and six different land agent buyer interview scenarios
Partners prepared for each role and were filmed – key findings were that sellers were not actively listening but focusing on explaining their skills and services without giving reasons to use their firm. They also missed buying signals.
The material was reviewed and pitfalls and opportunities were identified before the training programme was rolled out to other partners and senior managers
Conversion rate rose to over 30% within six months

DTZ

Diane Nagy is Head of EMEA Client Relationship Management
Identifies and develops global and regional clients across business lines and geographic territories
Works with multiple country leadership and business lines to agree client lists, revenues and reviewing performance in line with strategic goals
Leads the client audit, automated feedback and post decision review (PDR) programme for the firm
Uses a prepare, engage, deliver, enhance model to describe the client service cycle
There is a standard set of training, procedures, and knowledge-sharing forums to ensure staff use best practice and leverage internal sector or skill expertise
In addition, each client is assigned a senior member of staff to focus on the quality of service which is within the framework of the firm’s quality systems

GVA

Vikki Bingham – Director and Head of Client and Business Development
Team includes 11 business developers, a data team of six people, a bid team of two and a small international team
BD focuses predominantly on existing clients – for six years the firm’s top 20 clients have been largely unchanged and generate about a third of GVA’s fees
During 2012/2013 the GVA bid win rate was 55% generating £13.5m from contracts
Most clients assigned a fee-earning manager responsible for development
Works with HR to provide client development skills training
During 2012/2013 GVA carried out 150 client interviews
In its 2013 trading report, GVA reported the following Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey results:
- Likelihood to recommend:
- 8% detractors (score 0-6)
- 47% passives (score 7-8)
- 45% promoters (score 9–10)
- NPS was 45% – 8% = 37%

JLL

Dr Charles Doyle is global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and also heads the 350-strong global research team
“Whether clients are global or local, they are affected by global forces and demand a global service or access to a global platform”
A truly global brand with wholly owned operation in the majority of countries which is a key differentiator and guarantees a seamless service
Deep client relationships – many over 25 years in length – have developed through four factors: expertise, track record, research and personal relationships
All clients are allocated a relationship manager and succession is in place in case of moves and transfers of staff
Many clients expect the provision of specific and customised portals so that they can access market data from us directly
A benefit of being a public company – as opposed to a private professional service firm – is that clients are perceived as belonging to the whole firm
The firm is structured around its clients – both by geography and industry sector
Making its extensive research available to its clients is considered to be an innovation that differentiates JLL
The firm has developed a series of innovative web-based applications that can be accessed through mobile devices. Web based property marketing is also increasing
Another innovation relates to running sustainable building using high-tech, intelligent tools

Knight Frank

Philip Gardner is Head of Client Services – responsible to three heads of their residential business for a business generation team of 10 UK based Client Managers that are organised by service line, country, London and lettings
Re-establishes contact with clients that they have lost touch with
Team soon to expand to include Applicant Management
Key clients include private clients with assets worth £1m+ and private banks
Client feedback sought after each transaction using email and a standard form
All of the client facing teams are fee-earners and have targets and performance measures – remuneration is linked directory to client fee income
There are three CRM systems on the residential side of the business, one transactional system for sales, one for letting and the other a contact management system

Savills

Richard Crook – Head of Business Development and CRM
Uses external consultants to conduct client interviews
Recently the programme increased in volume and now includes members of Savills’ internal research team and board members to interview key clients
Post transaction surveys sent out with invoices
Social media are used to monitor trends about the firm
The residential property business uses mystery shopping techniques to test the quality of its office locations
Measures include:
- Repeat vs. retained vs new business
- How many service lines are sold per client
- Satisfaction and favourability scores
- Net Promoter Scores (NPS)
Client Relationship Management team forms a bridge between marketing and business development teams
Four tier approach:
- Pilot group – a mix of key and potentially large B2B clients. Client account directors, client feedback, analysis of income
- All clients generating over £1m in fees
- Next 100 clients by income
- Fast track 50 where it is important to develop a relationship
Underpinning the CRM programme are CRM systems (with an Internet style front end with “taxi” and “long haul” reports – it took a year to plan and around two years to become fully operational) which enable greater visibility across the business and ensures a joined up approach
Mandatory for anyone about to visit a client to pull off the appropriate report to be fully informed and after a visit the key facts arising are added to the system

Property marketing case studies – Relationship management at DTZ, GVA, JLL, Knight Frank and Savills