A real estate agent, let’s call him John, for privacy purposes, started a website after much research, only to dump it just one day later – and for good reason. Your website is your mainstay on the Internet. It’s your image, your lead generation and lead management system. Investing your precious time and money choosing and setting up the right website for your business is of paramount importance. It is not something you want to switch in and out of frequently, if at all. Do your homework before you commit.

In this series of short articles, we will explore key things to consider when selecting a website platform and host. You want good value, efficiency and productivity. A site that will give you a competitive edge. One that will work hard for you and not distract or frustrate you.

Pillar #1: Look for world class customer service.

Yes, top notch customer service takes the number one spot. Ahead of functionality and cost.

Just this month, John dropped his former website provider within 24 hours of signing up, due to some unpleasant surprises on the customer service side of things. The software had checked out well and the price seemed right. The real test came when John needed some help. Instead, he got a couple of unpleasant and unsupportive interactions – or lack thereof from the support staff who was supposed to be helping him.

A quick discussion with the sales team about the company’s customer care philosophy and procedures, work hours and team size is usually a good start and can save you a lot of pain. Try to get feedback from current users. Current users on the company’s blog or message board are only too happy to share their experiences. Needless to say, if this part of the check fails, you got your answer.

A solution provider with solid customer care is organized. They ought to have a set response time frame and systems in place to ensure care tickets get answered within reasonable terms, well trained support personnel with decision making abilities to help resolve questions or issues quickly, and a pleasant approach. They should also offer a strong support personnel to customer ratio, and various ways for you to contact them: e-mail, phone, online chat, message boards and so on.

Perhaps you’ve run into a technical issue, need a hand editing your website, want to know what the weather is like (freezing here), or just have a question about a Point2 feature.  Whatever it is, now you can let us know and get assistance right on the spot.

Introducing Live Chat  – with real LIVE Point2 humans – that’s right, there’s none of those so-called Live Chat ‘robots’ here – these are real people, folks!

So the next time you can’t wait for that email reply, and aren’t in the mood for the telephone – give this a try!

The feature can be accessed from our support page right here.  Simply click the icon, enter your login information, and in no time you’ll be chatting with us!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Not only is the Education Team celebrating the arrival of 2010, but we are also celebrating our website’s 1st Birthday!  Our ‘baby’ is growing up…(wiping tear from eye).

A huge thank-you to everyone who has visited our site, provided feedback, and used the resources we enjoy creating and maintaining.  To kick off the new year and our January birthday month of celebrations, we are unveiling our new Education Session offering and schedule.  The previous Education Sessions have been revamped, a few added, and a few will be moved to video resources in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more enhancements, birthday celebrations, and announcements throughout January.  In the meantime…Happy New Year!

One of our most valued assets is the quality of support our Customer Care team provides to our members.  With the tremendous expansion of our member base, comes an according influx of support requests to our Customer Care Team.  Let me tell you – these guys and girls deserve a HUGE applause.  You may have noticed longer wait times on the phone or via email, but that is because over the past month, our support team has received nearly double the amount of requests they normally receive.  Just how many emails and phone calls have they received?  Compared to an average of 800 phone calls and 1000 emails per week, over the past month our amazing team is has seen upwards of 6000 emails this month and nearly 1200 phone calls per week.

I know from spending two years with the Customer Care team that at times it can get overwhelming when it gets busy.  As a Customer Care Representative, you want to provide members with the highest quality of support in the quickest amount of time; after all, REALTORS® are business people, and their time is valuable.  When the volume of support requests is higher, it can be more challenging to resolve and answer issues in a shorter time period, as you do not want to sacrifice quality.  Our Customer Care team has been nothing short of spectacular in handling all of these requests.

If you have the chance to communicate with any Point2 Customer Care Representative via telephone or email, please keep in mind the hard work and determination this extraordinary group puts into their work each and every day.

Also, to buffer our support team we also have posted tons of helpful resources which are available on the Point2 Education site.  There you will find various resources including video tutorials and live educational sessions that can help you make the most out of your Point2 Agent account.

Finally, we love hearing from you, so keep your questions, concerns, or comments rolling in.  If you are ever in contact with a member of our Customer Care team, we welcome all comments – good or bad – and make an effort to make sure they reach the ears of the appropriate person within the walls of Point2.

Some of our members may have noticed a change in the titles of those who help answer your Point2 Agent account-related questions.  Previously, the name of the team that our members were served by was the Customer Support Team.  Recently, they’ve changed their name to better reflect the relationship they build with our customers and are now the Customer Care Team.

Our Customer Care Team of 25 individuals are responsible for providing the first-line of support to our entire membership.  Not only are they answering issues that come in via email, telephone, and on the Message Board, but they are proactive in detecting any potential issues before they can affect our members.

On average, approximately 1000 email support issues are sent into our Customer Care Team on a weekly basis.  Our Customer Care Team strives to provide 24-hour response time for all members.  In addition to emails, they receive hundreds of phone calls each week (an average of 800!!!) from our Professional and Premium members.

As the team is continually expanding to provide the best level of support care to our growing membership, they had outgrown their previous office space.  So, they’ve been relocated to a newly renovated portion of the Point2 office building in Saskatoon, SK.  Last week saw them settling into their new space with a ‘house warming’ BBQ for the entire Point2 staff.

The Customer Care Team is a huge part of what makes Point2 Agent such a great success!

Just recently, he also mentioned a service called TweetBeep that allows you to set up notifications when anyone on Twitter uses specific words in their tweets.  For example, I set up my TweetBeep to notify me anytime the word ‘Point2′ is used in Twitter. 

I think it is in human nature to want to know what people are saying about you, and these types of social media tools certainly help us keep tabs on our reputation.  But, it can actually provide a benefit to your business as well by helping you connect with your customers and engage them.

Imagine this: As a customer, you are unhappy with the service you received from a company.  You mention your disappointment casually on your blog or social network of choice.  The following day (or maybe even that afternoon) you receive an email or phone call from that very company to apologize and expressing interest in making things right.  How would you feel after that?

Or, on the flip side of that coin, if you mentioned something you felt was outstanding about a service received or product you have used, and the company called you to say ‘Thanks!’ and give you some love by way of free products/services, how would you feel after that?

I certainly don’t mean to suggest that everyone begin tweeting, commenting, and blogging about every negative or positive experience they have in the hopes of getting props and free stuff out of every company.  I guess my point is to show just how powerful social media and social networking has become in the business world.

This is no less important in the real estate business world.  If you’ve provided excellent customer service to an individual and they tell their followers on Twitter, or blog about it, it is likely you may gain some referral business from them this way.  The same goes for any negative feedback that might surface on the internet about you.  You might lose some business if it goes unchecked.  Do you know what is being said about you?  Do you take it a step further and engage those who have something to say about you?

Real estate is a customer-service oriented business and it makes perfect sense to interact with and engage your customers at the same level they are at.  You better believe that the likelihood of your customers using Twitter and other social media tools is growing daily.  Consider that Twitter recently reached over 1 billion ‘tweets’, has about 1.45 million unique visitors, and boasts some pretty impressive numbers.

Make sure you don’t neglect the opportunity to truly engage your customers with the help of social media.  I welcome everyone to share your experiences of how social media has impacted your real estate business and how you have been able to use social media to engage your customers.