By Dan Gooder Richard

When you close the deal, don't even consider closing the relationship you've worked so hard to bring to the table. Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) picks up where transaction driven marketing leaves off. If you want loyalty, repeat business and a stream of referrals, you have to nurture client relationships. Here are just a few ideas:

• Your Trophy E-Mail Database is critical to developing customers for life. Make a point of using the information you've gathered. For example, send clients a mix of reminders of important dates such as anniversaries, birthdays, daylight savings time, scheduled home maintenance, holidays, etc.
• Maximize client loyalty by concentrating on what they want, not what you want.
• Use your website and e-mail to identify and provide added value:
  --Gain insights through brief one-to-one surveys. Even a simple "check-the-box" e-mail question is effective when you're asking your customers what they want, what they need and what they think.
  --Give every satisfied client a private "Client Only" page on your website. This is easily done by adding a subfolder extension to your website domain. You can have as many folders as you want.

The secret to getting profitable, repeat and referral business is: Don't take satisfied clients for granted!

This Tip of the Week is from the 11th new rule of online marketing:

Old Rule: Market share is paramount.
New Rule: Lifetime share of customer is even more valuable.

From Dan Gooder Richard's book: REAL ESTATE RAINMAKER© GUIDE TO ONLINE MARKETING. (John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-47223-9).