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Friday, March 29, 2024

The client is the VIP! The client is king!

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“It was nerve-racking to be in search of an identical house that I rented for 15 years. I appreciate your persistence to show me the hi-rise condominium unit despite my reluctance. I could not see myself living up there. But it was euphoria the moment I stepped into the condo. I was on top of the world drifted and enveloped by the magnificent unobstructed views that surrounded me as I stood in the middle of the unit. I know that it was a unique and hard-to-find property. I am glad I took it. I recall glimpses of happy memories in the condo which I called home for a decade. Your assistance to coordinate the repairs and maintenance with the landlord made it easier for me until the lease ended. I was sad to leave. It was stressful to go through the process once again. It is unbelievable that my new home is an equally impressive and gorgeous house in a posh village! It would have been difficult without your help. Thank you. —Your Client

Without a doubt, the above client expressed a pleasurable experience.

A positive experience makes clients happy, but the opposite delivers displeasure. The valence of experiences refers to what is positive or negative, good or bad, favorable or unfavorable, pleasant or unpleasant.

Emotions have their duration and purpose. According to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist specializing in the anatomy of the brain, emotions last for only ninety seconds. Emotions are in the mind that changes feelings. For example, a client feels pain and sadness when leaving a home filled with fond memories. However, if moving out is brought about by a promising new job that requires relocation, then the client becomes excited as the departure date nears.

Decisions are based on subjective and objective experiences. Experiences reside in the client’s memories that form past learnings. They remain in their subconscious mind, and are retrieved when a client must decide something. A client glues related experiences and forms opinions on the choices needed to be made. Opinions are subjective decisions. Subjective decisions have something to do with the consciousness connected to past and present experiences. Feelings develop when a client becomes aware of his or her emotions.

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I have heard clients say, “It’s just my gut feel. So, let’s do it!” Gut-feel decisions are based on subjected understandings of experiences buried in the subconscious. So, is it right to say that what a client experiences are his or her reality?

Subjective experience contrasts with objective experience, which is observable and verifiable. Objective experience is tangible and unbiased, and can be experienced by others, too. Decisions based on objective experiences are often logical and reasonable.

Experiential marketers consider humans to be both rational and emotional. Clients hold the value of pleasure when making purchase decisions.

The conscious process of consumption starts with what a client perceives, feels and thinks. Every minute in the client’s purchase journey interconnects with the here-and-now experiences. Consumption goes through a conscious process of awareness of sensation that pertains to what the client feels, touches, smells, sees and hears. It also captures the client’s memories, thoughts, and reasoning through language. As such, the pain and pleasure that a client encounters are momentary experiences that can be seen in facial expressions and body language. In her video, Cindy Bishop explained that if a client’s feet point toward the door, he or she is not interested in the property that the real estate broker is showing.

Experiences also have mental representations, otherwise referred to as intentionality. A dark hallway in a house gives the feeling that the house is haunted. The question is, is it possible to know a client’s consciousness to continuously strike deals? According to Professor David Chalmer of New York University and Australian National University, people’s consciousness is private.

If the goal is to achieve client loyalty for repeat businesses, then a real estate broker needs to understand the customer experience and know how to deliver appealing client experiences. Should the real estate broker sell a utility of choice, which refers to the functionality of the real estate product, such as the number of windows in the apartment? Or should the real estate broker offer a utility of consumption, such as a visionary experience of enjoying external ventilation in all bedrooms? Quite a difference, isn’t it?

According to scholars Gentile and colleagues, the client experience must integrate client and real estate broker interactions that have to embrace personal, rational, emotional, sensorial, physical and spiritual involvements. Consciousness is subjective; therefore, the real estate broker should create memorable experiences for the client throughout the experience journey. The real estate broker must lead all stages of the experience journey and make sure that what is controllable results in an enjoyable and engaging client experience.

A client discontinues the engagement when he or she has an unpleasant experience. Losing a client could be just the beginning. The client’s subconscious mind banks the disagreeable experience. A disappointed client may nitpick on social media and destroy the brand that the real estate broker has built.

The client experience journey starts when the client becomes aware of a need to buy or rent a real estate product because of an expected baby that requires additional bedrooms. Clients use websites, social media, and real estate apps to see what is available in the market which a real estate broker should make available with ease of use. In viewing properties, the real estate broker must be efficient and effective. When the client evaluates the available options, the real estate broker can provide comparative values, features and benefits. The most exciting stage for a real estate broker is the purchase stage. The real estate broker must be ready to offer solutions, assist the client when the property is handed over, and continue the relationship for future business.

The client experience journey process helps the real estate broker create a script of interactions with the client. It aids in identifying potential problems and setbacks at every touchpoint in the journey. Great real estate brokers help clients create good memories. A client-centric approach puts the client as the focus of all touchpoints controllable by the real estate broker. This is because experience matters, and the client is a Very Important Person. The client is king.

Dr. Ana Liza Asis-Castro is a part-time faculty at the Department of Management and Organization  of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University,  where she teaches in the MBA program. She welcomes comments at ana.liza.asiscastro@gmail.com.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position  of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.

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