How do you acquire your vendors? Because it’s probably not the way you think.

But what if you were to be told that - looking at the data - the likelihood is that your vendor came to you through previous relationships?

As important as marketing is, and it is incredibly important - especially when the time comes to sell the property - it won’t necessarily be the bedrock of attracting new listings. Social media attracted only 1.7 per cent of new vendors. Newspaper ads, review sites and signboards together only attracted nine per cent of all new vendors across the network.

In contrast, previous relationships account for over 50 per cent of all Ray White vendor acquisitions across the network. Breaking the data down, you’ll find that 26.5 per cent of our vendors come to the agent via referral or recommendation, and 28.6 per cent of referrals have worked with the agent or team before - as a buyer, seller, tenant or landlord.

Let that sink in.

Now let it sink in on how much money you’re spending to advertise your wares to unsuspecting and maybe uninterested customers, rather than nurturing the clients and relationships you already have.

“Today’s customers have more options than ever due to the accessibility that comes with the digital age,” says Matt Sabin, Ray White Customer Experience Manager.

“They are aware of brand alternatives, how to find better deals, and have access to reviews that can make or break a brand. The quality of your customer experience impacts your ability to both win and keep customers.”

Ray White advocates for monitoring your Net Promoter Score (NPS) score and Mr Sabin is the steward of the NPS program. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures brand loyalty, through the likelihood that your customer will re-use your services or recommend them to others.

“It measures how your business is performing for your customers,” Matt Sabin says.

“Which is why NPS (and the data that sits behind the score) should be a key performance indicator that’s high on your priority list.”

NPS doesn’t necessarily dictate market share, but there’s a high correlation between high NPS and high market share. Our data found that offices with market shares above 30 per cent all have NPS scores of 89 or higher. On the other hand, offices with market shares below 5 per cent all have NPS scores below 72.

Our marketing has you covered once you start your campaign, and that is your chance to turn your customers into advocates.

Kevin Chokshi, Director of Ray White Cheltenham, is one of Melbourne’s most successful agents, and his focus on customer experience - rather than self promotion - has made clients come back time and time again.

“Agents spend so much time and energy on marketing themselves and telling everyone how good they are,” he said.

“Why not just be good to customers? They’ll be the ones to tell everyone how good you are.”