Human-Centric Customer Service
A title agent’s success metrics are often determined by the bean counters upstairs in the C-suite. But the staff downstairs knows that success in title insurance can only truly be measured one human being at a time, one dream-come-true transaction at a time, one real estate agent success story at a time.
Title insurance is a human process first and foremost. If you talk to a successful escrow officer or title agent and ask them why they are in the business, they will immediately jump to the thrill they feel when they see the happiness on the faces of their buyers and sellers at the closing or the pride they experience when their real estate agent customer credits their success in part to their trusted relationship with an escrow officer or closer.
In fact, when we approach many title agents to discuss what Alanna can do for them, they share their concerns that automating the customer service process will only dilute their quality of service or sterilize their contact with clients. Yet, it’s amazing how that preconceived notion changes once they put Alanna to work. Over and over again, the same business owners and executives tell us that, thanks to Alanna , they’re demonstrating higher service levels; much faster response rates and, best of all, more time to hone in on the really complex service issues—human to human—than ever before.
Over the past two decades, title agencies have taken a hard look at how title files are created, processed and brought to completion. Technology is employed to speed up the process, improve communication, avoid costly input errors, and lock down information through layers of security.
All of these efforts are vastly important to an agent’s success. But at the end of the day, the human relationships between your staff and your customers and service providers – the homebuyers and sellers, the real estate agents and lenders, and the closers and notaries – are the true strength and foundation of your agency business.
Real estate transactions are complex and part of that complexity rests in the people involved in the transaction. So, it’s important to get to know them and their needs. Here are a few suggestions to make that a reality in your offices.
First Impressions
Take a fresh look at how your title orders are coming in and what those interactions may look like from the customer perspective. Is the order acknowledged? Is there any personal follow-up to ascertain unusual requirements or needs in the transaction? A fill-in-the-blanks form will not reveal the human drama inherent in some transactions.
A quick phone call to ascertain any special features of the transaction can avert problems down the road and establish a rapport that is so important to working through complicated details or the need for information. From the very beginning of the transaction, human interaction that is genuine and empathetic can go a long way to securing your customer’s confidence and loyalty.
Follow-up
Keeping your customers up to date on each step of the process provides great reassurance that the transaction is on track towards completion. Don’t keep them guessing. Make sure they understand what is completed or what information is still needed. This is where Alanna really shines for you and your customers. Alanna proactively sends text messages to all parties to the transaction, so you can be confident everyone is kept in the loop. The combination of such technology with truly empathetic human interaction where needed is the magic formula for truly superior communication in the title process.
Title and Closing Education
The importance of education throughout the real estate transaction process cannot be emphasized enough. Real estate agents, lenders, buyers and sellers cannot value something they do not understand. It’s not enough to send flyers, brochures and emails. Personal conversations explaining the dangers of cybercrime, or the advantages of homeowner’s policies, or what to expect at closing can be far more impactful – and remembered.
Human-Centric Customer Service
Shifting to human-centric customer service simply means you assess where technology can support your efforts and where the human touch is most valuable and ensure you are plugging into both to optimize the customer experience.
At Alanna, we believe that using our technology frees up your staff to give them more time to nurture those important relationships. Contact us today to see how Alanna can help you best support all your customers as they move through the title and escrow process.