Past clients stay loyal for the confidence and connection you give them, so nurture those first
A 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science found that two of the benefits customers get from a service relationship, which the authors call confidence benefits and social benefits, have the strongest effects on loyalty. My reading for agents is that good nurturing gives past clients reasons to feel sure of you and a relationship that feels personal.
Key points
- A 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, drawing on 235 independent samples across 224 papers, found that all three relational benefits it examined affect customer loyalty, with confidence benefits and social benefits having the strongest effects.
- The authors found the strongest of three routes from relational benefits to loyalty runs first through perceived value and then through relationship quality, and they suggest a primary goal for service managers should be strengthening confidence and social benefits.
- Liv's reading for agents: give past clients reasons to feel sure of you and a personal connection that carries on after closing, and treat those as the core of nurturing.
Confidence and social benefits had the strongest effect on loyalty across 224 papers
Dwayne Gremler, Yves Van Vaerenbergh, Elisabeth Brüggen and Kevin Gwinner set out to pull together two decades of research on what customers themselves get out of a relationship with a service firm. In Understanding and Managing Customer Relational Benefits in Services, they integrated 1,242 effect sizes drawn from 235 independent samples across 224 papers.
They looked at three relational benefits. All three affected loyalty, and the authors report that confidence benefits and social benefits had the strongest effects.
They also looked at how those benefits reach loyalty, examining together the mediating processes earlier research had proposed, including perceived value, relationship quality and switching costs. Among the three mediation paths they identified, the strongest was the sequential path through perceived value and then relationship quality.
From those results, the authors suggest that a primary goal for service managers should be strengthening confidence and social benefits.
Why I think confidence and social benefits weigh heavily in a home sale
A meta-analysis carries weight because it pools the results of many studies, and this one pools a lot of them. It's also a study of services in general, so on its own it says nothing specific about real estate. Applying it to an agent's past clients is my own reading.
I take confidence benefits to mean the reassurance a customer gets from dealing with someone they trust to get things right, and social benefits to mean the personal side of the relationship, where the customer feels known as a person. Those are my glosses on the labels and aren't definitions taken from the study.
On that reading, I think the finding fits real estate well. A home sale is one of the largest financial decisions most people make, and the client relies on their agent's judgment at the moments that carry the most risk. When a past client thinks about who to call next time, or who to recommend to a friend, I'd expect the question in their mind to be whether they can trust this person with something that matters, and whether they felt looked after as a person along the way.
The strongest path ran through perceived value before it reached relationship quality, and my reading is that a relationship has to feel worth something to the client before warmth turns into loyalty, so a friendly note with nothing in it for them does less than a friendly note that also helps.
Give past clients reasons to feel sure of you and a connection that lasts
These are practices I'd suggest for building those two benefits with past clients. The study didn't test them, and they're my application of its conclusion.
Keep being the person they'd ask. Confidence still matters after closing, and a short note when something changes that affects their home, such as a property tax reassessment season or a shift in their neighbourhood, gives a past client another reason to trust your judgment. Keep it specific to them and their home, and skip the market newsletter that goes to everyone.
Answer the questions that come after closing. In my view, the questions a client has once they've moved in, about a contractor or what their home might be worth now, are a chance to earn their confidence again. Answering them quickly and well, or pointing them to someone who can, is one of the plainest ways I can think of to show you're still the person to rely on.
Follow up on what they told you. The personal side of a relationship rests on remembering. If a client mentioned a renovation they were planning or a new job, a note about that one thing shows you saw them as more than a transaction. Tie it to the conversation so they know where it came from.
Make each note worth reading. Because the strongest path ran through perceived value, I'd make sure every touch carries something for the client: a piece of information, a useful introduction or a genuine question about how they're settling in, alongside the personal line that makes it yours.
Keep the rhythm steady. Agents I've spoken to have said past-client follow-up is the first thing to slip when live deals get busy. A relationship that goes quiet for two years gives the client little to feel confident or connected to, so a regular, modest rhythm is worth more to me than an occasional big gesture.
If you're thinking about closing gifts and other gestures, I've written about why the ones that earn gratitude feel chosen. And if you've been waiting for a good reason to get in touch, there's a case for checking in without one.
Keeping that rhythm across hundreds of past clients takes help remembering who's due
Worthington is built to help with the parts of this that slip. He draws on relationship-marketing research to shape a nurturing strategy for each contact, and each suggestion comes with a reason the client would recognize, such as a purchase anniversary or a follow-up they asked for. The tone of each draft follows how close the relationship is, so a close past client gets a note that can mention personal things they've shared. He drafts in your voice, and nothing goes out until you press Send.
When this study pooled two decades of research on what customers get from service relationships, confidence and the personal side of the relationship came out ahead. I think those are what a past client carries with them after the keys change hands, and they're where an agent's nurturing time is best spent.
FAQ
What did this meta-analysis find about customer loyalty?
Gremler and colleagues integrated 1,242 effect sizes from 235 independent samples across 224 papers. They found that all three relational benefits they examined affect loyalty, and that confidence benefits and social benefits have the strongest effects. The strongest route to loyalty ran through perceived value and then relationship quality.
Was this research done with real estate clients?
No. The meta-analysis covers research on services in general, so applying it to an agent's past clients is my own interpretation. I think it carries over because a home sale is a high-stakes service where the client depends heavily on trusting their agent.
What's the simplest way to build confidence with a past client?
My suggestion is to stay the person they'd ask about their home. Answer questions after closing quickly and share information that affects their property specifically, and when a question is outside your work, point them to someone good. That gives them more reasons to rely on you over time.
Does a friendly check-in count as a social benefit?
I'd treat a personal check-in as the agent's way of building the social side of the relationship, especially when it follows up on something the client told you. Because the study found the strongest path to loyalty ran through perceived value, I'd also make sure the check-in offers the client something useful.
Worthington draws on research like this to shape a nurturing strategy for each of your clients. Start a free trial