• Workplace affinities – also known as employee-base programs. Employers commonly want to provide extra benefits and added value to attract, motivate and retain their workers. They especially like to extend qualified community-based services to their workers when the company cost is little or none. Companies employ many more people than they will ever relocate. Transfers are usually fewer than 5 percent of a total workforce. All those other workers may someday move on their own, whether cross-town or in or out of state. By becoming an endorsed partner in a workplace affinity program, you gain preferential visibility and early access to these customers.
• Commercial affinities – created at least in part for their common-denominator members’ financial benefit, although they often provide services and representation as well. These organizations try to provide more quality and value at lower prices than their individual members could otherwise obtain. On a national level, USAA is a stellar example as it has a robust relocation/real estate feature for its military-family members. Others in this category would be AAA and AARP. Some commercial affinities are purely buying cooperatives – think of Costco, BJ’s, or REI. While big national entities may be out of your reach, you may find more local or regional groups or membership-based merchants that would love to include real estate services in their offerings bundle. Maybe you can even run a local pilot program for a large national entity.
• Personal affinities – the organizations with which people align because of their causes, activities or programs rather than for financial benefit per se. These include faith-based, educational, sports, ethnic, hobbies, cultural, historical, fraternal, community development and many other types of associations. Their members want to support their group’s agenda rather than to benefit personally, and they will patronize businesses supporting their cause and agenda.

• Services menu and collaterals – A defined list of what your firm can do for an affinity’s individual members, e.g., area counseling, home-finding, real estate listings, buyer’s brokerage, inspection and warranty services, and more.
• An affinity contract – Not that you can’t or should not be willing to provide some affinity services on a handshake basis, but formalizing an affinity relationship highlights your value and raises their commitment level. Have your counsel put together a brief agreement that allows variability in the services menu and financial terms.
• Member benefits - For each affinity client, prepare its own list of your benefits to its members, including all the available personal services and costs/terms for each. Some programs in some jurisdictions include incentives and rebates, which can be very attractive to new customers. However, regulatory compliance is very important to your Affinity clients as for your own firm, so any form of incentive/rebate should be carefully vetted with your legal advisors.
• Customizable and private-labeled content – Remembering that people identify strongly with their affinity groups, you should too. With the appropriate permissions and design considerations, plan on generating program materials (hard-copy and electronic) specific to each significant Affinity client – colors, logos, look, terminology, etc.
• Negotiable financial support – Plan out all the monetary and in-kind aid alternatives you would consider offering an Affinity partner. Some ideas are:
  • Event sponsorships – Cash is great but so are donated food, beverages, supplies, volunteer labor, venues, guest hosting, publicity and promotions.
  • Sustaining memberships – Ongoing monetary support at a prominent level.
  • Scholarship programs – Even a modest scholarship reserved to a particular Affinity group gives you annual positive publicity and good will.
  • Marketing allowances – Where regulations permit, consider underwriting the affinity’s costs of promoting new members and their utilization of your services. In-kind contributions (printing, postage, displays, onsite exhibits) might be parts of this offering.

• Broad positive community recognition of your firm and its relocation capabilities
• Strong member allegiance to your brand for its alignment with their interests
• Increased new customer inquiries and referrals
• Reduced or eliminated referral fee obligations
• Low-maintenance lead sources
• Competitive immunity

John B. Sculley, SCRP, is vice president – managing director, RIS Consulting Group. Please email him your comments and questions.

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