“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
The following are some of the challenges Real Estate firms have faced before signing on with InCom to do real estate marketing. We understand better than anyone how difficult it is to keep up with the latest and emerging trends and technologies in this digital age. Even when it comes to older technologies, the policies and procedures are always changing and our staff has to adapt to them to make sure that our customers are getting the biggest bang for their buck. That’s the advantage to hiring us to do your marketing for you – we test the waters, we do the research, we implement only the best practices for you so that you can focus on customer service, daily operations, and closing sales.
Challenge #1: Learning New Technologies Could Be Daunting
Keeping up with the real estate tech and tools on the market is really important, but can be a challenge. You may find yourself swimming against the tide if you are not using real estate marketing to its full potential. We are not saying that you should stop the old methods of making sales, such as cold calling, door knocking, distributing flyers etc. What is important here is to combine the old methods with the new, so long as all the methods are effective and can be measured. That’s the advantage to digital marketing (that traditional marketing lacks) – you could easily track how many prospects you engage with and how many of them contact you for more information. We train our clients and their staff on new and emerging digital marketing tools, so that you do not feel as if you are going against the tide.
Challenge #2: Showing Your Competitive Advantage
With so much competitors both online and offline, it can be difficult for some real estate companies to set themselves apart from their competitors. That is where building relationships can come into play. Top real estate companies in your area are keeping in touch with as many of their prospects as possible and asking for their permission to email/call them with important information from time to time. The purpose of this is to build familiarity and to establish trust as the relationships unfolds.
Be patient as strong relationships take time to build. Resist indulging in insincere chit chats, as it can be a severe put-off for your prospective clients. Instead, take the time to get to know each person who walks through your door (both online and offline), and share a little bit about yourself. Most importantly, remember that your work for them is supreme in building a relationship. At the end of the day, no relationship, however strong, can beat exceptional work.
Challenge #3: Too Many Tools to Choose From
From real estate social media marketing to SEO to Pay-Per-Click advertising, there are endless ways to market your business today. What’s the best channel for you? How do you know where to put your money and what will actually work? Hiring a real estate marketing firm can help you test the waters and navigate web of endless possibilities. They will be able to analyze the different outlets and explain which tactic works best for you and why based on your set goals.
How many tools is too many? Every business is different, but the answer is: If you are not using it on an ongoing basis, do not use it at all. And, as more and more tools become available, make sure you have an actual human beings monitoring the channels, engaging with the fans, and posting information on an ongoing basis. Rule of thumb: do not put all your eggs in one basket. It is better not to have a channel at all than to keep it blank because you stretched yourself too thin.
Challenge 4: Low Conversion Rates
If you have a large inflow of traffic, but few visitors convert, you may need to fine-tune your selling efforts. You may wish to start by evaluating your goals. For instance, if you want blog readers to sign up for email alerts or a free on-site assessment based on market value, make it easy to do so. Mention them in your posts and keep the sign-up box displayed in a visible area. If you want visitors to your website to call your company, list the phone number in an easy-to-spot place. Not always do marketers know where to add calls-to-actions (i.e., sign-up for email alerts, sign-up for free on-site assessment etc.). Tech-savvy marketers do A/B Testing by placing calls-to-actions in different spots on the web pages. They then use web analytics to determine which spot gives off the best ROI.
Digital marketing has its own set up challenges, and this is no exception in the real estate marketing industry. Find out today how InCom can drive more conversions to your website.
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