As a real estate agent, your marketing strategies will be slightly different than that of most businesses. This is because your real estate agency, and all real estate agencies in general, have different requirements when it comes to generating sales leads, connecting with prospective customers and clients, and closing deals.
Here are five reasons why real estate marketing will benefit your real estate agency.
1. The need to continuously connect with customers and clients
Your customers are not like customers of other businesses. In a generic business, a customer will walk in, know exactly what he or she wants, and then purchase that item. Generally, that item is just one of many copies on a shelf. If a customer wants to purchase two copies of that item, he or she can. If the item is not in the store, that customer can simply go to another outlet or store and find the exact same item.
Real estate is different. First, no house is exactly the same. Even with pre-fabricated homes, they are renovated and homeowners make their own changes over time. Even two homes that are exactly the same will most likely be located in two different areas. If a customer wants a specific house and it is unavailable, that customer may not choose another house in your portfolio. Instead, he or she will leave you their contact information in case the deal falls through and the house comes back on the market.
Use an email newsletter to collect emails of prospective home sellers and buyers. It will come in handy if you need to contact a specific individual, or the entire list.
2. The need to generate real estate leads where none exist
Housing is a unique field. The next home you sell may not yet exist yet. Your real estate portfolio and the deals you close may be generated in an instant. You constantly have to be looking out for leads or some other real estate agency make take them. This is a facet of real estate marketing that is not quite as apparent in other industries. In other industries, the products already exist and are known. In real estate, a new house can enter the market in an instant and it can also leave in an instant.
Returning to the email list idea from the previous marketing reason, an email list is a great way to generate sales leads in an instant. People selling their home will be able to contact you, and you will be able to send that information to people on the list who are interested in buying their own home.
3. The need to be on-call 24/7
For most businesses, products are shipped at a specific time and arrive at a specific time. A store owner can go home at night and focus on other things without having to worry about their inventory being unavailable the next day. However, in real estate, a house can come on the market in an instant, at any time of the day. As such, you need a reliable way to be “on-call” 24/7 in case that dream house you were interested in selling has come on the market.
While this may be stressful for some, being on a 24/7 schedule, most real estate agents are fine with this arrangement, especially since the commission checks you receive from certain houses can be huge. Being a real estate agent is a lifestyle choice and you need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of being one.
Along with your email list, make sure you have a portable work phone that is turned on 24/7 where you can instantly receive information about new houses on the market. Make sure that people on your email list know your number and can text you if any new information regarding the selling of their home arises. Being accessible is one of the best real estate marketing tips a real estate agency can implement.
4. The need to capture real estate leads as quickly as possible
Time is of the essence, so you have to act as quickly as possible on any housing leads that you are interested in. Make sure that you have multiple means of communication between you and your clients. Provide them with multiple options to contact you as you never know what is most convenient for them. This is a people game. Make sure you have a real estate website (check out your options here), an email address, a cell phone number with texting capabilities, some social media profiles like a Twitter profile and a Facebook profile, and more.
Make sure you respond quickly to any questions a client may have and make the selling of their house as easy a process as possible for them. Who knows? In 10-20 years, they may call you again, wishing for you to help them sell their next home.
5. The need to adapt your marketing strategies to new fads and trends
Communication technologies change every day. There is always a new fad or trend that pops up and you need to keep up to date on the best ones for your agency. Now, this does not mean you need to constantly upgrade to Apple’s latest phone or require your agents to learn to type emojis, but they need to be aware of how Twitter works, how the timeline on Facebook works, how Instagram posts work, and more.
Your agents should have separate accounts for their professional life and their personal life. They should be aware of the basics of computer security and best practices to follow so no private or personal information accidentally leaks onto the web.
Real estate is a tough business. Changes in communication are fleeting and happen quickly. When they do, you need to respond. You need to direct your marketing strategies towards achieving this goal. Unlike other businesses, responding in an hour or so is too slow. Your marketing strategy needs to be focused on accuracy and speed. If it is, it will benefit your real estate agency’s bottom line, and your wallet.
Real Estate is a tough business but Real Estate Marketing can be easy. Read more about Real Estate Lead Generation strategies by clicking here.
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