In just a few short years, digital technology has completely revolutionised the marketing systems of companies worldwide. Gone are the early 2000s when Real Estate Agents would endlessly pound the pavements, wearing out the soles of their shoes when dropping off hundreds of sales brochures in letterboxes. No longer do they need to spend hours scrolling the telephone book chasing new leads.
Thankfully, digital technology has heralded a new age in Marketing.
Technology now permeates our everyday lives. Real Estate Agencies must incorporate the various technological innovations available to them if they wish to provide a first-rate experience for their clients.
Today, the most commercially viable Real Estate agencies are held together by organic and interconnected networks of internal marketing structures, all designed to streamline the ways in which they manage data and engage with their clients. These ecosystems exchange information and help to inform the overall sales process.
If used accurately and consistently, these digital touchpoints can store vital client information. With all this information flowing across their integrated systems, agencies can analyse client trends, and customise their marketing activities. Clients can be neatly categorised according to the particular stage of the Sales Life Cycle that they currently belong to.
Adopting a holistic outlook to the customer relationship is essential for any Real Estate marketing campaigns. Understanding your client's immediate needs, and tailoring your marketing activities to address those needs is absolutely essential. This is what Customer Obsession is all about.
For instance, sending system generated digital listing presentations to those active clients who have recently had their homes appraised, or whom you know will soon be listing their properties, makes a world of sense.
However, you would need to adjust your approach to suit the needs of those passive clients who are content to stay in their current homes for the foreseeable future. Perhaps your Electronic Direct Messages (EDMs) could contain useful advice on how to maintain the value of their homes, or more general weekly property updates.
Either way, you need to keep in regular contact with all your clients, regardless of where they are currently placed in the Sales Life Cycle. Utilising those digital touchpoints is the easiest and most effective method of doing this.
Digital marketing for outstanding results
Simply put, the best Real Estate professionals have recognised the importance of engaging digital marketing technology to enhance their relationships with clients and garner new leads.
Digital touchpoints such as the Open House and Vendor apps, which are tailor-made for Real Estate Agents, allow you to effortlessly capture client information in one, easy to find place.
No more messing around with notepads or writing client contact details on loose scraps of paper that inevitably get lost, these industry specific apps are both quick and reliable to use.
If you're still handing out your business card to visitors at your open-for-inspections, and leaving it up to the client to stay in touch with you, then this lacklustre approach to Client Relationship Management (CRM) has probably cost you sorely by missing out on countless leads.
The onus is on you to establish and maintain robust and lasting relationships with your clients. At your opens, be thorough when recording their details into the app. Try to find out as much about what their needs are as you can. Ask them if they have any friends, relatives or colleagues who are thinking of selling?
An integrated data system allows this information to then be shared across all of your platforms. Now that you have the client's email address, they will be included in your Client Mailing List and will regularly receive your Electronic Direct Messages (EDMs).
EDMs are one of the most powerful ways of maintaining your client relationships. Furthermore, implementing a system generated process for sending EDMs relieves you of the hassle of needing to constantly create new content and set calendar reminders for future messages.
What's holding you back?
With all the most world-class marketing tools available, there has never been a better time to market your agency than now. Yet the main barriers usually preventing agencies from embracing this wave of innovation, is a lack of time, or fear of technology.
Admittedly, constructing a supreme, system-driven marketing machine that homogenously manages your client relationships is no small task. Many agencies start out with the best intentions by investing in the necessary software, yet their plans are quickly cast aside when they realise just how much time is involved in learning about these complex systems.
Furthermore, engaging numerous external services to assist with your marketing is usually a very expensive undertaking. As the technology evolves and new features are added to the products, the fees are raised accordingly.
What's in a Switch?
While you could be forgiven for thinking that building a system-based marketing structure for your business is completely outside the realm of your expertise, there is help at hand.
Switch are a dynamic team of marketing and technology professionals who can equip you with all the tools you need to establish a formidable marketing foundation for your business.
When it comes to Customer Experience, Switch are a force to be reckoned with. Working closely with our team, we can give you all the support you need to create a sustainable business model.
Real Estate marketing is an exciting and constantly changing landscape that provides limitless opportunities for you to grow your business. Now is the time to be fearlessly setting goals. Partner with Switch for ultimate success.