Why the Modern Estate Agency Needs to Review Their Marketing Strategy in 2017
Let’s say you’re looking to use the web to acquire new clients for your estate agency.
It doesn’t matter what your specific real estate goals are — whether you would like to increase brand awareness, attract more home sellers, buyers, or renters — that’s neither here nor there.
How do you construct a real estate marketing strategy that works for — not against you in your quest to grow your estate agency’s client base, become the authority in your area, and generate new leads weekly?
More on that in a minute…
First, let me set the scene…
Imagine yourself walking into a coffee shop.
You order your first cup for the morning, pay the barista, and then begin to walk out.
But, just before you reach the door, a beautiful lady catches the corner of your eye.
You turn, and begin to walk closer.
She’s reading a book and doesn’t notice you approaching.
As you get to the edge of your table — she looks up at you — you smile, and proceed in asking for her hand in marriage.
Wait. What? ‘Her hand in marriage?’
You’re probably thinking, “A few seconds ago, she hardly knew I existed, why on earth would she want to marry me?”
You’re right.
Nobody in their right mind would say yes to that proposal — she most likely thinks you’re creepy too.
(Ladies reading right now, wouldn’t you agree?)
There is maybe a 0.1% chance of her saying yes to your marriage proposal.
Although, I’d run if she did — fast.
So, what does this have to do with you?
Here’s the deal:
Many estate agencies are doing just that with their real estate marketing.
They are kind of “proposing marriage” during the first impression.
For example, when you treat your estate agency’s Facebook page like a listing website by consistently posting images of homes you want to sell.
There is nothing wrong with posting these listings on your Facebook page, but you need to consider why people go on Facebook.
Facebook users inherently use the social media platform to engage with friends and family, as well as brands.
Posting relevant, educational content that empowers your Facebook audience will be much more beneficial to your estate agency. (Hint: the Value-In-Advance strategy really takes this to the next level — but more on that in a future post.)
Now…
Take a step back and consider why your clients hire you.
Not why they SHOULD hire you, but why they DO hire you?
Because buying or selling a home is tough. It’s time consuming, frustrating, confusing and the stakes are high.
You make it easier.
You facilitate and hold their hand through the processing of what is often the largest purchase (or sale) of a person’s life.
But you need to convince prospective clients that hiring you, or your estate agency is worth it.
Or else, why should they reward you with their business?
Just like in the marriage proposal scenario above — what did you do to convince her to marry you?
Nothing.
Now, let’s rewind the above scenario and see how you could increase your chances of her saying “yes”.
A better strategy would’ve been to introduce yourself first, maybe offer to refill her coffee, and then leave with her number (if she’s interested.)
A few days later you could call and arrange a coffee date — which maybe develops into dinner — you get to know each other better and before you know it, the two of you are dating.
You take it to the next level by meeting her parents and going on family vacations together — things are looking good, she may just be the one.
If you were to ask for her hand in marriage now — chances of her saying yes will be much higher than before.
Why?
Because you have built up enough relational equity for her to even consider your proposal.
Now, how does this relate to your marketing strategy?
The premise is as follows:
When people know you care about and anticipate their needs, they’ll gladly reward you with their business, and refer you to others.
How can your agency do this?
By nurturing all your real estate prospects through the buying, selling, or renting process, and building up relational equity with each of them BEFORE asking to do business.
Ryan Deiss, founder & CEO of DigitalMarketer developed a new definition of branding and selling which concisely illustrates the above mentioned premise.
Branding — Is anything that makes a deposit into a prospects relational equity account.
Selling — (on the other hand) makes a withdrawal from a prospects relational equity account
How do you make a relational equity withdrawal?
- Every time you ask a prospect to do or buy something.
- When a prospect loses trust in your agency (due to bad marketing or service delivery.)
However, there is nothing wrong with making a withdrawal if the “funds” are available.
You simply need to figure out strategic ways to give value in advance (deposit.)
Review your estate agency’s current marketing strategy.
Are there more withdrawals than deposits?
The big question still remains — how do you construct a real estate marketing strategy that builds relational equity with your prospective clients, grows your estate agency’s client base, helps it become the authority in your area, and generates new leads weekly?
That’s why I’m proud to announce a new series that I’ll be running right here over the next couple of weeks.
(This is where you’ll get FREE insanely practical and actionable tips you can implement into your real estate marketing strategy right now.)
- I’m going to introduce you to the Value-In-Advance strategy and show you step-by-step how to implement it.
- I’m going to show you how to optimize your marketing for referrals.
- I’m going to show you sure-fire ways that build relational equity.
- I’m going to reveal some specific strategies YOU can use to start growing your estate agency’s brand.
- I’m also going to show you how to automate this entire real estate strategy — to save you time, and money.
- And much, much more.
All-in-all, by the end of this series, I hope to empower tens of thousands of estate agents, who will in turn empower their agency and help craft their own modern real estate marketing strategy.
So, if you aren’t following me on Medium, make sure you follow me to ensure you don’t miss out.
And if you LOVE what this series stands for, take a second and share this with a friend or colleague.
We gotta reach tens of thousands of estate agents, and with your help, we can do it!
In the meantime, I want you to leave a comment and answer this one simple question:
Do you believe that a revised, modern real estate marketing strategy can help your estate agency grow?
If yes, what are your biggest issues with marketing either your estate agency, yourself, or listings? Describe it in detail, and explain how you think this upcoming series can help solve the marketing problems you’re facing?
If no, tell me more. Which marketing strategies are you making use of? Why don’t you think this upcoming series can take your estate agency’s marketing results to the next level? Describe it in detail as best you can — I appreciate the effort.
Also, know this:
I’m still putting this content together right now. So, if you’ve got any specific questions about real estate marketing, leave a comment asking your question, and I may be able to work it into this series.
