Real Estate is one of the last professional verticals to have been revolutionized by technology, yet investment is currently pouring into the industry by the billions. And still, while venture capitalists have promised to change the very nature of real estate sales, according to the NAR, 9 out of every 10 homes last year was sold using a real estate agent. Tech is transforming, not replacing the industry, and there are methods to modernize a real estate firm to flourish into the future.
How do I leverage technology to gain a competitive advantage?
Most real estate industry professionals today don’t have the funds to be an iBuyer or investments from SoftBank. But while VC-funded brokers make the headlines, there are fundamental steps real estate firms must take to innovate, and brokers understand that those that fail to innovate will cease to be relevant and disappear. Technology will continue to push profit to the margins, either as a value player or a volume player, yet there are techniques that today’s leading brokerages are leveraging, using technology as a platform for future success.
Be Visible Online
In the midst of a digital revolution, a constant in real estate is that the industry will always be a hyperlocal business. Any brand looking toward the future must be visible and searchable online. Digital visibility begins on an optimized website, but certainly doesn’t end there.
A firm’s digital footprint is a living, breathing organism, stemming from a website but also including a strategy for directories social media, linkbuilding and conversion optimization.
Lead Generation
Real estate has always been a relationship business, but like many industries, digital transformation has shifted the focus away from the service provider and towards the customer, causing lead generation has become a vital pillar beside the referral side of a successful real estate business. Zillow, Boomtown and Realtor.com’s popularity has surged in recent years, as they move toward consumer-centric platforms (for example Zillow’s laser focus on CSAT Scores over the last few years), rather than MLS or IDX powered websites.
Resources like Google Ads also provide options for cost-effective and hypertargeted conversions on real estate websites. Ads are easy to set up and control, and can deliver the highest ROI of any lead generation channel.
Leverage a CRM
Arguably, the hottest front in the real estate arms race has been in customer relationship management (CRM), allowing agents to organize customer information, respond and track correspondence in real time, and automate tasks and workflows, and ultimately to scale a business.
*agents making over 100,000 are 2x more likely to leverage a CRM
Over the last ten years, a fractured network proprietary and legacy systems have given way to massive investment in this arena. Zillow made a risky gambit forcing all of its paying advertisers to use their proprietary CRM. Compass experimented with several CRM vendors before acquiring Contactually earlier this year. In a study by industry publication ActiveRain of nearly 2,000 real estate professionals across the country, agents making over $100,000.00 per year are twice as likely to use a CRM.
Multi Channel Strategy
As much as real estate is a relationship business, it’s also a network industry. And, the network effect applies to marketing technology as it does to referrals. According to business intelligence and advanced analytics firm SAS, multi-channel customers spend three to four times more than customers converting in a single channel.
A modern consumer consumes information through multiple channels, and successful brands present a unified message through whatever medium a consumer prefers, whether it be email, social media, the web, mobile or direct marketing (brochures, flyers and postcards). Similarly, a multi-channel strategy affords the broadest exposure for generating potential business while often being a multiplier to the bottom line.
Automate Follow up
Automation is one of the most daunting subjects facing professionals today. According to McKinsey tech could automate 45% of the tasks people are paid to complete, yet 77% of CMOs from top-performing companies agree implementing marketing automation is necessary to grow revenue. Auto-responders, lead nurture and drip campaigns generate outreach and engagement at scale in ways individual agents rarely have the bandwidth to achieve.
And while automation should be implemented carefully so as not to interfere with relationships, real estate firms have seen incredible success in terms of productivity and profitability. According to marketing automation industry leaders, some firms have seen a 7-8x multiplier in productivity using marketing automation.
Technology is the future of real estate…
Technology products are profoundly changing the real estate landscape, and how brokerages interact and communicate with clients. Digital marketing and CRM tools are allowing agents to innovate and scale, while traditional brokerages are being left behind. Digital transformation is no longer a benefit of innovative forms; modernization in today’s real estate market is mandatory.
I’m a blogger, SEO and content strategist at Forcery.