By Delroy A. Whyte-Hall
The real estate industry is changing. Personalized customer service is a must. Keywords like mobile, the web, digital and social, and startups popping up like mad as the industry adapts to meet its customers’ changing needs.
You’re a broker or an agent, and one of your most pressing jobs is to figure out how to thrive in this new marketplace.
Follow these simple steps, and you’ll see a big difference within one year.
Step 1: Focus on Personality and Feelings
All agents have a brand. What that brand is not a secret. What I want you to do is commit to building your personality, and your brand, through your digital presence.
Get out there and talk to other agents. It’s all about the people.
Listen to the feedback and comments from other agents. Can you tell when they haven’t been satisfied with the customer service you’ve provided?
Market your agency in more ways. Listen to your customers to determine where they want to engage. Think about the conversation they’re having with their friends, family, and coworkers. Are they talking about you?
Step 2: Develop a Social Media Strategy
If you’re not already on it, create a clear social media strategy. By focusing on your virtual presence, you’ll be positioned well to welcome new customers into your organization with an exceptional experience.
People will talk about you.
Step 3: Think Online and Offline
Online: Make sure your website is dynamic. Every few months, there’s a new trend in digital and social media. Embrace it.
Then remember, I’m not talking about your website: You also need to have a strategy for your social media accounts. Why should they be a work in progress when your website has come through the snow?
When visiting an agent’s website, do you find that it’s always the same? Is it crowded and cluttered? Always check to see how your website could use a facelift.
What other services could you offer online? Keep in mind that Google is expanding its database of properties, and listing your site will be front of mind when they’re searching. This is the last thing you want to have happened.
Online and offline: In terms of social media, your presence must extend beyond the digital space. What will be a bigger topic of conversation a year from now than your listings?
The same principle applies to your digital real estate strategy. Invite your clients to meet you in person, or just e-mail them a reminder. This gives you more information, and it benefits both you and your client.
Walk into a room, and your listing will stand out. When someone is scrolling through listings, your listing isn’t something they want to read. That’s the part of the page you need to optimize to grab their attention and persuade them to visit.
Step 4: Digital Training
The same rule applies when you teach people how to become agents: Provide actual experiences and examples. Give it to them; don’t just hand over a training guide. Start small and see what happens.
Provide your team with examples of agents and subject experts who use technology as a professional asset. This will keep them focused on helping the client and showing how to help over one person.
Online: Blog
An app doesn’t generate sales, but a blog does. Write an informative blog about your expertise in your particular niche. Help your client discover your services that they may know nothing about.
If it’s not for everyone, make sure it has interesting content that needs to be read and discussed. Don’t ignore content that will attract your clients.
Step 5: Insurmountable Challenges
A big turning point is when someone (usually a client) suggests a unique idea to try.
That’s a significant sign, and it’s a substantial challenge.
As a real estate pr-marketing consultant that advises agents to follow this approach, it puts them in a helpful position to answer what a client needs and listen to feedback. I learn something.
As an agent, you become part of your clients’ lives. Make sure you’re an indispensable partner in their business.
Step 6: Practice Integration
Integration is critical, so you need to take and share ideas and products from multiple sources. Ensure you know where to find your data and don’t be afraid to connect your files to your server.
Using tools like agency, you can maintain your domain name for your social profiles and other online publications. Also, be a resource for other agents.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Delroy A. Whyte-Hall is a public relations, content marketing consultant, and copywriter. He provides comprehensive publicity marketing planning and copywriting that helps realtors, real estate agents, agencies, and firms attract clients, boost sales, create public awareness, and build credibility.
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