How to Market Real Estate

Real estate marketing needs to be carried out consistently and without pause. It’s like the daily habits of "eating and exercising." Just as you wouldn’t eat just one apple or go to the gym once expecting to lose 5 kilograms, gain muscle, and feel energized, you can’t expect to market your property once and see fantastic results. No matter how skilled you are in sales, success only comes when you also know how to effectively market your product.

Understand Your Customer. The customer is at the heart of your real estate business, so to meet their needs, you must understand who they are and what motivates them. Providing a sense of being "well taken care of and close" can be one of the most impactful factors in the real estate industry.

• Ask yourself key questions about the type of customers who will spend money with you. Are they rich or poor? Educated or not? Old or young? Single, married, or retired? Male or female? Business or individual? Buyer or seller? This will influence the language used in marketing – a factor that can greatly affect the customer's decision to purchase or evaluate your business. Do they want a "bargain" deal or a "luxurious" item?
• Establish a psychological image of the customer you want to serve and use it when crafting your marketing campaign. Ensure the message is aimed at this specific target, not a generic group. Make a real effort to connect with your ideal customers.
• Consider market segments where your customers might be. If you’re offering both business and residential real estate services, you may need to market them separately. An example of market segmentation is age and income.
• Remember, business is all about serving others. The only one paying you is the customer. The more you focus on serving them, the more likely you are to succeed.

Consider the type of property. The marketing strategy for offices, retail spaces, and residential properties differs significantly. The key here is to focus on the intended use of each property in order to anticipate customer needs.

• Customers in areas with low population density typically look for single-family homes. They may have children or pets and prefer quiet, peaceful neighborhoods near schools or more secluded areas.
• On the other hand, customers in densely populated areas often want to live in buildings with many other people, such as apartments, luxury condos, or high-rise buildings. The convenience, living space, and accompanying amenities are usually highly valued, so highlighting these aspects can attract this type of client.
• Commercial buildings include retail and office spaces. Since these will serve as places of business or commerce, terms like "busy", "convenient transport", and "prominent" can make your property more appealing to potential buyers or tenants.
• Industrial properties can be more attractive when features like good transport access, as well as space for factories and warehouses, are highlighted.

Comparing residential and commercial real estate. The primary focus in commercial real estate is profit. This involves buying, selling, leasing, and using properties in ways that maximize investment returns. Typically, decisions in this field are made by a board or executive committee rather than an individual.

• In contrast, residential real estate is often a personal, emotional decision. Some real estate investors may buy with the intention of "flipping" or enriching themselves by purchasing duplex homes or apartments to rent out. However, most buyers in this market are individuals or families looking for a place of their own.
• If you want to buy, sell, or lease commercial real estate as an agent, you'll need to be able to find properties for those who need them, and generate profits for owners, lessors, and investors.

Conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. While initially created for competitive strategy development, SWOT analysis can also be applied to marketing. It should be the first step in your marketing plan. It helps you gain a deeper understanding of your business and enhances your ability to identify ideal customers. The goal here is to turn weaknesses into strengths and risks into opportunities.

• Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors within your company. For example, a great strategic location might be a strength, while a lack of investment capital could be a weakness.
• Opportunities and Threats are external factors that impact your company. For instance, an influx of target customers moving into your area could be an opportunity, while the appearance of new competitors could be a threat.
• Once you've identified your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can create a matrix to support strategy development based on the relationships between various factors. For example, you might build a strategy by balancing current strengths and opportunities.

Set goals and plan tasks. Your goals will likely relate to income, where the overarching strategy is to sell/lease as many properties as possible and/or earn substantial commissions. To achieve these goals, you need a clear plan for what you want to do and a timeline for accomplishing it. Start by making a list of tasks required to launch a successful marketing campaign and estimate a reasonable timeline for each. Then, schedule them and take responsibility for meeting the deadlines.

• Plan both short-term and long-term tasks. For example, you might want to contact and request advertising rates from multiple newspapers by the weekend, finalize ads, publish them within two months, and prepare a new holiday season ad campaign for the next four months.
• Dedicate plenty of time to personal development.

Stay organized and neat. Keep everything in a file folder. Or, if you prefer digital files, ensure that all your documents and folders are named clearly and contain dates. Don’t leave a scattered mess of unnamed files all over your computer.

• Write everything down. Even if you have countless ideas, they won’t be useful unless you get them out of your head. Writing them down is a great starting point for executing a strategy.
• Get a notebook, a whiteboard from an office supply store, or even use your phone to take notes.

Leverage MLS - Real Estate Listing Service. “MLS” is a broker’s term for a multi-source real estate listing service. This service provides an extensive amount of information and professional connections that can greatly enhance your marketing efforts. Each MLS is a local organization run by a group of brokers in that area. You’ll need to conduct some research to find the MLS relevant to your target location.

• Many online platforms offer local real estate listing services, but they may not be fully comprehensive. It’s worth exploring multiple websites to find the most suitable MLS.
• These services typically aren’t available to non-agents, such as in FSBO (For Sale By Owner) transactions.
• Each MLS usually has its own listed fees.

Send Direct Mail to Potential Clients. Direct mailing is a way to send messages to a large number of potential clients. As physical mail becomes less common, each letter stands out a bit more. It also ensures that your message reaches your target audience directly.

• Use high-quality glossy paper.
• Spend time designing the packaging of your mail. Include vibrant images and photos of locations you wish to spark interest in your clients.
• Offer valuable information such as details about model homes or the best time of year to move – don’t focus solely on self-promotion.
• If targeting a large group, consider obtaining a bulk mailing license from the Post Office. This way, instead of applying stamps to each package, you can send a large number at once for a cheaper rate. Generally, the minimum for a bulk mail discount is between 300 and 500 items.

Phone Marketing. This has become a successful way for companies to communicate their messages. It could be as simple as calling past clients or making large-scale calls to potential customers through a call center. Be cautious with phone marketing as it can be perceived as a rather aggressive marketing method.

• Check how satisfied past customers are after their move.
• Call current clients to inform them about new property listings.
• Contact properties listed for sale by owners themselves.
• In the U.S., automated calls or pre-recorded messages are banned in most cases by the Federal Trade Commission. With prior consent from the client, it might be permissible. However, it's generally better to avoid this method and instead make “live” calls to show genuine care and attention.

Create a Newsletter. You can promote your business by sending newsletters to clients through mail, email, or on your website.

• A newsletter featuring content specifically designed for homeowners or clients who have recently engaged in transactions can help you maintain contact and gain referrals from the right audience.
• Make sure to include interesting content and advice on real estate, things that encourage your clients to continue reading your newsletters long after the transaction is complete.

Advertising in the phone directory. Advertising and listings in the commercial section of phone directories within target regions are still an effective marketing tactic for certain industries. However, phone directories are becoming less popular as some areas no longer rely on the guidance provided by telephone companies.

Request referrals from existing customers. If you already have customers who are happy with your service, ask them to help you attract new ones. This process is called customer referral. Most satisfied customers will happily share their experience, but they usually won’t think to do so unless you give them a reason or incentive.

• A significant portion of real estate transactions occur through referrals and word-of-mouth.
• By offering rewards or recognition to customers who bring in new business, they will be more inclined to refer others. This can be through cash, gift cards, or gift baskets.
• Don’t forget to market your referral program. To make this type of marketing successful, your existing customers must be aware of it. This can be done through direct conversation, signing agreements, or online communication.

Send gifts to important clients. Send greeting cards or small gifts to important clients at appropriate times. You can also use this opportunity to remind them about your referral program.

• Birthdays and holidays are great times to reconnect with both old and current clients.
• Gift cards, even for something small like coffee, can go a long way in building relationships.
• Housewarming gifts are an excellent way to finalize a real estate transaction.

Build a network of connections. Chambers of commerce, service organizations, and other similar groups are great places to connect with potential clients and other business owners. Join as many groups that align with your goals as possible.

• The key here is to be active within the organizations you join. Merely being a member without active participation is less effective than engaging in group activities. Attend meetings and events and network with as many people as possible.
• Don’t forget to seek out mutually beneficial relationships. People will refer more clients to you when you reciprocate the favor.
• Make sure not to overtly advertise your real estate business. You should contribute value to these organizations while sharing information about your business and expertise when relevant.
• Sponsoring events is an excellent way to establish a strong presence in such organizations. Events like festivals, dinners, contests, or auctions provide great opportunities to forge lasting connections.

Attend broker meetups. If you're in the commercial real estate industry, attending broker meetups is an outstanding way to market properties for sale or lease. These events are often sponsored by local businesses or organizations and also serve as excellent networking opportunities.

Create a website. A website serves as an ideal platform to list real estate properties for a wide range of potential clients. Sometimes, your identified customers might not be local, and reaching them through traditional methods becomes challenging. Today, nearly every real estate business requires a website for their marketing efforts. Some clients even expect that every legitimate business will have an online presence.

• Ensure your website is optimized for online searches. Improving SEO strategies can increase visibility for your business. Take the time to adjust and make sure the language used on your site matches what users typically search for online.
• Consider running a pay-per-click ad campaign. If your business operates through a website or at least the website plays a significant role in shaping your business, think about using a pay-per-click ad campaign to attract more targeted clients.
• Develop goals for the keywords you want to use and the type of clients that will deliver the best results. You will use this information later when setting up your marketing campaign.
• Include social media follow buttons on your website. This is a way to make it easy for people to promote your presence on social media platforms. Be sure to place these buttons prominently across all pages.
• Offer free tools or services on your website. By providing useful resources for your customers, you build trust with them. You might add a property search tool based on specific criteria, an EMI calculator (monthly installment), home value estimators, and a selection of areas on the page. You could also offer free chat-based consultations to answer any real estate-related questions from potential customers.

Leverage social media networks. With the widespread popularity of social media today, these platforms can play a crucial role in marketing your business. Here are some ways to market a small business through social media.

• On social media, focus on the benefits for customers rather than listing the features of the properties. In other words, don’t dwell on the amenities of a property. Instead, your focus should be on meeting the needs of buyers, sellers, or renters.
• Use social media platforms that your clients are already using. These could include social networks, blogs, or micro-blogging sites such as:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
• Utilize different types of content, from text and images to audio recordings and videos. Customers tend to engage more with your online presence if there are multiple ways for them to interact. You might even consider posting videos from your visits to properties.
• Maintain an active presence on social media. Having an account is not enough. You need to be consistently active online to catch the attention of potential clients. Schedule posts regularly, at least once a week.
• Invite friends, family, colleagues, and past clients to like or follow your social media page so they can read and share the posts you publish. When creating content, ensure it’s something they would want to share and ‘like’.

Start an email campaign. An "email blast" is a method where a message is sent to a large group of subscribers all at once, and it's a popular technique. Don’t forget to collect the email addresses of your customers and potential clients. Be careful not to send too many emails, as this could cause your emails to be marked as spam.

• Although email marketing in this way may have a relatively small impact, research shows it is indeed effective in real estate business.
• Encourage customers to share your content by adding share buttons in your emails.
• Set up an email sign-up form on your website.
• Use subscriber names and other information gathered from your interactions to create a personalized, thoughtful email. This can be more difficult when sending bulk emails all at once.

General Data Management The general data management app allows you to link various pages and online accounts, enabling you to publish content across multiple online platforms either simultaneously or on a scheduled basis. It plays a pivotal role in managing the overwhelming volume of online content that may be difficult to control.

• Share content related to other people's real estate. This allows you to rapidly build professional connections. People are more likely to help boost your social media presence if you offer the same support to them.
• Post content on as many platforms as possible. This increases your chances of reaching potential clients through a variety of touchpoints. A visitor to your blog might not visit your Facebook, so managing shared data can expand your audience's chances of encountering your content.

Learn from Industry Leaders Observe what competitors and industry players are doing to market their businesses. Their strategies might be effective for you as well.

• Build a strong brand. Research shows that people are more likely to remember a real estate company with a logo that represents a compelling brand.
• Develop a message. Large companies adapt their marketing strategies to maintain their edge. This could be beneficial for you too. Establish a 'catchphrase' tied to a strong brand—one that embodies the company’s values. It might help you, much like how everyone has heard the phrase 'Just do it.'
• Allocate a substantial marketing budget. Nothing undermines marketing efforts like a lack of funds. Marketing is a significant part of the budget for large businesses.
• Examine your competitors' online presence and learn from their successful strategies.

Guerrilla Marketing This approach, recently gaining popularity, uses surprise tactics and/or unconventional interactions to promote products. Centered on viral and word-of-mouth marketing, it is effective for small businesses with limited budgets, as it essentially spreads the product's message for free. Guerrilla marketing can be viewed as a 'sharp' or 'attention-seeking' form of advertising, often more appealing to younger audiences. It has various forms.

• Viral Marketing leverages the idea that people enjoy sharing engaging content. By creating unexpected or highly unique website content and encouraging users across multiple platforms to share it, the goal is to generate web traffic that could trigger a marketing explosion.
• Smart Marketing involves targeting events sponsored by competitors, such as attending a model home event to attract their clients. This tactic can be considered highly confrontational.
• Wrap Marketing is a guerrilla tactic where products such as tissues or other convenient items are branded with the company’s advertising message. The marketing impact is long-term, as the message continues to be transmitted as the product is used up. Products with your logo, like candles, tissue boxes, or lipsticks, can fulfill this goal.