The fastest-growing and most innovative real estate professionals are those who are relatively young to the Internet market which has permanently altered the way almost all business is done. Many real estate professionals are still learning all that the Internet has to offer. The industry as a whole is just beginning to exploit even a fraction of the web’s amazing potential for growth – in advertising, sales, research, and customer satisfaction.
A motivated and forward-thinking developer can combine the opportunities new technology offers with proven and well-established practices to drastically improve their business and reap the benefits that come with it. Many see cyberspace as the final and most important aspect of marketing real estate.
The following is a list of just a sampling of the myriad ways progressive developers can use the Internet to improve their marketing:
Pre-qualification of shoppers: Online shoppers pre-qualify themselves as they search. They are often appreciative of this process as it allows them to feel in control. When they actually talk to an agent they are usually prepared with the kind of property they want, the price they are willing to pay for various types of properties and features, the floor-plan or site arrangement, date of availability, and a lot of other information, down to the hours of the community center pool. The vast amount of information on the Internet makes the shopper feel so well-informed and in control that sometimes deals, even those involving multi-million dollar properties, are completed without the buyer ever physically visiting the site.
New markets can be developed with minimum cost: The Internet is the best, fastest, and cheapest way to reach new markets that might be in far-away places. When you are online, it is no harder to target a global pool of consumers than a local one. The Internet is making the world smaller and smaller as it improves communication all over the globe. Entering cyberspace immediately means that that your reach will grow exponentially, from thousands to millions.
Cultivate relationships with customers: New communication tools like instant messaging, emailing, online periodicals, etc, are easy to set up and provide customers with a feeling that they are involved in the website, that they are important to the provider, and makes them care about what happens to the site. The majority of corporations haven’t fully taken advantage of the opportunities that electronic mass communication provides. A website can provide more than just information, it can create a community. It can be interactive, and so it often more personal than printed newsletters or broadcasted ads.
Market a lifestyle: Most real estate buyers, especially in the higher price ranges, buy more than a piece of real estate. They buy a lifestyle. Websites are a better way to advertise and display a dynamic, appealing lifestyle than any other advertising method. There is vast untapped opportunity for websites to include online tours of properties, arresting panoramic or aerial photography, videos, floor plans, and persuasive written descriptions. The internet lets sites incorporate visual images and video; written narratives; and aural descriptions, sound-bytes, and effects like music to create a uniquely powerful marketing tool. And with amazing real estate WordPress templates and plugins such as the iHomefinder, it has never been easier to create a professional real estate website. You can find a lot of iHomefinder reviews online such as this one at https://www.themadeinamericamovement.com/ihomefinder/.
Websites can be designed to maximize all of these benefits. Sites that are badly arranged, not updated regularly, or confusing have as much potential to do harm as high-quality sites have the potential to do good. A common fallacy is to neglect to correlate the Internet collateral with the other, offline parts of a marketing campaign. Inadequately thought-out websites don’t clearly convey the essential elements of the campaign and don’t provide the user with the warmth and personality of printed material, which is in conflict with the message of the campaign.
It is vital for everyone involved in any form of real estate to have an online presence and to be technologically savvy in order to remain competitive. The Internet is a powerful tool that smart developers can take advantage of.
