Mobile Marketing
by Jeff Lerner
The slowing housing market is leading many real estate agents and homebuilders to develop innovate ways of improving home sales. The current state of the residential real estate industry is giving birth to new trends to quickly and effectively reach new prospects.
According to an article published in Reuters in February, the Lehman Brothers brokerage firm cited the challenging economy in 2008, along with high inventories in new and existing home markets, as the top risks for homebuilders.
To get rid of some of that inventory, builders are aggressively cutting prices. For example, in February, Beazer Homes launched a promotion giving $45,000 in discounts on homes priced between $220,000 and $350,000, with $25,000 off lower-priced properties. While great for homebuyers, these discounts cut deeply into the profit made on each property. To help counter the economic stressors and enhance revenue growth, homebuilders and agents are working with new tools to help them differentiate themselves from competition while reaching customers and selling inventory faster.
Marketing in Today's Society
Currently, many homebuilders and agents rely on traditional marketing methods such as placing ads in print, online, outdoor and on television. Few have begun to build their online presence through the social media, partially because social media is a relatively new tool-held up by some as the way of the future and vilified by others as risky, impersonal and fleeting.
However, results show that combining the "wildfire branding" tactics (allowing your message to be seen by thousands maybe millions on the Web) with traditional marketing, such as print is the key to an integrated and profitable marketing program.
It is a known fact that media consumption has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. The Web is now a close second behind television in terms of daily media consumption. The use of cell phones as a means for information is becoming more popular as consumers are using them to access music, advertisements and the internet, and to stay connected via text messaging or email.
Over one billion text messages are sent in the U.S. every day. Even more surprising is the fact that the average age of a person who texts is now 39.5 years. This portrait of a "texter" directly correlates with the average age of a homebuyer-39. Therefore, in the last few years a new type of marketing has emerged to directly engage consumers on their mobile phones ... and the real estate industry is embracing the strategy.
The Future of the Real Estate Industry
This new concept of mobile marketing in the real estate industry is turning many heads-especially as margins become razor-thin. Real estate consumers are by definition mobile consumers. When viewing properties, people are generally in their cars or on foot where they are isolated from TV, desktop computers and other "grounded" media.
While homebuilders and Realtors should maintain traditional methods of marketing-such as listing homes online and gaining advertising visibility-consumers now demand instant access to information, changing the way home sellers must market to their prospects. According to a survey conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association, the number of mobile subscribers who have received an ad via text grew at a rate of 27 percent in the U.S. from May 2007 to January 2008 and is continuing to grow.
By creating a powerfully simple mobile marketing campaign, real estate agents can use text messaging to get instant information directly to interested homebuyers:
Instead of using "take me" flyers to provide additional information about a property, a sign rider is posted containing a keyword and easy-to-remember short code (such as a short phone number) and is used to obtain instant information about the property. (To test it yourself, pull out your cell phone and text the word Realtor1 to 555999.)
Once the prospect sends the text, they receive one or more messages including basic MLS data such as square footage, price, beds/baths and the realtor's contact information. They can also get more information by clicking on a designated link that opens a mobile-formatted Web page on their phones.
After clicking on the link, the prospect receives the agent's or builder's info, color photos of the property, detailed property information, maps and links to other listings.
Mobile marketing solutions also provide real-time statistics and contact information for the prospects who are requesting information about listed properties. This access to prospects generates quality leads and, with proper follow-up, sells more houses. One advantage of mobile is that it enables agents to call a prospect while the consumer is still at or near the property allows the agent to meet them immediately at the location.
Because of today's fast-moving consumers and overtaxed schedules, more and more people are increasingly reluctant to pick up the phone and call someone personally. Text messages allow prospective homebuyers to gain the information they want at the touch of a button and allow marketers and agents to generate an unprecedented number of leads.
The Johnson Development Corp., one of the nation's premier residential and mixed-use developers, just recently incorporated mobile marketing into its Sienna Plantation development in Missouri City, Texas, just southwest of Houston. "Today, every home buyer has a cell phone with the functionality of a mini computer, and it's turned on and with them at all times," says Susie Goff, marketing manager for Sienna Plantation. "We found it was only natural to transform print into an interactive medium that would help us to generate more sales at a faster rate."
A feature of these text campaigns that will likely be much appreciated is the ability to access the mobile webpage through a link contained in a text message that takes the user directly to the page with no browsing required. All Web content is optimized to display properly on a mobile device. The user does not have to scroll all over the page to view the data, as is often the case when browsing the internet from a phone.
Other Uses for Mobile Marketing in Real Estate
Many real estate agents and homebuilders have also integrated mobile marketing into their outdoor advertising campaigns. A simple text message on a billboard gives interested homebuyers instant access to information about a property or a master planned community.
Other ways to integrate text marketing into a campaign include sending mobile business cards to prospects after an open house or as a follow up to a meeting. This is a good way to engage with prospects personally and stay connected throughout their home search. Mobile business cards are also an effective viral marketing tool since the real estate agents' cards can be easily forwarded to family or friends who are looking for a home.
Mobile marketing, like internet marketing, is becoming an increasingly attractive form of media consumption in today's society. A new report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) revealed that text messaging generated 29 percent more responses compared with surveys and 40 percent more than email offers. Mobile marketing is transforming the way homebuilders and agents market their inventories, and in today's lean times, is opening doors for the real estate industry with just the click of a button.
Jeff Lerner is the Executive Vice-President and co-founder of WHAMmobile, a mobile marketing and technology firm. He has provided marketing guidance and mobile expertise to national brands such as Prudential Realty, Brinker Restaurants, Dominos Pizza, NFL teams and a host of others.
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