Real Estate Webmasters recently hired a market research company to complete extensive surveys and interviews with Realtors, buyers, and sellers across North America. We gained a lot of valuable insight into the real estate industry, which we've shared throughout this blog over the past month.
In this post, we're going to summarize the research that told us how Realtors can turn their buyers and sellers into loyal, lifelong clients who will be happy to share their name with all their family and friends. (After all, referrals are still a top way to get new clients..!)
Most people only passively follow the real estate market when they aren't planning to buy or sell. However, they are motivated to stay in touch when Realtors send information that helps them understand the value of their home, and learn more about their area and local trends.
Help them understand the value of their home
Homeowners have a sentimental attachment to their home, but they also view their property as a savvy financial investment.
When asked how Realtors could stay engaged after the same, our survey respondents indicated an interest in better understanding the value of their home.
Realtors who can share information about what a home is worth, and how that changes over time, can stay in touch with their former clients in a way that's meaningful and valuable.
"You’re always interested to know what your home’s value might be, just to get a general idea for where you are in the marketplace. It’s like your other investments – you want to take a peek now and then to see how it’s doing."
Share insights about specific areas and trends
Realtors who close the gap between what's happening in their markets and what that actually means for homeowners will be able to provide relevant, useful information that improves loyalty.
Develop a few emails per year that talk about what's happening in the market today and how it impacts homeowners, buyers, and sellers. If you cover a large area, you may need to break up your email lists to ensure the content is relevant for the specific recipients.
“I think your agent should be sending you information at least quarterly about interest rates, market stats, etc. You don’t want them to email you weekly. There needs to be a reason – even a birthday will do, but you want insight more than anything. A good quarterly newsletter with some editorial and a few tips is ideal, I’d say.”
Two easy ways to share this info
Buyers and sellers keep a pulse on the market through ongoing but fairly casual contact with Realtors. They don't expect to be part of your everyday life, and they probably don't want to hear from you all the time either, but they are happy to receive information every once in awhile—especially when it helps them understand the value of their home
There are two ways you can easily maintain this contact, and we recommend a combination of both::
1. Drip Email Campaigns
A drip campaign allows you to set up past clients on an email schedule, with a pre-determined amount of time planned between each email. Drip campaigns help keep Realtors top of mind and can be personalized with simple details.
Off-market drip campaigns should be interesting and helpful, but without asking anything in return. They can be more challenging to develop than the traditional buyer and seller campaigns but are just as valuable.
Develop a drip campaign that helps maintain your relationship over the long term by reminding them of your friendly and helpful nature. For example, you can congratulate buyers on every home anniversary, send a home maintenance checklist, or tell them about your latest contest. These are all great excuses to say "hello!"
2. Blast Email Campaigns
Similar to drip campaigns, blast emails share information on a regular, ongoing basis. The main difference here is that you'll write and send each individual email on your own personal schedule.
Blast campaigns have a huge advantage over drip campaigns: they are more timely. Blasts allow you to share updates about the local market that are newsworthy, make sense and have genuine value. This is the type of information buyers and sellers are most interested in when off-market.
Real estate agents who help homeowners' understand their investment's value, while keeping them in the loop on the local market, are well on their way to creating loyal clients who stick around for life.
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