As we look to the future, agents are again finding success with more traditional marketing tactics
By Jenna Grundtner
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted every industry, and the housing market was no exception. For many REALTORS®, marketing strategies and client relationships were tested, changed and, ultimately, strengthened over the course of the past 20 months. Across the country, one common theme stood out: the return of traditional, old-school marketing tactics. A renewed emphasis on mailers, personal outreach, and both directional and yard signs proved to be essential and beneficial, and many REALTORS® say going back to the basics will continue long after the pandemic ends.
Mailers
Tiffany Spence, CRS, broker and owner at Spence Properties in Crestview, Florida, says that her marketing strategy shifted based on consumer behavior. “More people were staying home, so we tried to reach them there through mailers, phone calls and social media.” She says that both niche and generic mailer visibility drastically increased and credits that to the fact that life inevitably slowed down and people actually took the time to read their mail.
Personal outreach
Spence also emphasized the importance of client outreach during the pandemic, a time where personal interaction was limited yet so extremely craved. Outreach turned more personal, instead of mass emails, calls and voicemails.
“Maintaining those past client personal relationships resulted in many referrals,” Spence says. She says that drive-by gifts left on doorsteps were especially rewarding and appreciated by clients.
Signage
Spence jokingly says that she used to tell REALTORS®, “The yard sign is not to sell the home; it’s for you.” Now, every agent and every house have both a yard sign and directional signs leading potential buyers to the home. “Although there’s no way we can actually pinpoint why signs have been more effective, we assume that people had more time on their hands and may even have been driving around just for fun, stumbling upon yard signs that sparked interest,” Spence says.
Spence says that these “big three” have not shown any sign of slowing down to pre-pandemic numbers, despite Florida’s return to near-normal, restriction-free life. “It’s surprising there’s been no downturn in these strategies, so these ‘big three’ are definitely here to stay once again,” Spence says. “It’s like we’ve returned to the basics of when we all first started out in this industry.”
Social media
Despite being a relatively “new” business fundamental, social media marketing also saw a similar renewed emphasis.
This type of marketing is constantly evolving, but the pandemic’s dependence on virtual interaction—particularly through platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams—completely transformed the way social media can be used to buy and sell homes.
Keller Williams, a well-known agency in Austin, Texas, has been conducting live Q&As on Twitter via webcam. Although real-time interviews and videos are nothing new, the pandemic made them trendy, and potential buyers and sellers will expect more social media content in the future.
More recently, individual entrepreneurs have been promoting COVID-19 relief-related charities. Establishing a solid online reputation is crucial in today’s world, and being charitable is a big deal in an industry like real estate, which sometimes doesn’t have the best reputation with the public.
The most basic fundamental
Rick Baker, REALTOR® at Coldwell Banker APEX, Realtors in Frisco, Texas, embraces the meaning of “back to the basics” in an entirely different way. A proud “different type of REALTOR®”—a claim backed by many clients and colleagues—Baker spends little to no money on marketing. Instead, he focuses on what he deems the true duty of a REALTOR®: to take care of a client’s money as an advisor.
“Often I’ll tell clients, ‘Don’t sell your home. Use it as an investment,’ and I teach them how,” Baker says. “And that trust and guidance we build together has resulted in more clients through generations and word of mouth than any other form of marketing ever has for me.”
Baker says his reputation and slightly unorthodox approach was his way of marketing pre-pandemic, and it will only continue to grow as life returns to normal. “I remind myself that REALTORS® are supposed to use our experience to guide the client. I tell them exactly what I would do if I were standing in their shoes.”
For more successful ideas on how to stay in touch with clients, check out the webinar “Marketing Systems for Connecting with Your Sphere” at CRS.com/webinars.
Photo: iStock.com/DNY59
