Easy Tips to Effectively Nurture Your Real Estate Clients

With the volatility of the residential market, small and starting real estate firms find it hard to catch up with the heavy competition. The need to stand out is great, and having a website won’t simply cut it. A firm or a real estate agent needs to employ effective lead nurturing strategies to convert potential leads into successful sales. 

According to a study by Invesp, 80 percent of new leads do not translate into sales. After you optimize your website and test calls to generate more leads, the next phase is to continue the conversation with your prospects from initial contact up to the time they are ready to make actual business. This process is called lead nurturing.

Lead nurturing is an important aspect of real estate sales. According to statistics, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50 percent more sales-ready leads at a lower cost. Furthermore, nurtured leads make 47 percent larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. These figures are enough for agents and firms to take lead nurturing one step higher in their sales strategy and priority.

There are two major ways to nurture your client database. First is to use content marketing through digital media. Second is by going through the traditional route.

Content Marketing

As digital media becomes more dominant, nurturing your leads using content marketing can be a powerful strategy. 

Content marketing is a cost-effective way to drive your lead generation campaign and produce actual business. By providing your leads with relevant content and useful information, you keep your name and brand in their minds as they journey through the buying cycle.

Content marketing can be implemented in three platforms: blogs, social media, and email.

Blogs

Not every lead is ready to buy a home right away. By publishing fresh, relevant and regular content on your blog, you can appeal to those leads by keeping your name at the top of their minds until they are ready to make a purchase.

Here are some tips to maximize your blog and nurture leads:

• Find a niche. Profile your leads and find a niche that they are interested in. Perhaps they are looking for an expert in a specific type of architecture. By regularly publishing fresh and relevant content about their interests, you establish yourself as their go-to agent or firm.
• Include topics beyond buying and selling a home. Leads are always looking for fresh and new content. Write something about new interior design trends, home security systems, or even community events and/or developments within your neighborhood. You can also write honest reviews about the latest architectural practices in the real estate industry.

Social media

Consumers nowadays are using more than just brochures and phone calls to search for their dream home. Aside from surfing the internet, they search listings through social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors, 94 percent of millennials and 84 percent of baby boomers used different social media sites for their house-hunting activities. Furthermore, Sprout Social Index reported that 7 in 10 baby boomers will likely purchase something from a brand they follow on social media. This makes social media a great platform to nurture your leads.

Here are tips to nurture leads in the buying cycle using your social media accounts:

• Answer questions promptly. Your leads will most likely ask their general customer service and buying questions through your social media accounts. Answer them promptly and connect with those who are located near your listings. An active social media presence will speak volumes of your accessibility and availability as a real estate expert. If you can’t be on your social media accounts 24/7, you can indicate your active times on your profile to set your customers’ expectation.
• Share valuable content. Create unique and engaging content regularly. According to a recent study, 73 percent of the leads prefer realtors who promote their listings through videos. You can post video tours and provide a link to your blogs on your social media posts.

Email

Email marketing, when used appropriately, can be a powerful tool to nurture your leads, as it remains the top online activity of internet users. Here are tips to grab your lead’s attention and earn their trust through email marketing:

• Segment your database. Classify your leads into different groups (e.g., cold, warm and hot) and create appealing offers that address their specific needs and interests. By doing so, you avoid the risk of annoying your leads with irrelevant content.
• Add your personal touch. Instead of sending automated emails and bombarding your warm leads with spam, be more personal in each contact. Include helpful information, such as free advice and industry trends, to make them feel more valued. According to Invesp, lead nurturing emails generate 4-10 times the response rate compared to email blasts.

Utilizing digital media is indeed an effective way to connect with and nurture potential leads. But using this alone will not guarantee your lead’s conversion. Going the traditional route will help you achieve the best results.

Here are some old-fashioned strategies that work time and time again in successfully converting leads to actual sales:

• Identify where the lead is in the buying process.
• Be proactive and take a genuine interest in initiating contact with your leads. 
• Word of mouth is still the most effective way to nurture potential leads. Stay in touch with your previous clients to nurture repeat business or get in-person referrals to their friends and families. Remember that homeowners go through different life stages. You want to be there when they upsize of downsizing their homes.
• Follow-up on your leads quickly. According to study, agents who call back their leads within the first 5 minutes are 100 times more likely to establish direct contact than those who respond 30 minutes later.
• Create a regular follow-up routine for your leads and commit to it no matter how busy your schedule might be. To do this, create a prioritized list of leads, block an hour every day for follow-up time, and make phone calls or send text messages daily, especially to your “hot” leads.

Every lead is a potential client, and one size doesn’t usually fit all when it comes to nurturing them. With careful planning, commitment and genuine interest in your clients’ welfare, your firm will remain present and relevant in their lives. By keeping the “human touch” amidst the technology and responding to your leads promptly, your chances of making successful sales will be higher.

Sources: Real Estate Marketing Blog, Sprout Social, Follow Up Boss, Invespcro, Become a Local Leader