MARKETING
Townends estate agent. “We have systems in place to send automatic email updates to tenants and buyers when new properties matching their specific search criteria are added to our register, or to give them details of relevant open house events and/ or new homes developments in their search area. Our new website also now includes the functionality to allow users to create and manage their own email alerts.” Townends has also embraced
e-newsletters to communicate with clients on topics such as market updates, area guides, details about upcoming new homes developments/investment opportunities and the latest property news. “However, as an agent, we are aware that our clients have placed a great deal of trust in us by providing their contact details and therefore we have a responsibility not to abuse this by over-communicating,” added Ayres. “The great thing about e-marketing is the
ease of monitoring and reporting. We are able to evaluate our open, click through and unsubscribe rates against industry norms to ensure we are striking a good balance and that our clients find our communications interesting, relevant and entertaining,” she says. Tony Robinson, head of the marketing
and communications department at South East estate agency Robinson Jackson, agrees that there is now great emphasis on online marketing. “We are investing heavily in different forms of online marketing,” said Robinson. “Research has already shown that property buyers head straight for the internet when seeeking a new home and vendors expect to see their homes for sale online. iPhones, iPads, Android handsets and WiFi mean that people are consuming property 24-hours a day and not just at home, so we want to make sure that they are exposed to Robinson Jackson whenever and wherever they search. “To that effect, our new, high-
functioning website is in the last phase of development with features like video testimonials and a news feed that people can subscribe to via RSS. We’ve already got an App and have an e-magazine with Rightmove that reaches a wide database outside our own, plus we are revealing additional online marketing initiatives in early in 2012. “It’s crucial that when you’re having that
initial chat with vendors you can cover all bases – letting them know that their home for sale will be marketed in clever and exciting ways, not just the conventional newspaper adverts and online portal feeds. The upshot of all this is even the most
Robinson Jackson has developed a range of online marketing material.
PROPERTYdrum NOVEMBER 2011 29
TONY ROBINSON ROBINSON JACKSON
Buyers now head straight for the internet and sellers expect their house to be seen online too.”
fluent of online browsers will find a marketing channel where Robinson Jackson is active.” However, Robinson explains that they
are not forgetting about traditional forms of marketing and other elements such as customer care. “For us, online marketing is still part of an overall package of activities that will help us continue to grow over the next five years.”
RESOURCE At the recent PROPERTYdrum Social Media Marketing conference, Nigel Lewis, Head of Content at The Digital Property Group, owners of Primelocation and
Findaproperty.com, said that local agents should act like local newspaper journalists in providing potential clients with as much
BE YOUR LOCAL INFORMATION
news about their local area as possible. Lewis believes that this will create a fantastic following on a social media platform and will keep viewers regularly tuned in to an agent’s website, Twitter or Facebook page. This in turn will create a strong sense of loyalty and will keep potential buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants faithful to the agent’s brand. Surrey Estate Agent, Barton Wyatt has
embraced this concept and has created various social media platforms. Viewers can read about Surrey property news, local ‘what’s on’ information and company updates then join the Barton Wyatt community on Facebook, read their blog or view their properties on YouTube. Potential customers can also follow the team on Twitter for up-to-date snippets and news sound bites, while those on the move can connect via Barton Wyatt’s free lifestyle App on an iPhone, ipad or android; soon to be joined by the app for Blackberry.
QR CODES
The property industry has dealt with its fair share of hardships over recent years with agents and developers under pressure to adapt and change marketing strategies to stay ahead of the game. As well as exploring mobile phone technology, Barton Wyatt has adopted QR (Quick Response) Codes as another potential method to attract new property buyers. It is estimated that by 2013 around one billion people will own a smartphone and Google estimate that over 50 of property searches will use smartphones by the end of 2012. With these statistics, it is no surprise that estate agents are jumping on the smartphone bandwagon using the aid of QR Codes to sell their properties. In simple terms a QR Code is a matrix
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