By Robin Morgan
RISMEDIA, May 31, 2007-The need to differentiate one’s product or service is always greater when business is sluggish or when the amount of competition surpasses the demand for the product or service. This holds true in any industry, but nowhere is it more dead-on than in the real estate market. Add to this one of the longest customer cycles of any industry, and all of a sudden the need to stand out becomes the center of the universe for a real estate agent.
So, when the time comes to sell, why should anyone pick you? These days, techno-savvy real estate agents are differentiating themselves by adding individual property Web sites to their Internet marketing toolkit. Why wouldn’t they? With budgets tight and competition fierce, creating new client-focused marketing without spending hundreds of dollars is not just a necessity-it has become a survival skill.
With eighty percent of all home buyers searching online, they are looking for more information than ever before. We know that the most important thing that a potential buyer wants to see is photographs, followed closely by detailed property information. Individual property Web sites allow you to provide exactly what these buyers are looking for.
The real estate market is embracing the concept at a dizzying pace. Companies like AgencyLogic, one provider of individual property Web sites, has recently seen sales growth hit triple digits as agents nationwide sharpen their technological edge, the company reports.
Here are five key reasons why the nation’s top producers are creating Web sites for every property they list:
1. Win More Listings: Impress your sellers by creating a showcase property Web site that is 100% dedicated to their property and will be available to a worldwide audience 24 hours a day, seven days a week with no competition with other listings to distract the buyer. Sellers want to know that their property will stand out. By presenting them with a complete Web site, they will feel like your number one client. Select a provider that allows you to build and e-mail the Web sites to your prospects before you purchase them for a completely risk-free way to win your next listing.
2. Attract Buyers with Unlimited Content: These Web sites can contain the richest source of information about a single property. Choose a provider that allows you to create custom links to community information and lets you upload documents and disclosures (preferably with adjustable levels of accessibility for secure storage). Many allow you to easily incorporate other great marketing tools like blogs, podcasts and even video to further showcase the property with multimedia.
3. Expand Your Audience: Single property Web sites enable you to be remarkable and make it easy for your clients to tell others about you. You can be sure that if you create a complete Web site for your sellers, they will spread the word about you and your unique marketing plan. The Web site is easy for them to forward to their friends and family, and each time, your contact information will be seen as well as links back to your main Web site.
4. More Eyes on Your Listings: Choose a provider that will submit your listings free of charge to the most popular real estate search portals and you will instantly increase your listing’s visibility online. Select a provider that is an approved vendor with Realtor.com and offers a non-branded version to use with most MLS organizations so you can use your Web site as a virtual tour link.
5. Single Property Web sites Pay for Themselves: In your print ads, substitute expensive descriptive text with the Website address, e.g., www.123AnySt.com, and you will save far more than the cost of your single property Website in the first ad!
For most agents, this isn’t your first listing, and it certainly won’t be your last. However, your prospective client doesn’t focus on what you’ve done before, or what you’ll be doing tomorrow. All they care about is getting their home sold. That’s why this innovative attention to the seller’s only detail is so valuable.
Robin Morgan is the marketing director for AgencyLogic PowerSites. For more tools and information about single property Web sites, visit www.agencylogic.com.
