Online Marketing How Agents Can Leverage the Internet for Profitable Growth
Presentation
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
The internet has significant penetration in Australia with consumers now migrating to broadband
TOTAL INTERNET PENETRATION AND BROADBAND MIGRATION
Percent
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14
Total Usage
Broadband Penetration
Source: Merrill Lynch – Actuals FY02-04, Estimates FY05-14
100
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
News Communicate Weather Government Info Movie Information Holidays Plan Social Activities Sports Scores Employment
USES OF THE INTERNET
Key uses of the internet are information, communication and transacting
Source: StarcomIP and ninemsn Survey, June 2005
Finances Search for Home Research Products TV Guide Play Games
Surveys indicate that for internet users, the most important source in property searching is the internet
FOR INTERNET USERS - MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE IN PROPERTY SEARCH
Internet Sites Newspaper Classifieds Real estate agent/s Search Engines Newspaper Articles Other Paper Directories
63% 15% 9% 7% 4% 2% 1%
Source: amrinteractive Online Survey June 2005 Q15.1. When looking for property or companies that offer real estate to rent, buy, sell or share, which of these sources do you use to search?
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
AUSTRALIAN READERSHIP OF REAL ESTATE SITES
0
Readership of Australian real estate sites continues to grow quickly
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (formerly Red Sheriff) Unique Browsers
Ju Se l-00 p N - 00 ov J a - 00 n M -01 ar M - 01 ay Ju 01 Se l-01 p N - 01 ov J a - 01 n M -02 ar M - 02 ay Ju 02 l S e - 02 pN 02 ov J a - 02 n M -03 ar M - 03 ay -0 Ju 3 Se l-03 p N - 03 ov J a - 03 n M -04 ar M - 04 ay Ju 04 Se l-04 p N - 04 ov J a - 04 n M -05 ar M - 05 ay Ju 05 l-0 5
This is in contrast to the declining circulation of major real estate carrying metro newspapers
CIRCULATION OF MAJOR REAL ESTATE CARRYING METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPERS
450000
400000
West Australian SMH Courier Mail
350000
300000
Age Advertiser
250000
200000 Jun-03 Sep-03 Dec-03 Mar-04 Jun-04 Sep-04 Dec-04 Mar-05
Source: Australian Bureau of Circulations
The online Australian audience is very attractive for the real estate industry
DEMOGRAPHICS OF AUSTRALIAN ONLINE REAL ESTATE SITE USERS
Gender (Percent)
Household Income (Percent)
Unknown
Male
47
5
100k+
Female
27
53
75-100k
22
50-75k
21
35-50k
14
<35k
11
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (formerly Red Sheriff) – July 2005
60% of real estate site users are over 35 year old
DEMOGRAPHICS OF AUSTRALIAN ONLINE REAL ESTATE SITE USERS
Age (Percent)
<18
5
18-24
9
25-34
27
35-49
35
50-64
20
65+
5
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (formerly Red Sheriff) – July 2005
75% of online users believed that researching property online improved the quality of interaction with the agent
RESEARCHING PROPERTY ONLINE AND IMPROVEMENT OF AGENT INTERACTION
11% 3% 11%
Not sure/not applicable
Strongly disagree
44%
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
31%
Jun 2005
Source: amrinteractive Online Survey June 2005 Q17. How strongly do you agree with this statement: Researching property online improves my interaction with agents during the buying process
The internet has helped open Australian real estate to the world
TOTAL READERSHIP OF AUSTRALIAN REAL ESTATE SITES
0.47m
2.73m
2.26m
Top Countries • USA • UK • NZ • Singapore • Canada
Australian
International
Total
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (formerly Red Sheriff) Unique Browsers
Not only is readership increasing, the amount viewed per reader is increasing
AVERAGE PAGE IMPRESSIONS / UNIQUE VISITOR (REA & DOMAIN)
80
60
40
20
0
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (formerly Red Sheriff) Page Impressions (REA + Domain) / Unique Browsers (REA &Domain)
Ju l S e - 00 pN 00 ov J a - 00 n M -01 ar M - 01 ay -0 Ju 1 l S e - 01 pN 01 ov J a - 01 n M -02 ar M - 02 ay -0 Ju 2 l S e - 02 p N - 02 ov J a 02 nM 03 ar M - 03 ay -0 Ju 3 l S e - 03 p N - 03 ov J a - 03 n M -04 ar M - 04 ay -0 Ju 4 l S e - 04 p N - 04 ov J a - 04 n M -05 ar M - 05 ay -0 Ju 5 l-0 5
For many agents, the internet is now one of the prime sources of leads
SOURCES OF LAST 100 BUYERS FOR A VICTORIAN AGENT
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Referral Internet Local Paper Signboard W indow Display Metro Paper
EXAMPLE
34 27
17 14
4
4
Source: Detailed tracking of leads by one South-Eastern Suburb Victorian agent
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
The internet has the potential to deliver significant profitability enhancements for real estate agents
INTERNET DRIVEN VALUE FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FRANCHISES
Area Online vendor leads
Approach Aggressively farm the internet for vendors especially early in their decision cycle Leverage the internet to allow a vendor to self manage minor interactions with agent Aggressively manage online advertisements to quickly generate low cost buyer leads
Value Creation Potential • Reduce cost of vendor lead acquisition • Increase number of listings • Reduce the cost / time in servicing a vendor • Increase time available for signing new vendors / managing buyers • Reduce the cost of acquiring buyer leads • Reduce the time property is on the market
Online vendor management
Online buyer leads
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
Buyers (and therefore many sellers) are using the internet to research the market before contacting agents
LENGTH OF INTERNET SEARCH BEFORE CONTACTING AN AGENT - BOUGHT IN LAST 12 MTHS
50%
40%
15% 8% 3%
2 to 3 months
14%
10%
3 weeks or less
One month
About 6 weeks
More than 3 months Did not use internet when bought home
Source: amrinteractive Online Survey June 2005
Q16. When you bought a property, how long did you research on the internet before you contacted an agent?
There is a clear set of steps an office or franchise group can take to generate vendor leads
USING THE INTERNET TO SOURCE VENDOR LEADS
1.
Develop quality online ads with the right offer
• An offer that a vendor will action – not just a branding exercise
•
Not just banners but all advertising formats
2.
Place quality ads on the right sites
• Sites where potential vendors may be visiting
• • • Real estate portal sites Google and other search engines Locally relevant sites
3.
Drive clicks from ads to a qualification page
• • Don’t waste advertising dollars on driving vendor leads to information pages Use the internet to capture leads and to help qualify the lead
Most online real estate advertising does not have a clear call to action and are likely to be ineffective
EXAMPLES OF ONLINE BRANDING EXECUTIONS
What is the compelling reason for a seller to click or call?
To attract vendors, the proposition needs to be clear and compelling
EXAMPLE ADVERTISING MESSAGES TO ATTRACT VENDORS
More compelling reason • Free • Answers a question a vendor probably has • Easy to do – just click (not phone)
There are multiple online advertising opportunities on websites
ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES – BEYOND BANNERS
Banners Tickers Text Links Advertorials Tower Ads
Portal sites are highly trafficked and provide access to a pre-qualified audience
EXAMPLE ADVERTISING ON PORTAL SITES
• Visitors to real estate portal sites are interested in real estate (therefore qualified) • Most buyers are also sellers • Most people move within ~10km of where they currently live • Many people monitor the market before making the decision to move – a key area of research is price Prime audience to offer a “FREE ONLINE VALUATION SERVICE”
Search engines are a great source of traffic to your site – especially for vendors
EXAMPLE ADVERTISING ON GOOGLE
No agents advertising here Cost per click between 50c and $2 (depending on search terms)
Local sites and sites known to be visited by locals are prime advertising areas – especially for a compelling free valuation offer
EXAMPLES OF LOCAL SITES IN RICHMOND
Some companies are making it easy for a vendor to register interest and thus become a lead
HOUSEVALUES.COM – UNITED STATES EXAMPLE
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
Once a listing is signed, any time not spent selling the listing or signing a new listing is non-revenue time
USING THE INTERNET TO MANAGE VENDORS
1. Reduce low-value vendor interaction through automated 3rd party products 2. Allow vendors to self-service through secure logins
• • • • Information on advertising campaigns – online and offline Update on open for inspections Message board to discuss sale process Able to review email comments about the sale
The internet can automate manual time consuming tasks
EXAMPLE PROPERTY LIVE WEEKLY EMAIL
• Automatically send a online advertising notification to vendor • Automatically send a weekly online property performance report to vendor • Branded with agent’s branding
Reduce Time Spent on Answering Minor Vendor Questions
A secure vendor section can allow your vendors to self service for basic sale progress information
EXAMPLE VENDOR MANAGEMENT SECTION
Should contain
• Online views from all sites • Copies of emails received • Message system between agent & vendor • Details of other marketing activities • Comments from OFI’s
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • Three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business are:
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
The internet is a low cost tool to source buyer leads however it needs to be actively managed
USING THE INTERNET TO SOURCE BUYER LEADS
1.
Advertise your properties where people are looking
• • Buyers primarily use portal sites Agent sites are mostly used as support for the complete marketing campaign
2.
Ensure property ads are highest quality
• • • Photos Detailed / accurate information Virtual tours
3.
Make sure your property ads stand out from the others in the area
• • • Larger ads Ensure displayed first Proactively send to interested buyers
Online ads must be comprehensive and compelling as buyers will make decisions based on what they see and read
KEY ELEMENTS OF A QUALITY ONLINE AD
• • • • • • • •
Multiple photos – inside / outside / surrounding locations Floor plan Compelling title Comprehensive information Address Beds / baths / parking etc Virtual tour Future
– – Video Audio
Must look good at the search results page as well as the property details page
Larger ads usually stand out more thus increasing the chances of being clicked on
EXAMPLE OF VARIABLE AD SIZES AT SEARCH RESULTS PAGE LEVEL
Domain
realestate.com.au
Another way to stand out is to lock in top spot of searches
EXAMPLE OF GURANTEED TOP SPOT AT SEARCH RESULTS LEVEL
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • There are three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
Understanding where leads are coming from and how much you are paying for leads is becoming more important
WHY TRACKING OF LEAD SOURCES IS IMPORTANT
Trend Time on market has increased Decrease in number of buyers Cost to advertise is increasing Increase in number of media servicing the industry Increase in advertising opportunities within each media
Impact Advertising dollars now need to last longer Need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd and get cut through Need to understand which medium is working best Agents should understand which media deliver leads Agents should understand their options and use what works
RESULT – TRACKING THE SOURCE OF LEADS AND THE COST PER LEAD IS CRITICAL
However, most agents appear to not track the sources of leads
AGENTS TRACKING SOURCES OF LEADS
13%
Agent asked for where the advertisement had been seen
87%
Agent did not ask for where the advertisement had been seen
Source: realestate.com.au Telephone Survey, n=150
In the US, real estate groups are taking a business approach to managing leads
WEICHERT LEAD NETWORK
• • • • • • •
15,000 sales associates, 330 sales offices All leads (print / online / phone etc) to a central lead management team Ads in each media have a different telephone number All leads are “scrubbed” by a central team Qualified leads (ie ready to transact) are passed onto sales associates Early stage leads (ie not ready to transact) are centrally managed until qualified Cost per lead per media channel centrally tracked and media spend redirected into those lead sources that deliver greatest volume at lowest price
Agenda
• The internet is rapidly becoming the dominant advertising medium for the real estate industry • There are three ways in which agents can leverage the internet to improve the profitability of their business
– Attract vendor leads through strategically farming the internet – Let vendors self manage during the sale process – Better work the internet to attract quality buyer leads
• It is essential that an office or franchise group put in place quality lead tracking and lead management processes
It Is A Whole New Market – Are You Connecting With It?
Thank You For Your Participation.