As real estate is all about presentation, having a stellar online presence is crucial. After all, this is the first point of contact for most home buyers, which means it’s also one of their initial perceptions of who you are as a company, as well as if they should do business with you. However, that’s why we’ve listed out a few helpful tips on how to improve the digital experience for your company. Check them out below:
Have An Exceptional Web Presence
A key component to building trust with your customer base is a solid web presence. A home is one of the most significant investments a person makes in their lifetime, knowing that their realtor put forth the same attitude towards their website can go a long way. While that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your site, it does mean you should consider going above and beyond the competition.
Start out by going through some of the other real estate websites you’ve seen and jotting down what you like, as well as what you don’t. See the style of design patterns they use, as well as how the flow feels in regards to if you’d book a showing. Furthermore, make sure that the practicals are taken care of; for example, as noted by Hubspot, 39 percent of people will leave a website if images take too long to load, which is why it’s important to run through the experience on as many devices as possible, including multiple phones.
Don’t Forget About Mobile
While we often don’t think about researching our next home via our phones, it shouldn’t surprise you that this is the first medium many homebuyers explore. According to TechCrunch, the average person spends approximately 5 hours per day on their mobile phone, showcasing how frequently we turn to our phones. For your real estate company, the challenge here isn’t just having a clean, responsive website, but one that drives home the sale.
The experience of researching a home on your phone is going to be tough but doable, with your biggest cursor going to be walking through the home buying process. This includes asking yourself what type of features you’d like to see (for example, virtual or video tours or 3D modeling), as well as designing in the necessities, such as a portal at the end to sign up. Additionally, it’s also smart to make your website accessible while people are looking on foot, including placing a QR code on your “For Sale” sign to call or book an appointment with you. The more pathways you can implement to make someone feel as though this is their home, the better, as the goal is to create an experience through every medium.
Have Accessible Payment Solutions
Although it’s unlikely that someone will pay the entire cost of a home online, having a payment portal can be an excellent tool for securing down payments, rental payments (if you own rentals as well), or even application fees. With most of these payments ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, the approximately two percent in fees credit card processors take can take quite a bit away from your bottom line. A smart way to combat these fees is by using eChecks, which offer a quick, easy and efficient payment solution with significantly reduced fees.
Implement Direct Call-To-Actions
Finally, a smart habit you should get into is implementing more call-to-actions on your page, as well as any other content you’re producing. Essentially, these are any actionable item you might include at the footer, for example, “Want to check out this Victorian-style home? Click here to schedule a tour.” The ‘click here’ would be your action. These can add a significant boost to your retention because as noted by Protocol80, on average, implementing a CTA to Facebook posts increases click-thru rates by 285 percent, which is a pretty staggering figure for just one platform. However, if you’re looking for results like that, then getting in the habit of including these throughout your content is crucial.
If you haven’t already, glance through your website and decipher the different placements you could implement call-to-actions, including individual listing pages, as well as on your homepage. It’d also be wise to make sure all your social media profiles are business accounts (especially Instagram), so you can utilize different physical motions, such as “swipe up to learn more.” The more you’re able to try and drive traffic, the better, as it’s imperative to closing the deal.
What are some ways you’ve been able to improve the digital experience of your real estate company? Comment with your answers below!
