Thursday, September 2, 2010

Adding text marketing to your real estate tools

Ed Note: As part of our exploration into new waves of marketing communications given the surge in social media, emailing, texting and list-building, we present this article written on behalf of iZigg. For more information visit www.izigg.com


By Joan Dailey
Real estate and mortgage professionals should be singing the praises of iZigg mobile text marketing.  There’s no better weapon to add to your marketing arsenal. Text message marketing gives real estate agents, mortgage brokers and property managers unprecedented and instant access to valuable customers simply because the mobile phone has become the preferred technology of choice.  We already know that people and their mobile phones are attached at the hip (literally).  Traditional marketing practices (email, direct mail, print etc…) have seen dwindling response rates and even worse ROI.
With the worst real estate industry we’ve seen in our lifetime, affordable and powerful marketing strategies are the ONLY way to go.  No one has money to gamble on marketing, it needs to be a surefire way to improve your bottom line.
So what does this mean for you as a real estate agent, property manager or mortgage broker?
Simply put, iZigg mobile marketing is the most transformational business strategy we’ve seen in the last decade.  It’s not only the client access that will give you the leg up on the competition – consumers also appreciate the attention and dedication that comes hand-in-hand with text message marketing.  Here at iZigg, we’ve listed a few more benefits that can directly impact your real estate marketing success:
* Paper business cards are out – and text message business cards are in.  Instead of handing clients a business card, you can text your details to your clients’ mobile phones, so they’ll never be at a loss for your information again.  iZigg offers a service known as “MCard”, which puts your information on a prospect’s phone and gathers their information at the same time.
* Real estate agents and property managers can keep in better touch with their prospects by texting real-time information on newly available properties.  This expedites the sales process – and will make your clients feel like they’re being treated like superstars.
* Text message marketing will increase prospect follow-ups and client satisfaction.   We don’t like to wait for information when we need it, so the faster we get it the happier we’ll be.  For example, if you’re a home buyer (or renter) and you’re driving by a home for sale (or rent) and want more details, you want that information real-time.  If you can send a quick text message and get those details immediately, how satisfied would you be?
* For mortgage professionals – this give you the ability to send real-time information on loan terms and rate adjustments.  Getting your clients and prospects that instant notification when they want it speaks volumes to your level of customer service.  And if you can get that information to your prospects sooner than your competition, your chances of earning their business go way up.
* Real estate investors are always on the lookout for a great opportunity.  For an investment advisor, those opportunities can disappear quickly, so having the ability to send out messages to select investor groups at a moment’s notice is critical.
* Text message marketing practices are outpacing traditional marketing practices hands down.  SMS campaigns have better open rates, better response rates, and better ROI.  What else is there?
Here at iZigg, this is our ultimate view: the business marketer who utilizes the power of text message marketing is the one that’s providing a far superior service than the competitor who sticks to traditional marketing channels.   And superior service directly translates into happy customers, a stellar reputation and recession-proof profits.
Do you have other ideas for how the real estate industry can leverage iZigg’s mobile marketing platform?  Add your comments below!



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