Real estate innovation: techniques for renting or selling flats
The real estate sector is not a sector that can live exclusively on tradition. We have already seen this in the way properties are sold today: from mailing and promoting properties through catalogues or in the real estate office itself, we have moved on to showcasing properties from the click of a button, which provides access to the portals and our website where the properties must look good on the screen of the device. Real estate innovation is the way forward.
So, once we have all the properties properly advertised and accessible, we should never be satisfied with just following the rule: those who take a step forward ahead of the rest are those who have the greatest chance of succeeding and surviving in a sector as liable to change as ours.
For this reason, we would like to share with you 5 techniques of real estate innovation that represent the future of the sector. 5 ways of selling properties that we already have at our disposal and that ensure a greater scope of our catalogue.
5 techniques of real estate innovation that help to sell or rent more
1. Being where your customers are
Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? It’s as simple as being there in advance when clients need us as opposed to just waiting for them to look us up. And where do most of the potential clients looking to buy a home currently concentrate? On the Internet.
But the web is enormous, so even having our page advertised or any other online marketing technique is going to be enough for us. On the other hand, talking about property innovation in 2018 and simply mentioning “having a presence on the internet” is too simplistic…
So how can we have an innovative and striking internet presence? Make sure you have accounts in social networks and use the tools that most engage you in this environment. A property ad on the Facebook wall doesn’t say much, but a live Instagram or Facebook Live can be the perfect hook to at least get your property known to an audience you don’t know when they will need your services.
An insta-live or even snapchat may not help you to sell a flat, but it will humanize your agency and thus make it more recognizable and accessible than your competitors.
"An Insta-Live or even Snapchat may not sell a flat, but it will humanise your agency and make it more recognisable and accessible than your competitors"
2 Think digitally
Mobile First! If we talk about real estate innovation, this is the precept that Google has been indicating for more than three years now, and we already know that in terms of visibility on the internet, Google tops the rankings.
But as with the first of these tips, it is not enough to have a page optimised for mobiles (something that is essential), but all the content you offer must be designed to be seen comfortably on a screen of approximately 5 inches.
Therefore, forget about the 6 endless descriptions for a property which force the user to scroll infinitely. Look for new formats that allow you to say more in less space, and that can be seen comfortably both from the sofa at home and on the metro on the way to work.
Responsive content (ready to appear on mobiles) goes beyond the adaptation to the screen: video instead of text is more attractive to be seen on the mobile.
"Responsive (mobile-ready) content goes beyond screen adaptation: video instead of text is more attractive for mobile viewing"
3. Show much more in less time
As we have just mentioned, saying more in less space should be our priority, and for this purpose videos are a more than adequate resource… but nothing innovative at this point.
Moreover, the video does not go beyond where the person recording it specifically went in the house and in a society where all information is just a click away, how a whole house looks is what the user wants.
And what real estate innovation allows us to show everything that can be shown in a house while saving resources? Virtual property tours go beyond the video and allow us to go through any property at our leisure, designing ourselves from the other side of the screen the visit, which can be guided or not thanks to the possibility of integrating the real estate agent’s connection by means of video conference.
Virtual tours are directly the future of real estate visits: they save time, they allow to visualize the whole property and they are accessible from any place.
"Virtual tours are the future of property viewing: they save time, allow you to view the entire property and are accessible from anywhere"
4. Gamma experience
How many advertising messages can we receive during the day? The answer is around 2,500 – 3,000 between advertisements in the street, on the Internet, radio, television, etc. How many do we remember? Only those that have been new or striking to us.
Therefore, a “living surrounded by vegetation” will not tell us anything by itself. But if we add to the “living surrounded by vegetation” the possibility that you can get into that green paradise by means of virtual reality, you are no longer simply announcing that your flat has numerous parks and gardens around it: you are inviting anyone interested to check it out for themselves without having to wait for an appointment to visit.
All you need is virtual tour software and a docking station so that your mobile phone can be turned into simulated reality glasses and, in this curious and original way, be able to offer visits to properties from the real estate agency itself.
Stimuli, stimuli and more stimuli: one of the keys that leads us to the sale. The gamification of the content we show is a way to make it much more attractive.
"Stimuli, stimuli and more stimuli: one of the keys that leads to sales. Gamification of the content we show is a way of making it much more attractive"
5. Neuromarketing: controlling emotions
Neuromarketing is the branch of promotion that stimulates sales through emotions, even without the user being aware that impulses are being sent towards purchase.
And how is neuromarketing applicable as an innovative technique for real estate agencies? It is something that has always been done consciously, or subconsciously, in property sales: from “smell therapy” (it is worth studying the common practice, especially in the USA, of the house being visited smelling of freshly made cupcakes to give a homely and comfortable feeling to the visitor) to the simple arrangement of the furniture and the impeccable cleanliness of the house being visited.
Now, as we have seen, mobiles and new technological tools prevail, we must adapt these good practices to what we see on the screen. For now, we cannot reproduce that “smell of freshly made cupcakes” in a virtual visit to a property (everything will come…), but we can make sure that it looks very bright with curtains and windows wide open, that from the balcony you can see wonderful 360º views of the city and that the corridor is not just a place of transit, but an art gallery where colourful paintings, among other examples, are displayed.
Neuromarketing is perfectly applicable to a video or a virtual tour if the images reproduced cause comfortable sensations and a desire to inhabit the home.
Do you already know how to introduce your real estate agency in the middle of the 21st century. Do you know how to offer properties in an attractive and much more innovative way than your competitors? Say “hello” to real estate innovation.
"Neuromarketing is perfectly applicable to a video or a virtual tour if the images reproduced cause comfortable sensations and a desire to live in the house"
If you have any questions, contact us and we will show you how to impress your clients.
