Lead generation strategies are critical for any business, but techniques used to bring in new prospects vary depending on the industry.
Fortunately, marketing has always been a strong point in property, which means there are all kinds of lead generation strategies housebuilders can use to capture and convert web users. But it also means there’s a lot of competition. From AI chatbots for estate agents to online budget calculators for new housebuilders, here’s how to stand out in a competitive real estate environment and supercharge your prospects list in 2018:
1. Create frequent, quality content
The explosion of content in marketing has meant most businesses have a blog now – the same holds true in property. But it doesn’t mean they’re all good. Whether you’re a new housebuilder or home-improvement company, churning out low-quality, irrelevant content isn’t worth anything to any prospect. Use your content space to own the topic at hand and provide information, rather than sell yourself. Create a subscription form on your blog to capture actively engaged leads who are happy to swap their email addresses for fresh, frequent, genuinely useful content.
2. Offer a free service, product or tool
Whether it’s an e-book for first-time homebuyers or an online course on property investing, offering something valuable for free is one of the most tried-and-tested lead generation strategies – and it works. We’ve created a unique and valuable set of prospect generation tools exclusively designed for housebuilders to capture web users. From our clever budget calculator to our instant property valuation estimator, they provide leads with useful information that answer their current problems while also generating the data you need to nurture contacts and sell homes.
3. Play with popups
Wait, don’t leave yet! Popups are proven to be one of the best lead generation strategies for companies – especially housebuilders. You’ll have seen them before – small windows that pop up on your screen when you land on a website or try to leave a page. Create popups for free quotes or consultations, a limited offer, or an invitation to sign up for blog content.
4. Activate an AI chatbot
Imagine a potential lead is on your page, browsing new homes in the area. Your marketing team isn’t physically there to greet every prospect, capture their details and provide targeted information, but your chatbot can be. Technology is helping marketers to guide buyers into the sales funnel with conversational language and data capture – more than is humanly possible. Integrate one into your website and instantly increase your leads.
5. Experiment with video
Prioritising video in your list of lead generation strategies is a tremendous idea. 76% of marketers said video content has resulted in more sales, according to a video marketing study by HubSpot in December 2017. A slim number of agents put their home listings on YouTube, despite the fact 73% of homeowners say they’re more likely to list with an estate agent who offers to create a video for them. There are numerous ways to bring video into your marketing strategy: general information videos (e.g. what to look for when touring a new home for sale), how-tos (e.g. how to prepare your home for the market), Q&A live streams or even videos of local areas that give potential buyers a feel of the place.
6. Find a great affiliate marketing partner
Affiliate marketing can be of great use in your lead generation strategies. Put simply, good affiliate marketers increase your reach to a whole new audience of potential customers, driving traffic to your property site in return for commission. For example, our affiliate partnerships generate hundreds of valuation appointments for clients every month, via a dedicated booking form which we link to relevant areas of our sister website, propertypriceadvice.co.uk.
7. Speak at property events
Digital may be taking over the property world, but human interaction is still a highly powerful tool to boost your lead generation strategies. Research events in your local area and surrounding areas that are related to home buying, selling or investing – anywhere your house building company can provide value. It’s the perfect way to get your company name out to an actively engaged audience – make sure you have plenty of forms with you for prospects to fill in their details in exchange for more information.
8. Power-up with article placements and sponsored posts
Establish your property company as an industry expert by placing an article on a relevant website – in other words, one with actively engaged property enthusiasts. We offer housebuilders a range of benefits when they place an article within our targeted sections. Whether your company is more suited to our home-improvement content or moving home section, you’ll extend your reach to over 100,000 unique users a month. Our website propertypriceadvice.co.uk is popular and respected by our community, so we can speed up the ‘know, like and trust’ process and boost your lead generation strategies.
9. Offer email property listing updates
One of the most important lead generation strategies a housebuilder can utilise is an email newsletter. The sign-up for this should be noticeable on your website to encourage users to enter their details. Keep the actual email simple with a short list of notable, recent sales as well as a ‘featured property’ section, then send it out bi-weekly to keep leads engaged. Read more about our direct mail campaigns and how they can help your lead generation strategies.
10. Get seen with SEO
Search engine optimisation (SEO) increases your property site’s ranking in search engines, making web users more likely to see you for the related keywords you want to target. If your site and content meets their needs, you’ve got a strong chance to implement even more lead generation strategies and convert them into sales. SEO must be done properly though, Google is strict about cramming content with any old keywords – so see what people are searching for already with Google Search Console and use Google Analytics to see what keywords are already driving traffic to your website before you start.
