5 things your real estate brand hasn’t done, yet

Here are 5 things every real estate agency brand can do this year to attract new clients in your community that your competitor down the road probably hasn’t done.

I’ve worked with probably 100 businesses in the real estate industry here in Australia over the last 5 years and in that time it’s mostly been real estate agencies who, for the most part, have believed they do it differently for their customers. But if their customers walked 100 steps down the street to their closest competitor, they’ll likely have the same experience or at least see them doing the same things around the surrounding area.

So we all know the standard, table-stakes things every real estate agency needs:

• A team with a sales process

• Sales listings on real estate portals (eg. Domain in Australia)

• Website with sales listings

• For Sale/For Lease boards

• Open Home signage

• A rent roll + property maintenance system

• Maybe a uniform or clothing items

• Office signage

• Stationery

Tick, tick, tick, job done, yeah? Again, this is table stakes.

Now you might have your own sales process that works for you, amazing if you do and it replicates success each time.

However, what most real estate agencies aren’t doing, is differentiating themselves at the top of the funnel to be chosen for anything other than favourable sales stats and low commission. Which is of course what works best for that agency who appears in the number 1 spot based on those stats, but what about the other 5-20 real estate agencies in that area, which might be your agency? Especially if you’re the independent agency, most independents are in the number 3 or lower spot up against the national real estate agencies. Sound familiar?

And there is plenty you can do to differentiate yourself, with everything from purpose, to strategy, the identity of your agency/team, how you promote your brand and how all this enhances your reputation. So instead of banging on about strategy like I have in previous posts, let’s get tactical with things your agency can do as soon as tomorrow.

Selling Awareness, not just houses

So when I mentioned your ‘funnel’ just before, I’m referring to your acquisition funnel, some even call it your marketing funnel.

At the top is Awareness, followed by Consideration, then Conversion as they convert into a paying customer.

If people aren’t aware of you, they aren’t going to consider you and your awesome sales process to convert them isn’t even going to be a starter. If your brand is showing up, increasing awareness and giving locals a reminder each time they see your brand so that when it comes time they need a real estate agent to sell their home or manage their property, they’re more likely to consider the agency they are most aware of…all because you’re the one that showed up the most and come to mind the easiest.

So I’m gonna give you 5 things you can do to help you at the Awareness level. To ensure your brand is present and people are not just aware but they are constantly reminded of your agency by showing up in ways and places your competitors aren’t. Because sometimes it takes several impressions to create awareness and then consideration when the customer is in need. Of course any agency at any level can do these things and who knows, maybe that agency down the street will copy you because of it, which in the case of these things, will be for a greater good.

1. Garbage bin stickers

Not the most boujee of ideas, but stick with me on this one. Depending on your state in Australia (or wherever you are in the world), you of course have your For Sale or For Lease boards up for as long as possible. But in some areas you’re only allowed to have them up for a certain period of time, especially after a sale, these billboards need to be taken down after a few weeks.

So here’s the idea, you make ‘Slow Down 50km/h’ stickers (or whatever the speed limit at those particular houses) that have your agency's branding on them and give them to your clients to put on their bins to support your local area to stay safe. What council is going to be unhappy with that? You could spend the money on large billboards or bus signs, or with this idea you only need to spend the money on stickers for each new client or property management client. In return you get weekly exposure in your area when those clients put out their bins.

You might also give them away for free from your office so that people come in and you have a new opportunity to connect with those people in your area who might be in the market to sell or invest.

2. Welcome to the neighbourhood cards

When you sell a property you’ll probably send a congratulatory gift to your seller/vendor. Maybe also for the person that bought the property. And if that buyer has bought the property as a home, this is your opportunity to welcome them to the neighbourhood. 

So in that congratulations card, branded with your agency’s branding of course, is not just a small greeting card. It’s a large welcome to the neighbourhood card that you actively knock on the doors of the neighbouring properties and ask them if they’d like to write in the card to introduce themselves to the new owners with their name, house number and maybe even contact number. 

Now of course this is an above and beyond kind gesture that addresses the stat of 1 in 3 Australians not even knowing their neighbours by name. But it’s also a potential opportunity to introduce your agents face to face to those in your community and that opportunity may even turn into the start of a sales conversation. Some will appreciate the gesture and get in on it willingly and some won’t want a bar of it of course. But these ideas are about new ways your agency can engage with your community on a personal level that is community-first, rather than sales-first.

3. Christmas present drive

This is a good one that one of the agencies in my local area do each year in partnership with our local radio station and charities. Really simply, you’re collecting Christmas presents for kids in less-fortunate families.

If nothing else, you’re supporting your local community and being the conduit for goodwill that supports the efforts of charities. But it does give you the opportunity to be present in your community by posting up billboards and signs that promote the effort and of course have your branding on them.

It also is an opportunity to connect with the people that come into your office to drop presents in, just the same as the garbage bins stickers. 

4. Sports and community organisation sponsorship

Now you’re probably rolling your eyes at this one, as it’s a typical go to for most businesses. That said, this oldy is still a goody as it can mean permanent signage at sports grounds and community organisation centres, and even walking billboards on clothing your agency logos are applied to and worn around town when people wear the team merch.

Get out there on game day with a tent, your team and a sausage sizzle or treat stand and once again you’re showing up as much as you are at open homes, to create awareness, and even consideration.

5. Merch shopping trolley bags

Here’s one that blows people’s minds. If you’ve ever shopped at Aldi, you need to pack your own bags, often at a rate that will get your heart rate up and your back spasming. But most people will just put things back into their shopping trolley and then pack their shopping bags.

Now there are these great sets of 4 shopping bags that have bars across the top and velcro to connect each of the bags so that they concertina out and sit across the top of the shopping trolley sides. People literally watch you as you pack your items into these bags at the checkout and walk straight out without needing to further pack bags on the counter. I’ve had these for 10 years and people still ask me about them.

Ok now that I’ve explained that one, the obvious idea here is to get sets of these made that have your logo printed on them and are in your brand colours if possible. These can be gifts you give out, or even sell them to your community if they wanna buy them from your office…bonus points if you add a bit of a margin on top of the cost to then contribute that profit to charities or local organisations. Again it’s another walking billboard rolling through the local supermarkets any day of the week.

It might not even be shopping bags, it could be umbrellas, car windscreen sunshades, coffee cups supplied to your local cafe of choice or even dog leashes.

Some other ideas:

• Dog poop bags stand at dog parks.

• Small community library stand boxes

• Colouring in books of places in the local area to give to schools, dentists/doctors surgeries, cafes/restaurants

These are just a few things that might give you some inspiration for things that can enhance your community to thrive, while having a dual purpose to help create awareness.

Of course these take some effort and a bit of coin to do some of these things, but think about what you’re making on the sale of one $1M property sale and a portion of that alone could go towards one or a few of these efforts. It’s essentially your marketing budget.

Community brand practice

You’ve probably noticed the common theme throughout these awareness ideas to get your brand top of mind, it’s community brand practice. Brands excel when they stand for more and are remembered for more than just the product or service they sell. Your brand is a conduit between your agency/team and your customers and if you can captivate and connect with them, especially when you take away your product or service, you have a brand. 

You don’t need to do this stuff and there are plenty of other ways to market your agency at scale, with things like digital marketing that I’ll cover in another article in the future. But with these kind of on-the-ground, tangible efforts, you’re giving people something more than what they expect of a real estate agency, let alone any business that engages directly with its local community. You’re doing more than your competitors and that may just be the thing that helps people become aware of your agency, consider your agency when needed and hey, they might just convert into a client because of all the other things you do in your community, and the sales stats and commission rate are just a bonus.

So give your real estate brand a shot at a new brand of branding that you might not have already tried, by amping up your brand awareness efforts that lead people to water, i.e. your agency and even recommend you to others.