How to Future-Proof Your Real Estate Business

If you were to look into a crystal ball, you might be able to see into the future. Unfortunately, crystal balls are few, and those few do not work very well. You will have to rely on something else for your forecast. Of course, no one knows with certainty  what the future holds   . You might not know where the real estate market will be in three months or six months or five years, but you  can   observe its direction. And you can certainly prepare for whatever comes along the way.

There is no doubt that, in the immediate future , a move toward technologies that reduce the need for close human contact will continue. Real estate agents have worked to adapt amidst the coronavirus , offering online meetings and solutions for contact-less open houses. Even before a worldwide pandemic broke, a drive toward digital tools was on (for example, most buyers and sellers prefer listings with 3D tours ). And savvy agents have joined the movement.

Yet, at the same time, consumers are smothered by a glut of digital information, and their attention to any particular message is short-lived. For that reason (and many others), tried and true methods for getting out a message are as important as ever. Print advertising should remain a priority in your marketing mix.

So, without a crystal ball at your disposal, how do you know what direction to take to future-proof your real estate business?

Understand your customers

The only thing absolutely certain about the future is that it will look different than today. Things change. People change. 

Each generation behaves differently than the next or the last. Millennials and Generation Z each have characteristics different from one another and from Gen Xers or Baby Boomers. Those characteristics impact the way they perceive and interact with the market. Fail to follow those changes and your business will lag behind, since those younger buyers and sellers make up most of the real estate market.

Of course, age is only one important demographic. It is essential that you keep your finger on the pulse of a number of factors to stay up to date and ready for the future.

Understand your properties

In keeping with the concept of change, there was a day in real estate when a house was a house. Along came digital tools that impacted the way homes were marketed and clients were engaged. Still, a house was a house. Today, however, the property and the digital realm have been married. The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things means more homes are being equipped with internet-connected applications for access, entertainment, energy management, security, safety, and more.

If you fail to understand the emerging technology, you miss out on a host of opportunities ranging from thirty-somethings who appreciate the interconnectedness to seniors who hope to maintain independence.

Understand the times

It really does not matter where you fall on the spectrum: whether to you COVID-19 is a serious threat or whether coronavirus is a hoax intended to enslave us all. Either way, there is absolutely no argument that its presence has radically altered how business is done. That should be a cue to operate in a way that allows for change as a matter of course.

There has been a lot of talk of a “new normal” in the wake of stay-at-home orders and social distancing. But really, things are not “normal”, nor does normalizing the tendencies of today ensure success tomorrow. Yes, social distancing has changed the way business is done – maybe for good – but it has not cemented into place a single “new” way of doing things. It has signaled the need to be flexible for whatever comes down the pike.

Understand your options

Future-proofing your real estate business hinges not only on your understanding of the nature of your clients, your properties, and the times in which we live, but also on understanding what tools you have at your disposal.

When a collision repair mechanic receives a crashed car in his work bay for repairs, he cannot know up front what he will encounter when he gets into the job. Every collision is different and causes damage in a different way. The replacement parts and tools needed – even the strategy behind the repair – can differ greatly from one job to the next. It is familiarity and experience with each tool in his toolbox that enables him to select what is appropriate for every repair.

In the same way, an agent has a set of tools not to be used over and over again for the same effect, the “way we’ve always done things”, but to engage in whatever the market brings. Sure, there are new marketing tools coming to the fore all the time – and those should be investigated. But trusted traditional approaches remain effective as well.

The task is to select the tools that are appropriate for the day, and to make sure your toolbox is fitted with enough of the right tools to get the job done, no matter what today’s “crash” brings along.

Consider some of the tools you might include in your toolbox:

 3D virtual showcases for listings. If you want to sell homes faster and at a higher price, you will want to include 3D virtual tours (such as the Matterport Digital Twin ) in your listings. Immersive 3D tours are loved by home buyers , sellers, and agents alike and have become an expectation, especially for your higher-end offerings.

 Real estate videos. Where virtual tours shine when it comes to allowing buyers to investigate every square foot of a property from the comfort of their own living rooms, all the way down to taking measurements of walls and doorways, a real estate video brings a property to life with the power of story. Everyone loves a good story. You can fashion a message that highlights a house, a neighborhood, a community, an event, a testimonial, or anything else that will grab the attention of your audience with real estate video marketing .

 Virtual tour of your business. It is essential to paint a property in its best light; why not employ the same logic to your business? More and more, consumers are turning to the internet to search for businesses. According to Google, more than forty percent of those searches are done through mapping sites. When you include a 3D tour of your office on Google Street View, you show consumers what you want them to see, you prevent incorrect imagery from representing your business, you lend customers a sense of security and confidence when they visit in person, and you increase engagement. You even bolster your SEO strategy in the process.

 Social media and other online engagement tools. By now, it is likely that you are using email regularly as a communication tool. You might even use it as part of an email drip marketing campaign. But what about other online platforms, especially social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more? Engagement on these sites is important today and key to tomorrow. If you are not yet taking advantage of social media for customer and community engagement, you are missing out on much of the market. And you are letting go precious opportunities to develop and maintain relationships with people in the digital age.

 Drone Photography. Another tool in your arsenal is drone photography . Once only available when shot from a plane or helicopter, aerial footage is now easy to acquire. It engenders a sense of space and awe and wonder when included in a listing. The product might not be right for every listing, but it is an important tool nonetheless because people have come to expect to see a property from all angles.

 HDR photography. This one is right for every listing. Sure, you can shoot a series of cell phone pics and post them to the MLS (it is amazing how many agents do that), but if you want to be competitive, especially into the future in this hyper-technical age, you will employ the services of a professional photographer who can provide HDR photography for your online and print materials. Yes, your iPhone is capable of HDR, but unless you invest the time into learning how to take the perfect shot, a photography service is your best bet.

 Print advertisement. How do old-school print products like postcards factor into future-proofing your business? Simple: old does not mean outdated. Just as a ballpoint pen did not render a pencil useless, the drive to digital has not left print services behind. In fact, in all of the digital noise, quality (and targeted) print products stand out from the crowd. And in a world where social distancing is the phrase of the day – and likely the next several days – print communications are as valid as digital ones. Moreover, a creative brochure or other print product excels at piquing interest and drawing people in – even those who were not actively looking – while digital messages allow them to dig deeper into the details.

Here is the bottom line: to future proof your real estate business you need not dig a trench of techniques and technologies. That only serves to create a rut from which it is difficult to move with the changes to come. Rather, fill your toolkit with devices that can keep you flexible, and learn how to use them to their full advantage.

When you see a couple dancing on the ballroom floor – you know, the couple who floats effortlessly and skillfully to the sounds of Moon River or Fly Me To the Moon – what you are really watching is a man who holds in his repertoire, his toolbelt, an array of patterns or tools that he selects in the moment to navigate the floor and the crowd to the tempo and texture of the song. The dance is not choreographed. It is not performed the same way every time. It is fresh. New. In the moment. Both he and his partner respond to this moment and the next because they have trained to respond to any moment with the tools that they have.

Invest in your online presence. Invest in professional print products. Strike a balance with the tools that you have, and learn to use the tools that you do not yet have. Like the ballroom dancer, learn to react to conditions on the floor and the course of the music. Be ready for the next song in the queue. And the next. And the next. Then you will have no need for a crystal ball.

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