Agents and brokers can make the most of the latest martech tools by first identifying an area of expertise where they can build their brand, then forging lasting relationships with clients.
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The rise of AI makes it easier than ever to produce oceans of marketing content, but the increasing level of background noise makes it essential for brokers and agents to have a long-term strategy to stand out from the crowd. crowd.
Rather than adding to the noise, real estate professionals can make the most of the latest marketing technology tools by identifying a niche, growing their brands and building lasting relationships with clients.
These are some takeaways from martech thought leaders at Real Estate Connect New York on Tuesday.
Shayan Hamidi
“Martech is where marketing and technology come together – where you can leverage technology to improve your marketing, get better data, better insights, create better content, retarget and all that,” said Shayan Hamidi, founder and CEO of Rechat. “Understand where you can drive value on paper before you even touch tools, then start thinking about what tools can improve that. Make sure whatever you choose, it’s an ecosystem.
Rechat is an end-to-end sales and marketing solution that gives brokers and agents a one-stop solution for lead nurturing, brand building and sales support.
When it comes to marketing, lead generation and brand building are “the low-hanging fruit,” Hamidi said. But success in real estate is “more about how you can clarify your value, what you’re really good at, and communicate that.”
“Is the sheer volume of marketing content delivered through technology tools, portal applications, and agent-generated social media content making it more difficult for agents to reach customers? » asked Inman’s tech reviewer Craig Rowe.
Absolutely, agreed Hamidi and Dalit Jaggi, co-founder and COO of Revive real estatewhich helps sellers and agents make strategic renovations before the sale.
“It’s loud for us, it’s loud for your customers, it’s just noise everywhere,” Jaggi said.
“There’s a lot of noise and it’s about to get worse with all this AI stuff,” Hamidi acknowledged. “It’s just a lot cheaper to create content. This is called content without content.
According to Hamidi and Jaggi, the way to make yourself heard is not to dispense generic advice, but to develop an area of expertise and build long-term relationships.
Dalip Jaggi
“I think real estate agents have a really great opportunity to niche down and be known for something special in the real estate transaction,” Jaggi said. “Let’s say you say, ‘I’m in favor of people buying their second homes,’ or ‘I’m the real estate agent on the renovation team.’ If you are good at something, you are memorable and recognizable.
“If all you’re doing is just reshaping what’s there, if you’re talking about the same rates and what’s happening in the industry as everyone else, then it’s just noise,” Hamidi agreed. “It’s all about specializing. And it’s all about really focusing on a specific niche, whether it’s a type of demographic that you want to serve, the type of property that you want to specialize in, the types of services that you wish to offer.
The rise of AI and other changes in the industry mean “it’s extremely important that real estate agents start thinking of themselves as lifelong consultants,” Hamidi said. “And to do that, you have to be part of this journey with them all the time. So we’re thinking about how we’re generating value at all times, whether they’re in the market or not.
Jaggi said many agents used Restart Vision AI — a new tool that uses property photos to assess a home’s current value and renovation potential — to contact past clients and discuss how their options as buyers or sellers may have changed.
“The more you can be part of the conversation, the more you can take that consultant approach,” Jaggi said. “Now you’re creating inventory that may not have existed before. And that’s my biggest message: Right now, maybe it’s not about trying to get more leads or trying to get more market share. It’s about, “How do I access my current Rolodex and make my inventory?” »
A former broker himself, Hamidi acknowledges that “one of the major problems in the industry is that we are all reactionary. I don’t see many people taking a step back and having a three or five year plan for their brokerage or their business.
“I don’t think it’s a transactional business,” Hamidi said of the need to make long-term plans and build long-term relationships. “I think it’s a profession that you work in for your whole life and you’ll be a consultant for your whole life. And you have to show it today. Rates will probably go down and the market will probably get hot again, and you want to be the person they talk to at that time.
