According to information from the National Association of Realtors, there are over 360,000 real estate brokerage firms in the United States alone. And all of them have multiple agents working to make a name for themselves. With all that competition, how can you stand out from the pack? Here are five tips to differentiate your real estate business from competitors.
Design high-quality posters and graphics
Buying a house is a big deal. And buyers want to know they’re working with a professional as they go through making potentially the largest purchase of their lives. Make your business look more professional than the rest with high-quality graphics and posters.
Your marketing materials are the face of your business. It’s what buyers see first when they read about your listings, so you have to make a good impression! Since you’re busy showing properties and writing contracts, you probably don’t have time to design professional posters from scratch.
Luckily, there are thousands of free templates for real estate posters available from websites like PosterMyWall. Simply choose the template that best fits your real estate business’s brand, customize the information with the easy drag-and-drop editor, and you’re ready to post.
Upload your professional posters to social media, your website, or print them out to distribute around town or place in your listings.
Run online ads showcasing your unique value propositions
There are definitely services you offer that are unique to your real estate business. The problem is that most people don’t know what they might be. Spread the word about your unique value propositions with online ads.
For example, maybe you have a close relationship with one of the best inspectors in the area and can get more in-depth and perhaps even cheaper pricing compared to other real estate firms. Take out an ad that showcases that unique value so buyers know if they want the best inspections before they buy to go to you.
You can place ads on social media or search engines to get your unique value propositions in front of more people quickly. Social media ads are especially effective because you can choose the target demographic and the price. Plus, with over 5 billion active social media users worldwide, it’s easy to reach an extremely wide audience.
Share customer testimonials
You telling people about how your business is better than the competition is one thing. Obviously you’d think that! But other people saying your business is the best resonates more with other potential buyers, helping you look better than others in the industry.
According to research, 72% of consumers claim that reading positive testimonials and reviews make them trust a business more, and 88% trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Whenever you complete a transaction for a client, encourage them to write a review. Reviews can be posted online to build your reputation in searches and social media, while testimonials can be uploaded to your website and social media feeds.
Reviews are all about quality and quantity. It’s important to get as many positive reviews as you can, so focus on amazing service for your clients and possibly even offer incentives.
Start a blog
Your unique knowledge of the real estate industry in your area can be a huge differentiator for your business. Buyers and sellers want to know they’re working with the most knowledgeable professionals available. And one of the best ways to establish yourself as a thought leader is to start a blog.
Write plenty of articles explaining common issues buyers and sellers might run into as they navigate the potentially confusing real estate process. Not only will your knowledge impress potential clients, but it’ll also boost your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), helping your business show up higher in the search results and get more traction online.
Find a niche
Your area of expertise can also separate your business from the competition. If you simply market your business as a “real estate agency,” you’re in competition with all other 360,000+ agencies in the country. But if you promote your business as a “luxury real estate agency,” you’re no longer competing with budget-friendly agencies, commercial agencies, or anyone else who’s not specifically working in the luxury market. That reduces the competition drastically.
Choosing a niche is a great way to eliminate competition and help your business stand out. The more specific the niche, the fewer competitors you’ll have to deal with.
Make your real estate business stand out from the competition
There’s a lot of competition in the real estate market and only so many houses to sell. To help your business stand out from the pack, start by designing professional graphics to showcase your listings, running online ads to highlight your unique value propositions, sharing customer testimonials on social media and your website, writing blogs and articles to establish yourself as a thought leader, and finding a specific niche.
When you set your business apart from the competition, buyers and sellers alike will be waiting in line to work with your real estate business.
