Estate agencies need to find better ways to connect with their prospective buyers/tenants. Phone calls and emails can be easily missed and are too expensive. This is where SMS can help deliver the information your audience needs – right into their pockets.
Using SMS or other mobile messaging channels for real estate is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to keep your customers and tenants in the loop. Here are the top benefits and how to get started with mobile messaging for real estate.
Why mobile messaging works so well in the real estate space
Meet your audience where they already are
Reach customers, prospective or otherwise, in real-time where they’re most likely to be found. 91% of the world owns a mobile phone so there are few communication channels more accessible and convenient than mobile messaging.
Channels like SMS, RCS and WhatsApp get your messages seen and heard.
Stand out from the crowd
With open rates as high as 98% for SMS and 99% for WhatsApp, channels like SMS and WhatsApp can help you ensure prospective buyers and tenants are kept informed.
You’re also boosting the chances of an action taking place (e.g. booking a house viewing, paying rent on time etc), especially if you take advantage of various features, such as WhatsApp Business platform’s rich functionalities or SMS’s ability to grab attention anytime and anywhere.
Improve cost efficiency
Mobile messaging allows you to have one-on-one conversations with your audience. For example, use WhatsApp Business Platform to reduce no-shows by sending reminders about upcoming property viewings. The rich nature of WhatsApp allows you to include interactive buttons within your messages that allow prospective buyers to reschedule the appointment or a map location so they can find the property more easily.
Or, send texts with links to personalised portals where tenants can pay their rent. This can help ensure rent is paid on time and reduces your reliance on traditional communication methods, such as sending paper letters or emails which may become lost.
Streamline process efficiency
In addition to keeping buyers, tenants, landlords and vendors informed, the right mobile messaging solution will also be straightforward for your team to manage. When integrated with your back office software, such as your CRM system, take advantage of automations so rent reminders, viewing alerts, upcoming inspection dates and more can be sent to the right people.
You can also benefit from two-way chats so your customers can receive support via their preferred channel. Plus, conversation history is saved within the single chat and it doesn’t time out!
How to use mobile messaging in real estate
Here are some of the top ways you can use mobile messaging for the real estate sector:
- New property alerts
- Rental inspection reminders
- Rent payment reminders
- Viewing confirmations and reminders
- Tailored property recommendations
- Data cleansing
- Virtual business card
- Application follow-up notifications
- Sharing documents e.g. rental agreement
- Maintenance work reminders
- Internal communication
- Changes to opening hours
Maximise sales and rentals when you use mobile messaging for the property sector
When used properly, mobile messaging is a powerful tool that’s well worth adding to your communications stack. By directly connecting with your customers and allowing them to choose their preferred messaging channel, you make them feel valued, provide a better experience and can build stronger relationships.
Adding mobile messaging capabilities into your existing toolkit can be easy, particularly if you work with the right messaging partner. To find out more, get in contact with us today.
Mayzin Han
Marketing strategist with 8 years of experience, 5+ of which in B2B tech. Currently the Senior Marketing Program Manager at Commify, I work closely with field marketing teams who sit across EMEA and APAC to strategise and create campaigns that meet customer and prospect needs. My background in content marketing means that I'm passionate about all things words, grammar and punctuation. In my free time, I like to run, box and torture myself at spin class because lots of cardio means you can eat what you want!
