QR Codes have begun to make major inroads into a number of market verticals and are already having a significant impact in the US. Despite the traditionally staid view of Estate Agents, QR Code Marketing has allowed them to move far beyond the normal digital boundaries by connecting directly with clients through their smart phones.
Why?
Imagine a way to get customers to ‘pull’ information about properties from you. Normally Estate Agents must chase potential buyers through blanket marketing which can provide a limited amount of information. Flyers, newspaper advertisements, posters, business cards and signage all provide a way for potential buyers to contact you, but they cannot obtain all the information they require themselves.
Estate Agent websites provide some additional information to clients at their request, but such solutions are not necessarily available anywhere, anytime. Now imagine you could spice up your existing marketing materials to provide a way that buyers can pull all the information they want and more directly to their mobile phone.
QR Codes provide a way for customers to instantly access property information, whenever and wherever they may be. When used properly as part of your marketing efforts, QR Codes can significantly increase the chances of making a successful property sale or letting.
How?
Designed as way for Toyota to track parts throughout their factories and assembly lines, QR Codes are new twist on barcodes. QR Codes are now available in a number of different colours and designs, which when scanned with a smart phone app allow instant access to a website or other content of your choice.
Think of your average newspaper property listing. One or two pictures and 5 or 6 lines of descriptive text are all you have to pique a buyer’s interest and encourage them to get in contact with you. If the text or photo is slightly off, enquiries and viewings will suffer, reducing sales potential.
Replace some of that text with a Quick Response Code and your potential buyer can access full property details, including a walkthrough video, geographic information and a contact form through which they can arrange a viewing. The immediacy of QR Code Marketing will convince your clients to give each property a deeper inspection; the multimedia aspects will give buyers a detailed insight of the property before wasting your time and theirs on viewings of under-explained properties. QR Codes are win-win for buyers and Estate Agents alike.
Your agency’s signs are designed and placed to draw maximum attention from passersby and so your QR Code must be added to them. Add all your usual contact details, but provide a code allowing instant access to more information.
Value Added Services
QR Codes can be printed on any marketing material including traditional property signs for immediate use by interested parties and generally they will point to a mobile version of your agency’s website. But through some clever implementations, you can make this more than just a mobile browser experience.
Video Walkthroughs
When listing a property, take a walkthrough video to give the potential buyer a realistic understanding of the property straight up. Link the video to your QR Code for immediate retrieval.
Location Based Services
Link the QR Code to a detailed page about the property, ensuring it contains other ancillary information which may answer some other potential buyer questions. Display a map with property location using a free service such as Google Maps or Bing. Highlight other information which raises the property value such as proximity to a station or high-achieving school. Take the opportunity to raise your portfolio profile by denoting other properties you are advertising.
Appointment Booking
Provide a form to allow potential buyers to book a viewing. Make the form quick and simple so that the person scanning your code on impulse will also book a viewing on impulse.
QR Success Tips
QR Codes are incredibly easy to create and deploy but there are a number of things to bear in mind if you want your mobile marketing campaign to rise above mediocrity.
Educate your users
QR codes are becoming more familiar with the general public, but it pays to provide very basic instruction on how to use them along with any code. On your property signs, try adding an App Store logo and suggested QR code scanning app for both Android and iOS smart phones. QR Code scanner apps are available free for all major smart phone platforms.
Blanket coverage
To help increase familiarity and the chance of codes being scanned, put them on every printed item your agency produces. Newsletters, flyers, newspaper ads and property signage are all suitable. Wherever you place an advert, place your QR Code.
Get creative
QR codes need not be restricted to just print outlets. If you have a company car, add your QR code to it turning it into a moving billboard. You can even add them to emails and web pages as users can still scan QR Codes from screens.
Make sure it’s right
When producing QR Codes, make sure that you have tested the 2d barcodes yourself with a smart phone before releasing it to the public. Faulty QR Codes will damage your brand reputation and dissuade customers from trying again.
You will also need to have a mobile-optimised website set-up which is specially designed to display your properties at their very best on a smaller screen. It is tempting to simply redirect users to your normal website or RightMove listings, but this strategy results in a dissatisfying browsing for the buyer. Anything that is dissatisfying is also less likely to result in a sale or let.
Moving on
Be creative with your Property QR Codes and mobile website landing pages to generate information which is also of use to your estate agency. QR Codes facilitate two-way communication when designed correctly:
List Building
When the buyer lands on your website, encourage them to leave some contact details. Get the visitor to sign up to a newsletter, enter a prize draw or book a viewing. You can then couple information about the property viewed with their contact details to inform about other similar properties which become available.
Social Media Marketing
QR Codes can also be used to link clients to your company Facebook page or Twitter account. Encourage buyers to subscribe to either for future updates with a QR Code. When used correctly, social media platforms provide a way for you to advertise properties to a wide audience and encourage them to re-share information, spreading your marketing message far and wide.
Track, Analyse, Refine
Your Property QR Code Marketing Campaign needs to be carefully tracked and monitored to allow for refinements and adjustments that will ensure maximum return on investment. A platform such as QR-Reactor can track each and every time a QR Code is scanned along with other useful information such as location to give a holistic view of the campaign and its success. Armed with such information it becomes easy to tweak the campaign for maximum effectiveness.
The experience of Estate Agents (or Realtors) using QR Codes in the US clearly demonstrate a significant benefit to the business. To find out more about how your Estate Agency can benefit, contact Paul Lakeman on 07799 897 614. Our unrivalled experience in QR Code Marketing coupled with estate agency marketing experience will help turn your mobile marketing efforts from a dream to a money-making reality.