The corona effect: virtual tours, digital rental contracts — advantages of digital real estate marketing
For a long time, it was said that the German real estate sector was lagging behind digitization. Since the coronavirus has crippled society in many ways, there is a trend in the real estate sector: Digital marketing is becoming more popular.
The current situation requires adjustments to be made in almost all areas of life. Everyone feels the effects — both in their private daily routine and in everyday working life. The corona pandemic has also changed a lot for the real estate sector. While the real estate bubble has so far failed to burst, the impact of Corona has largely been felt in marketing so far. Official contact restrictions, strict travel requirements and, as a result, perhaps also personal concerns on the part of buyers and sellers, put a stop to the classic tour. But this also offers an opportunity — namely to rethink the process of real estate marketing, to position yourself in a future-oriented manner and to work more digitally. There was a boom in virtual tours. For all parties — brokers, sellers and buyers — this results in positive side effects.
Benefits of digital real estate marketing at a glance
Digital real estate marketing offers many advantages. Options include virtual tours of existing properties or photorealistic renderings objects still under construction. In the latter case, a realistic 3D visualization extremely shorten the buying process. Many potential buyers have little idea of just a few sketches and floor plans. Even if the imagination, based on a floor plan, is sufficient to arouse genuine buying interest, it is more photorealistic, emotion-provoking images that reliably provide incentives to buy. Digital real estate marketing is also an efficient means for existing properties. By offering virtual viewings, the real estate agent is able to meet a much higher demand as if he had to appear in person for every viewing. Visits that lead to emptiness are also easier to cope with in terms of time. Viewing fluctuations, such as increased appointment requests on Mondays or at certain times, are also easier for the broker to absorb. Ultimately, the seller also benefits from this efficient processing of viewing appointments, for whom it is enormously easier to sell his real estate. The buyer is able to complete many viewings in a very short time, without a time-consuming chain of appointments, which is often difficult to reconcile with everyday life and employer. For real estate agents, web analytics tools then represent a reliable means of evaluating virtual visits, a completely new way to separate the wheat from the chaff — or even sightseeing tourism from the real interested party
Conclusion:
Virtual tours therefore lead everyone involved to their destination more quickly. With so many advantages, many are wondering why the German real estate industry did not focus more on digital real estate marketing much earlier. This could be due, for example, to broker concerns that personal customer contact is an essential part of marketing. Although this argument cannot be denied, there are solutions to this as well. For example, it is possible to take the virtual tours together with potential buyers.
Many real estate agencies may also feel pressure to change when it comes to their Internet presence due to the current situation. Where there is less customer contact and personal conversation, many potential buyers will take more initiative when it comes to research. Whoever swims in the flow of time here will win the race. Webinars and support chats are just two examples of how you can score points with digital customer service — not just in the current situation. Digital marketing offers countless opportunities here. Professional white papers that cover current industry topics, and video marketing, are ideal ways to make a good impression online. Bureaucracy can also be improved with digital processes: Some real estate agencies are already using digital rental contracts here, for example.
Digital marketing and new opportunities for real estate marketing
- Virtual tours of existing properties
- Photorealistic 3D visualizations of objects that are still under construction
- Analysis tools for customer evaluation of virtual tours
- Webinars with multiple stakeholders
- Joint virtual tours with the customer
- Information webinars on buying or selling real estate
- Support chat for customers
- Offer white papers for download