QR Codes and Text: The Advantages of Mobile Marketing in Real Estate

Mobile marketing is emerging as one of the best marketing strategies for real estate, as it is efficient, effective, and inexpensive. Mobile marketing is a focused approach, targeting those who express interest in your inventory, providing the buyer detailed information and photographs of properties over their mobile device, and providing the agent with the opportunity to gather the potential customer’s contact information and property preferences. Quite simply, it’s a win/win.

With estimates that over 91% of the American population use mobile devices, mobile marketing can reach more potential customers than ever before. Traditional forms of marketing, through newsletters, postcards, and brochures, have been the status quo for many years. Businesses that adopted email marketing programs were seen as on the cutting edge, delivering information to potential customers more quickly than print. However, with the emergence of mobile marketing, the sharing of information on properties is instant, delivered to anyone, anywhere. Imagine a college student sharing photos and property details about a potential rental property with parents or roommates through a mobile webpage while walking through the property. Imagine a broker instantly sharing photos and property details with another broker over lunch. Mobile to mobile, photos and details sent and received, anytime, anywhere, delivering efficiency that is unprecedented in real estate marketing campaigns.

While traditional forms of marketing seek to target certain types of properties to potential buyers, based on location, socio-economic factors, and previous buying patterns, nothing is more effective than delivering information instantly to consumers who request information on the property. Without having to wait to for an agent to return a call, without having to hope a paper flier is in the box, without having to do a prior search on MLS for a property in a certain neighborhood, potential customers can manage their own time and interests in their property search. Interested consumers scan a QR code or text a number listed on the property sign and relevant information is instantly delivered to the consumer’s mobile device. A call from the agent or a showing of the property can be scheduled though their mobile device, as well. Effectively ensuring that potential customers have access to information allows both customers and agents to be better informed and prepared to negotiate deals.

One might think with increased efficiency and effectiveness, mobile marketing is a marketing tool that only the most elite real estate companies can utilize. However, mobile marketing is actually very accessible and inexpensive. With minimal cost at the outset, production costs for mobile marketing campaigns are a fraction of traditional marketing costs. Printed products are also reusable, further reducing costs and waste. While a mobile website can be costly when commissioned independently, sophisticated mobile marketing software creates mobile pages for properties, eliminating the need for a stand-alone mobile website for the properties which are promoted via mobile marketing. Further, 99% of the marketing work is done by agents through the mobile marketing software, without the need for specialized or outsourced marketing specialists. This also means that businesses and agents have greater control of when and how the marketing message is created and delivered.

As consumers’ desire for convenience and necessity for portability continue to grow, a mobile presence for any real estate company is vital. Start your mobile marketing approach today to better meet the needs of your customers and position your business to grow in the mobile age.