Think Property & Co
Marketing Strategy of a start up Real Estate Agency
The David and Goliath of Real Estate
Think Property is an independent owner operated real estate agency with a twist. Founders started this business to challenge the status quo of a relatively rigid industry by putting the customer first. They needed an online shop front that would reflect their unique and innovative approach and empower their prospective clients to become better equipped to make an informed decision on their forthcoming property investment, or rental. Think Property chose Digital White Space (DWS) because of their Melbourne-based team of strategic and digital marketing and creative expertise (whom also boast decades of experience in the industry).
Digital White Space believe that every business is unique and that their website, marketing and branding should reflect that.
Marketing & Business Goals
- Increase revenue through new customer acquisition and existing client retention;
- Increase brand awareness and equity;
- Drive targeted traffic to a customer-focussed website;
- Increase time on site; and
- Educate current and past customers on the direction of the business.
Industry Challenges
The challenges faced by Think Property & Co are not unique. These challenges stem from the often negative association and reputation of many Real Estate agents and landlords. Based on our our research in the initial phase of this project we found that:
- 84% of all respondents felt that it was difficult to navigate through Real Estate Agents websites to find what they were looking for.
- 82% of all respondents were frustrated with not knowing who their Property Manager was, which meant that they didn’t receive the expected level of customer service (in the industry this is know as the old “revolving door” of agents). This poor service often leads to issues around; rental arrears, an increase in vacancy rates and increased maintenance costs due to a slow or lack of first response and due diligence.
- 75% of respondents felt that their Agent did not know the area well enough and were therefore unqualified to provide advice on buying or renting.
Opportunities
Based on the aforementioned research findings, Think Property & Co in conjunction with DWS identified an opportunity to differentiate their brand by operating solely online (without a High Street location). Their aim was to capitalise on these challenges by:
- Operating solely online to be more agile and accessible for customers
- Building a brand with strong unique value propositions and a clearly communicated customer-centric approach;
- Creating a positive experience for customers by addressing their pain points and providing access to 24/7 local customer support;
- Providing relevant and insightful content and data that assists clients and prospects with their property search and assessment; and
- Providing an online platform for prospects and clients that is intuitive and easy to navigate for an optimised user experience.
The Solution
On behalf of Think Property & Co, the Digital White Space team addressed these opportunities and goals by applying their framework. Starting with the Discovery phase to understanding all the clients objectives, then Customer mapping from the tenants, landlords through to all the stakeholders which lead into developing a bold and differentiated brand. All of this was brought together in an integrated Marketing Strategy and executed through building an intuitive digital platform that clearly communicated their unique value proposition.
To achieve this, DWS took a customer-centric approach by crafting a website to support and encompass Think Property’s online-only business model, which was complemented by a digital and social media focused campaign strategy. This digital approach allows for active social listening and effective monitoring of consumer behaviour. This is achieved through the analysis of behavioural metrics including brand mentions, social sharing, open rates, click through rates, multi variant testing, exit rate analysis and goal path analysis amongst others. Ultimately, this results in a process of continuous improvement, Think Property & Co are able to quickly adapt to ensure that they are always providing the best service and content on the best platform.
The Design – Our Creative Approach
Based on the aforementioned research findings, DWS adopted a highly localised approach to the creative direction. Avoiding stock imagery and opting to capture the local flair of each individual suburb. Each photoshoot focused on local icons, amenities, unique spaces and other areas that buyers and renters would consider when making their application or purchase decision.
In order to create a memorable and distinct brand, the DWS team used neon colours and geometric shapes alongside grey and pine lime brights. These designs often feature a colloquialism or fun image with a dog (french bulldog dressed up) to ensure that the brand has a distinct personality and to show users that will be treated as individuals, not just generic customers.
Each suburb (referred to as a “stomping ground” on the site) serviced by Think Property & Co, boasts its own microsite featuring;
- Live RP data including median prices for buying and renting;
- Photography of the area including features which make the suburb desirable;
- Social media streaming for real time and relevant information on the area;
- The top haunts, local shopping strips, local eateries and lifestyle features; and
Articles, blogs and other relevant links.
Bespoke Website
The Digital White Space team chose the WordPress content management system (CMS) which is an open source platform industry leader so it is normally first to market with trending features and plugins. Additionally it is ideal for search engine optimisation (SEO), easy to use and mobile enabled in order to create a great user experience.
Social
The site is socially activated, enabling the directors to track and record customer or prospect feedback through analytics and measurement. The team at DWS also opted to include a range of plugins and API’s to harness all publishing and advertising of properties from Real Estate Advertising platforms such as REA, Domain etc. integrating listonce into the website. These feeds are then pushed through into the social media platforms. To enable this social media feature, the DWS team created multiple social media accounts for Think Property & Co. Including:
This approach benefits Think Property & Co with the reduction of manual uploads and syncing properties, as well as it benefits customers and users to easily refer and alert friends/family via social media on properties available.
Campaigns
Across all media, owned, earned and bought we ran promotional campaigns that drove impact, featuring them in specific lifestyle targeted spaces to drive impact and cut through.
Unique features
Following industry trends inline with a digital strategy all in order to maximize the benefits of SEO, a microsite for each suburb Think Property & Co services was created. Providing specific information for customers to understand the benefits of why they would want to live, rent or buy in the area, over twenty microsites feature:
- Articles
- Images
- Map of suburb
- Social posts
- Articles
- Demographic data
- Buy & lease median prices
Results
Think Property & Co is primarily online, with no high street location the site exceeded goal conversion rates by incorporating a process of continuous analysis and improvement. Through tracking user behaviour, exit page analysis and various tools. Then responding to the insights gained accordingly by crafting content, engaging call to actions, restructuring content, A/B testing creating more features and pages. Think Property & Co awarded by the REIV- Finalist in 2016 for Website of The Year Awards REIV!
