5 Ways to Make Your Real Estate CRM More Effective

A powerful CRM package can help you to track, manage and scrutinize all your customer interactions. In doing so, you can gain useful insights that could lead to new sales opportunities. You can also improve the level of service you deliver -- but only if you're using the CRM package to its fullest.

There are many ways to maximize the efficacy of real estate CRM, but here are five of the most significant.

1. Segment Leads

The chances are you acquire your leads through several different marketing channels -- both online and offline. Some may come to you via social media, while others might arrive via email marketing campaigns. In order to communicate to customers in a way they'll respond to, you need to segment leads in terms of key demographics and preferred channels.

Imagine you're trying to sell a million-dollar house in an exclusive area of your town. Communicating the opportunity to middle-earners who can't hope to afford such an expensive property doesn't just waste your time, it risks alienating potential buyers of the future. You can ensure that the right message gets to the right buyer -- via the most appropriate channel.

Imagine you're hosting a townhome in an exclusive part of town priced at around $600,000. If you were to send every contact details of such an expensive property, you'd risk annoying the prospective buyers whose budget is a fraction of that. You'll either come across as out of their price range or inconsiderate. Either way, there's a chance that people looking for small apartments and much cheaper houses will look elsewhere -- and never consider your real estate services again.

2. Personalize Marketing

The modern property buyer is more discerning than ever before. If you're sending generic messages about properties to no one in particular, connecting with potential buyers will become increasingly difficult. But if you can tailor a marketing message that speaks directly to the recipient, your chances of getting the message across increase significantly.

According to AgilOne Marketing, around 80 percent of real estate customers now expect a personalized buying experience. Imagine you're trying to sell a house to a client you know will be interested. Your chances of success will rise significantly if the information you send out features the buyer's name. A modern CRM package can automate these communications while ensuring they're fully personalized.

3. Build a Database of Contacts

Every lead you generate, query you receive and conversion your website generates needs to enter the "sales funnel." No matter how spurious the lead might appear, it has the potential to deliver sales -- even if it's several years down the line. Add your leads to the top of the funnel, and cultivate them over time with quality content, offers and regular communications.

Of course, developing a database of prospects and managing thousands of leads is a big job -- but it's something Michelle Hamshaw does successfully for her Seattle-based real estate business. She uses her huge database of contacts to ensure follow-ups are always executed in the right way and at the right time. She uses CRM software to ensure initial contact is always followed up. Simply by signing into the platform, Michelle is told who needs to be contacted and whether the follow-up should be done on the phone, by email, through the mail or on social media.

4. Track Lead Sources

If you've been in real estate for some time, you'll know that leads come from a wide range of sources - in both the online and offline worlds. Whether you're generating leads on Facebook, your website or during your open house events, you need to keep track of this information in order to gauge the efficacy of your various marketing efforts.

Imagine you have a modest marketing budget to grow your business. While you might think that Facebook advertising is the best way to spend it, your CRM platform might be telling you that -- based on historic and contemporaneous data -- email marketing delivers the best results.

But it gets even more impressive than that. Sophisticated software packages can let you know which source of leads works best for specific types of property. Who knows? Your marketing budget might be best spent across several different channels, including TV, radio, social media, email, pay-per-click and organic traffic. CRM software lets you know where to direct your precious marketing funds.

5. Improve Customer Service

Real estate firms must manage customer service in a unique way. Relationships don't always end in a sale, so regular communication and updates are crucial. Unfortunately, managing the unique customer relationships between Realtors and their clients is something a lot of CRM packages have failed at in the past. But CRM software designed by Realtors for Realtors is changing all that.

The biggest and most successful real estate companies in the world all need a robust CRM system -- particularly when they're experiencing a phase of rapid growth. Take Ruby Garage, for example. This major software developer was asked to create a social CRM package specifically for real estate companies.

Social media management, email marketing and various customer service tools were built into the package from the beginning. As a result, the firms that use the CRM platform created by Ruby Garage are able to nurture more sustainable relationships with past, current and prospective clients.

Based on previous conversations and viewings, the software is able to investigate customer preferences and communicate ideas and suggestions. In real terms, that might involve passing on information about prospective buyers are suitable properties based on information entered into smart search forms.

It doesn't matter whether you're working alone or running a large real estate business -- a powerful CRM package can help you to make the most out of your customer relationships.

To view the original article, visit the Contactually blog.