As a realtor in 2020 you are probably busier than ever! You may have spent many hours last night carefully crafting an email only to realize that half of your recipients have archived it before you have had your morning coffee. As you look at your overwhelming daily calendar, it’s easy to imagine that there are emails which you should be sending, which just aren’t getting done.

Email was invented in the 1960s and has been used in businesses from the 1990s, so it’s easy for businesses to assume that their traditional email approach works, investing more resources in newer areas like social media. However, email is a highly cost-effective and valuable marketing technique. According to the DMA, 2019, For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42 .  Software is available that will do the work for you, making sure that you send personalized content at the right time. So read on for how to improve your open rates and click throughs!

The Right People

Targeting the right people with your emails is critical. 72% of consumers in 2019 only engage with marketing messages that are customized to their specific interests. How can you achieve this level of personalisation?

Segmentation is how you split your contact database into different categories, so that your emails are sent specifically to those who would find your content relevant. For example, HubSpot incorporates key information in your email database so that you will see your clients name and email address, their level of engagement, and many other pieces of useful information. You can then set up multiple lists, grouping together clients who would want to see similar content. Hubspot then maintains these lists dynamically, so contacts appear on the list if they meet the criteria when you are sending your email, but are removed if this is no longer the case.

The statistics show that segmentation works. Segmented email campaigns have 14.32% higher open rates than non-segmented campaigns. Marketers found a 760% increase in email revenue when using segmented campaigns. 

So how should you segment your contact database? Once you have collected information about your leads, there are numerous creative ways you can segment your list to ensure that your email always resonates. Below are several suggestions;

• LIFECYCLE

Your database likely contains leads who are at very different stages of their journey towards their final purchase. People who have expressed an initial interest may benefit from a guidebook about how to choose the perfect property, whereas clients who have spent some time receiving your emails may be ready for an offer of a free consultation.

• BUYER PERSONA 

A buyer persona is a fictional character, representative of a specific buyer that you wish to attract. By creating different buyer personas, you can market to each group in a more targeted and effective way, making your email feel personalized.

As a realtor, your leads can easily be divided into different buyer personas. For example, one kind of buyer persona is someone looking for their starter home. You can identify them as fitting this persona by age and income, among other information they provide. Another buyer persona will represent young growing families who have outgrown their initial premises and are looking for larger properties, near the schools and other amenities of their choice.

A third buyer persona may be of a retiree, who is downsizing and looking for a home that is suitable for the elderly. Some of your leads are looking to sell their homes and need an entirely different type of content.

If you are using email marketing software like Hubspot, you can classify your contacts according to buyer personas, so that when the perfect retirement home comes on the market, you can seamlessly send it those clients who match that persona. Now, each time your lead sees an email from you, they are more likely to open it, as you have established yourself as being in tune with their needs.

• LOCATION

Geography is particularly significant as a realtor. When emailing an advertisement for a property, consider only sending it to contacts looking for homes in that location. The actual location of your lead is also relevant, as you can send emails at times that sync with their time zones.

• SIGN UP CHANNEL

When you analyze your web metrics, one of the pieces of information available to you is the channel through which your lead reached you. If your lead comes through your social media platforms, you can send them email content that they may have missed by never reaching your website. This approach ensures that all your most exciting content ends up reaching every lead.

• DEVICE

• ATTENDANCE

Did a group of people attend a webinar you hosted? Or attend an open house? They can receive an email tailor made to their experiences.

• ENGAGEMENT

Your email marketing software keeps track of your open rates and click throughs, allowing you to differentiate between more engaged subscribers and those who are less active. With this information, you can target these groups differently. You may want to re-engage those who are less active with a specific campaign. Alternatively, you may wish to send emails more frequently to your active list, as you know these are being well received.

Now that you have all these groups of people organised, your content is likely to make its way to the right person. But how do you achieve this during your busy day?

Timing Is Everything

Email automation is the process of creating emails that are sent out automatically, triggered by time or a lead’s response. You can preset the marketing conditions that will trigger receipt of an email and then leave the system to do the rest. For example, a new subscriber to your blog will automatically receive a “Welcome” email.

How does this help you?

1. It saves you time! 

2. It nurtures your leads and ensures you don’t lose an opportunity to connect!

Every business wants to use their resources most efficiently. A 2017 Mailchimp survey of information workers found that 59% thought they could save at least 6 hours a week if repetitive aspects of their job were automated. 72% said they would use the time saved to focus on higher-value work. If you could meet with clients while your email marketing software does the work for you, you would benefit from the peace of mind and improved efficiency.

As for nurturing leads, since your customer triggered the automated email with his own behaviour, it is likely to be timely and relevant. With advanced marketing software such as Hubspots, you can do more than just ensure a welcome or thank you email goes out automatically. Complex workflows can be created whereby all the actions your customer subsequently takes will result in pre-arranged responses.

Automation allows you to control the volume and timing of the emails that you send. Since you have segmented your lists, you know that when it comes to volume, you don’t want a one-size-fits-all approach. Email automation takes the guess- work out of this, and facilitates customer retention. While it’s tempting to focus on new business, it costs 7x more to acquire new customers than retain existing ones.

Your customers are more likely to remain active subscribers if their level of engagement is matched by the compelling content they receive. On the flip side, a well timed encouraging email can help return a user to active status.

When it comes to timing your emails, the day - and even the time of day - that you send your email can be game-changing. Whilst the consensus is that Tuesday and Thursday are the best days to send your emails, statistics aren’t conclusive and vary within industries and buyer demographics. You may notice discrepancies between your buyer personas; your retiree may be more likely to open an email in the morning, whereas your young starter home millenials will open an email on their mobile even late at night. Check your own metrics to see what time of day and which days see the best open and click through rates and automate accordingly.

The Take-Away

Email marketing in 2020 doesn’t have to be challenging. Using segmentation, you can make sure that your email recipients are receiving personalised and relevant content. Automation takes the hard work out of a powerful and cost-effective marketing technique. Embrace this new approach and enjoy knowing that your emails are reaching the right people at the right time, every time.