Low-cost marketing can produce high rewards, say TVPN

Many experts are predicting that house price growth will slow for the remainder of the year as the cost of living crisis begins to bite. But this is not the time to put the brakes on marketing activity, according to online valuation tool specialists, The ValPal Network.

Rightmove recently suggested that a combination of affordability constraints and more properties coming on the market might even result in some prices falling slightly before the end of 2022 and estate agents are predicting a much slower market in 2023.

But ValPal’s Head of Marketing and PR, Steph Rady warns that agents should be preparing their businesses for the trouble ahead by concentrating on marketing techniques that won’t break the bank.

When businesses need to make cuts to weather an economic storm, marketing budgets are almost always first on the list. But studies have consistently shown that companies that market themselves during rough patches are the ones most likely to survive a recession.

Rady says: “This is an ideal time to consider low-cost marketing options – initiatives that won’t cost a fortune but will help you re-engage with your customers.”

And she argues that in many cases, the information that agents need to nurture potential leads is already at their fingertips.

“Take Data Mining as an example. Whether you’re letting or selling, having an automated lead nurture system such as MovePal, to send something as simple as an email or SMS message is a very low-cost way of re-engaging with hundreds or thousands of old contacts at the click of a button – why pay for new leads when you have untapped business sitting in your CRM?”

Rady believes that once initial contact has been established, the nurturing process should gently begin.

“You need to have a clear objective when re-engaging with your database. Which is where PropTech solutions such as the ValPal instant valuation tool come in handy - it gives you a reason to reach out. We find that the most successful database mining campaigns are highly topical with insight into the current market, always with the objective of asking the consumer to get an up-to-date valuation of their home. For any leads that aren’t ready to re-engage, nurturing software is vitally important to keep those cool and tepid leads interested and turned into hot leads when the time is right.”

Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective and sometimes taking things back to basics can lead to huge improvements long term. Word of mouth and referrals are an age-old practice, but are you confident your team is asking for the referral? A simple question of “do you know anyone looking to sell or let a property?” could open up your books to new opportunities with minimal effort and zero additional spend.

Having your team ask how potential leads found you will give you a far better insight into what is currently already working for you. It’s vital that you’re able to track every new lead that enters the business and how it came to you.

Tech solutions can also help when it comes to tracking the source of your lead generation. Take leafleting for example. The addition of a simple QR code driving traffic to your ValPal tool, means you can effectively measure how well the campaign has performed.

Finally, Rady recommends Facebook ads as a cost-effective solution.

“Our average cost per sales lead is £2-£4 at present. I truly believe this is one of the lowest cost forms of advertising available.

“It’s important, when it comes to Facebook advertising, that you’re offering something in exchange for the consumers’ personal information. This could be an instant valuation tool, like ValPal, which provides a valuation of their home. Alternatively, it could be downloading a free guide on a crucial topic in the sales or lettings sector.”

“Obviously, Facebook isn’t the only form of digital advertising available, but with its low cost and massive database (it has 2 billion users), if you want to be a little bit experimental with your advertising, it is one of the best options out there.”

Here at The ValPal Network, we can help you to achieve this and more. For more information on the services we provide, please contact us at team@valpal.co.uk or give us a call on 020 8663 4930.

For information on how we can help to grow your business online and generate leads effectively, you can check out our social media marketing service.

*The ValPal Network is owned by Angels Media, which also owns the Today sites