Internet crucial piece of real estate marketing

Real Estate Weekly, May 17, 2000 by Len Dugow

The movers and shakers of real estate development are among the late arrivals to the great Web party that has revolutionized business practices in almost every sector of our economy. In fact, many in the real estate business are still "arriving" - on their way. As an industry we have not yet tapped even half of the Internet's remarkable potential for advertising and marketing real estate.

The savvy developer who is ahead of the curve - and integrates cyberspace opportunities with traditional advertising and marketing - will reap the many rewards that come from deploying a fully integrated program. At LD&A we are so confident in the importance of the Internet for selling real estate that we have created a New Media Division, under the direction of new-media guru Christopher Santee, to help market brands such as The Ritz-Canton, Four Seasons and The Related Group of Florida. We view the Internet as the last and most crucial piece of the real estate marketing puzzle.

Here are just a few of the ways in which developers can benefit from an Internet marketing program:

* Pre-qualify the buyer. Internet buyers prequalify themselves as they browse, and they are grateful for the chance to do so, as they consider it empowering. By the time they speak with a sales representative they often know the type of unit in which they are interested, the price, the lay-out, availability and innumerable other details right down to the schedule of classes at the on-site fitness center. The Web so empowers the buyer that sales (even in the multi-million dollar range) have been made online, without the buyer having set foot in the property until the closing.

* Market developments locally or worldwide at little additional cost. The Web is the most efficient and cost-effective tool for reaching customers outside the immediate geographic area. In cyberspace it is just as easy to target a worldwide audience as a local one. The Web is also the most truly scalable marketing and communications tool in existence. Online, one automatically increases the scale of the audience reach from hundreds to millions.

* Develop relationships with buyers. Services such as links and chats, e-mail newsletters and customizable features can easily be provided to give browsers the feeling that they have an ownership stake in the site, and hence the development it represents. Most companies undervalue the opportunities for mass customization" and limit their Web sites to strictly informational purposes. Yet, the Internet offers a way to reach people that is more personal than print, radio and television advertising.

* Sell a lifestyle. At the high end of the real estate market, people don't just buy product; they also buy a lifestyle. The Internet can be more effective at communicating vivid, attractive lifestyle messages than any other marketing tool. There is the opportunity to incorporate virtual tours, stunning panoramic photography, video downloads, floor plans and captivating narrative descriptions. Being three-dimensional (visual, textual and aural) gives Web sites a power that traditional print collateral does not have.

With all these benefits in mind, it is important for a Web site to be done right. Poorly designed or difficult to navigate sites can be as harmful as they might be helpful. A more common error is to fail to coordinate the online collateral with the other elements of a marketing campaign. Poorly conceived Web sites often fail to deliver the key marketing and lifestyle messages, fail to give viewers the same warmth and fuzziness as print collateral and seem to contradict the messages conveyed in advertising.

According to Iconocast, an e-commerce newsletter, 40 percent of homebuyers use the Web in their home-buying process regardless of price. Those in the real estate industry who fail to market via the Web are losing an opportunity to reach a substantial proportion of their market. As the real estate marketplace continues to become more and more competitive, the intuitive developer will be one that effectively uses every tool available in the marketing mix.