Why Inbound Marketing Is Key to Buying a House

Why Inbound Marketing Is Key to Buying a House

Last December, my husband and I bought our first home.

I’ll be honest — we had no idea what we were doing.

And if I’m really honest? It seemed like the real estate industry had no idea what it was doing, either.

Sure, the realtors and mortgage lenders had their facts straight. They led us through the entire purchase process with ease.

But when it came to marketing, they were way behind the times.

Here’s why I believe inbound marketing should be an essential part of the home-buying process — and why the real estate industry (and others like it) need to step up their marketing game.

An Inbound Approach to Real Estate

First off, if you don’t know what inbound marketing is, read this post.

Back? Great.

So, remember that inbound marketing methodology flowchart? If you already forgot, it goes like this:Inbound Marketing Methodology

Basically, inbound marketing converts strangers into brand promoters by offering them the fun and educational content they want — for free — in the faith that they’ll come to trust and admire you so much, they want to buy from you.

This might sound too good to be true, but it’s not.

According to the comprehensive 2017 State of Inbound report by HubSpot, 68% of inbound marketers believe their marketing strategy is effective, while only 48% of outbound marketers believe theirs is.

It’s clear that outbound marketing is, well, out-bound — bound to roll right out the door. In fact, one-third of marketers consider outbound marketing tactics (like radio or print ads) their top waste of time and resources.

So why are so many industries — including real estate — still stuck in the past?

Let me take you along each stage of my home-buying journey to show you what I see as the flaws (and easy fixes) in the process.

Part 1: The Awareness Stage

June 2016: My husband and I realize we’re over apartment living.

We’ve been crammed into a third-floor, 700-square-foot loft for the last eight months, and we’re sick of it. We’re ready for our own walls to paint, our own garage to park in, and our own space to stretch our legs.

We notice some FOR SALE signs and realtor billboards around town, but we’re not ready to call yet. Even if we were, why would we take a chance on something (or someone) we know basically nothing about?

We’re looking for high-level educational content here — maybe a blog post on important tips to know before buying a house — but nothing crosses our path on social media or the web, which is where we spend much of our time.

We do take measures to get pre-approved for a home loan, but otherwise, we put the house search on the back burner for now.

Part 2: The Conversion Stage

October 2016: It’s getting cold, and we’re getting antsy.

We’ve started to seek out home-buying information online, and we’ve read a few helpful articles. Nothing is really tailored to our city or state, though, and the content is pretty blah — no intriguing videos, no interactive tools. It’s just a bunch of text.

We decide to take matters into our own hands. We sift through Zillow and Trulia (the only sites that show up in a Google search), and we jot down open house times. We even set up some appointments to tour specific homes with random, site-appointed realtors.

But when we show up at these homes, we’re greeted with a flimsy, colorless flyer listing a few facts about the house — if that. Sometimes, we leave the appointment with nothing more than a handshake and an (empty) promise that we’ll call the realtor later. (Um, isn’t that their job?)

Despite this lack of personalized help, my husband and I manage to find a home we love — on our own.

Since one of our good friends is a realtor, we call him up to get his advice. We’re glad to have him up our sleeve. If we didn’t, we’d be forced to call a number on the back of a bus-stop bench.

Doesn’t that just sound sketchy?

Part 3: The Close Stage

December 2016: At the encouragement of our realtor friend, we submit an offer.

After some negotiation with the sellers, a seemingly arbitrary appraisal and inspection, and several other tedious transactions, we’re finally ready to sign.

Can I just say that this entire process feels extremely old-fashioned? As a numbers-challenged creative who really had no idea what she was getting into before buying a house, I wish it would have been easier to follow along.

Sure, everyone answered my questions patiently enough. And I’m certainly not blaming others for my own lack of knowledge.

Still, I can’t help but feel that in this modern age, there could have been more technology — like email, social media, web content, or mobile apps — incorporated throughout my home-buying journey to help me move through the steps more easily.

All griping aside . . .

Everything about our home and financing eventually checks out. We sign some a million papers, and the house is ours.

Part 4: The Delight Stage

All of 2017: We are homeowners, and no one talks to us anymore.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Our realtor friend does treat us to some welcome gift cards after we close, and our mortgage lender keeps in touch periodically, even sending us a package of flower seeds at the start of spring. (I know — cute!)

Compared to some home-buyers, we probably have it good here. We like these guys, and we’d feel comfortable going back to either of them in the future.

But things do feel a little quiet.

Inbound Marketing Magic

How Inbound Marketing Can Help Your Business

My husband and I adore our home. We feel lucky that the sale wasn’t more difficult for us.

But if our home-buying journey had been sprinkled with some more inbound marketing magic, our experience would have been even better.

Whether you work in real estate or any other industry, don’t waste these ripe opportunities to educate and delight your potential customers.

With all the latest advancements in technology, there’s really no excuse not to be trying out these new, engaging, and cost-effective methods of digital marketing. If you don’t, your customers — especially millennials — will notice.

Trust me.

 


 

If you need help inbound marketing for your business, reach out to our team.

At 9 Clouds, we specialize in digital marketing for auto dealers, but we have our hands in a variety of industries. We’d love to answer any of your questions or even conduct a free digital audit of your website!

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