In this article we'll example a
fictional case study of a real
estate agent looking to improve his
lead generation using email
marketing. You'll see how he
segments his newsletter subscribers
into different categories and also
how he sends separate, targeted
emails to each subscriber hoping to
match them up with the type of real
estate they are interesting in
buying or leasing.
Jim is a real estate agent in
California. He runs his own agency
and has a secretary who works for
him from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.
Jim is great at getting leads, and
has just started a new web site,
which you can see to the right.
Jim's problem is that he's always on
the road and wants to make sure his
leads aren't wasted. With his new
web site and email marketing
software, his leads can subscribe to
his mailing list and Jim will email
them a list of properties they have
specifically expressed interest in.
To get started, Jim creates a new
mailing list. He calls the mailing
list "Leads for November 2006".
Whenever he comes across someone
interested in a property or looking
for a place, he sends them to his
web site where they fill out the
form shown below:
Jim creates a subscription form
containing many custom fields and
adds it to his web site. This
takes him about 20 minutes to do.
After completing the form, they are
added to Jim's mailing list of
leads. He then uses an autoresponder
to follow up with them immediately,
thanking them for signing up to his
list and referring them to a
specific section on his web site and
letting them know that he is in the
process of finding a suitable place
for them. He fills out the "Create
Autoresponder" form, typing this
message in the content of the email:
Hi %%First Name%%,
Thank you for asking us to find
you a property. You've specified
that you are looking to buy in
%%Locations%% in the %%Price
Range%% price range. I am
currently researching our list of
available properties and will send
you a personalized email showing
you which properties we have for
sale in the area. In the meantime,
please feel free to look at the
places for sale in %%Locations%%
on our web site at:
http://www.jimsrealestate.com
If you have any questions before I
get back to you with a list of
properties, please let me know.
Regards,
Jim Smith
www.jimsrealestate.com
When someone receives this email
in their inbox, all of the custom
field placeholders (such as %%First
Name%%) will be replaced with the
values they typed in when they
subscribed to Jim's newsletter.
Custom fields are highlighted in
pink for comparison below:
Hi
Sandra,
Thank you for asking us to find
you a property. You've specified
that you are looking to buy in
Torrance
in the
$200,000 - $500,000 price
range. I am currently researching
our list of available properties
and will send you a personalized
email showing you which properties
we have for sale in the area. In
the meantime, please feel free to
look at the places for sale in
Torrance
on our web site at:
http://www.jimsrealestate.com
If you have any questions before I
get back to you with a list of
properties, please let me know.
Regards,
Jim Smith
www.jimsrealestate.com
This makes it look as if Jim has
sat down and personally emailed each
and every person who has filled out
the form on his web site, when in
reality the system has done it for
him. A few days later, Jim or his
secretary can send Sandra a
customize list of properties
matching the options she chose on
the leads form from Jim's web site.
Jim's just turned a stranger into a
very warm lead, and his chances of
selling to Sandra are now much
higher.
Sending new property notices to
leads
When Jim signs up a client looking
to sell their property, he has his
secretary use the system to create a
quick email campaign to leads in the
area and price range of the property
being sold. She creates a basic
email in the system that looks like
this:
Hi %%First Name%%,
We've just had a new property
listed for sale in Torrance for
$485,000 which I thought you might
be interested in inspecting. It
has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathroom and 2
garages. The seller is moving to
New York for work and has priced
this property well below market
value. You can see the property
online at http://www.jimsrealestate.com/properties/30459
To book an inspection, please call
me on (818) 555-2411 between 9am
and 5pm Monday - Friday. We expect
this property to sell by the end
of the month so if you're
interested make sure you book now.
Regards,
Jim Smith
www.jimsrealestate.com
She then uses list segmenting to
pick and choose the recipients she
wants this email to be sent to. When
creating the email campaign, she is
given the option to "filter" which
subscribers will receive the email.
Based on the options people have
chosen when they signed up, she can
restrict who receives the email. In
this case to people looking to buy
in Torrence between $200,000 and
$500,000:
Jim's secretary uses list
segmenting to send her property
email to a specific portion of the
subscribers in Jim's mailing list
- those looking to buy in Torrance
for $200,000 - $500,000.
The lead then receives the email in
their inbox and it looks like Jim
himself has sat down and carefully
crafted the email just for this
person, when in reality it has gone
out to 50+ other leads. When the
email arrives in a leads inbox
(let's call him Tom), it might look
like this:
Hi
Tom,
We've just had a new property
listed for sale in Torrance for
$485,000 which I thought you might
be interested in inspecting. It
has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathroom and 2
garages. The seller is moving to
New York for work and has priced
this property well below market
value. You can see the property
online at http://www.jimsrealestate.com/properties/30459
To book an inspection, please call
me on (818) 555-2411 between 9am
and 5pm Monday - Friday. We expect
this property to sell by the end
of the month so if you're
interested make sure you book now.
Regards,
Jim Smith
www.jimsrealestate.com
Both the seller and buyer are
happy because Jim has used the
system to help him attract leads,
which in turn makes him one step
closer to selling this property. Jim
saves time and money in advertising
fees, the seller gets their money
quicker, and the buyer finds the
place they wanted at a reasonable
price. It's a win-win situation for
all parties involved.
