Nitten and Craig Bees of Bartram & Co., come together for Episode 11 of the ‘Starberry Vlog’ series to break down the ins and outs of a digital transformation - highlighting the impact to lead generation.

Episode 11 of the ‘Starberry Vlog’ series highlights the reasons why an estate agency may consider digital transformation. A tour through digital marketing for estate agents - hosted by Nitten- this episode provides real-life context to the impact on lead generation with examples from estate agent’s Bartram & Co.

Today we breakdown a digital overhaul strategy, highlighting the changes you can expect in lead-generation opportunities when moving away from the traditional. Moreover, recognising the inevitable influences of COVID-19,  as the pandemic prompted a need for change, that had never been seen before. 

Pandemic Pressure’s

The COVID-19 pandemic that globally took over in 2020, greatly impacted the real estate industry. Industry player’s were pressured towards making changes to the way they operate in order to maintain quality service.  

With restrictions in place - preventing everyone from meeting physically,  digitally-contemporary  communication was required to ensure valuable engagement was consistently nurtured between agencies and their leads. 

“What prompted a change in approach”? 

With leads not being able to visit the agency or travel between property visits, alongside the workforce being forced to stay home. Craig of Bartram & Co highlights how the restrictions essentially “destroyed the agency’s pipeline”.  Starberry proposed a digital marketing strategy which would breathe new life into their lead engagement - a digital remodelling that greatly enhanced the website and introduced new avenues for lead generation. 

“Would you say the industry was more accepting of digital marketing after COVID-19?”

Bartram & Co. witnessed the industry change - as their peers began to adopt more digital engagement methods.  With this in mind we introduced API’s & integrations, such as Zoom & Calendly - closing the conversion gap by ensuring communication with leads was maintained to the highest level of efficiency. 

The Website Refresh:

At Starberry we believe your website is the most important digital marketing tool for lead generation. When undergoing digital transformation, taking a step back and analysing the UX offered by your estate agency’s website will reveal key areas in which leads can be better nurtured to potentially convert them into won instructions. 

“How has digital transformation changed your website from one that is simply static to one that generates leads?”

Bartram & Co’s first step in digital transformation was an entire website refresh - again highlighting your platform’s importance. Built through ‘Property Jungle’, Craig witnessed a change after the website refresh. The Bartram & Co. website was no longer just a tool for presentation but generation also. A platform that works for the agency, not only through engagement at every possible turn but by producing invaluable analytics that in turn allows for better-supported decision making in the future.

Traditional vs Digital

Traditional marketing will always have it’s uses,  however, the efficiency of its counterpart- digital marketing- is something to be admired. Long gone are the days of unclear marketing ROI, as digital marketing methods perform with an element of data capture that only ever offer’s game-changing analytics.  Analytics that can be further utilised when selecting where to increase or decrease marketing spend. 

“Have you noticed a digital approach has given better clarity for marketing spend?”

Bartram & Co. selected the Starberry digital marketing package that highly focused on improving both Local SEO and leveraging Google Ads. After digital adoption, they could see a clear improvement in ROI, an extended marketing reach- producing an increase in enquiries and therefore instructions. The estate agency was once P.G 3 & 4 of relevant keyword searches and just 6 weeks after launch Bartram.Co was #1 on search terms used in the area. 

What made you decide to leave traditional print behind?

With an impressive footfall the agency opted for an 18-inch tv screen overprinted ads, in turn taking advantage of their physical environment. With a digital push in the right direction, Bartram & Co, have now developed a “marketing suite” which acts as an engaging virtual tour at their offices. Moreover, standing out from competitors as the agency can better sell both their service & USP’s.

Extended Marketing Reach 

At Starberry our goal with digital marketing for estate agent’s, is to introduce brand-new avenues for your agency to win instructions. An extended reach that facilitates opportunities for your agency to consistently engage and convert your audience. 

Having adopted a digital transformation, what stood out to you the most after launch?

The main highlight expressed by Craig was that digital transformation took away most of the manual strain. Allowing the estate agency to focus on other aspects of business operations while Starberry gracefully handled the digital marketing side. Combined efforts leading to a noticeable change in enquiry volume. 

Goal=Lead Generation

With all digital marketing projects, our goal is to offer clients a transformation to their conversion ability. Ensuring all moving parts of the digital vehicle are working in harmony to nurture leads and increase the chance of a potential conversion into won instructions. 

Would you say digital marketing decreased your portal dependency? E.G (RightMove, Zoopla)

Craig highlights how the estate agency will always be somewhat dependent on portals. However, also pointing out that he has witnessed many leads come in from newly-utilised areas such as Google Maps or the website. Once again highlighting the effectiveness, as at any given moment digital marketing can be better tailored for an audience. Alongside the data-capturing infrastructure that offers invaluable insight, that can then be further used to evolve strategies.

Estate agents looking to enhance lead generation must first take a look at their digital efforts. The world is changing and this affects the real estate industry as consumer expectations also change. Before tackling marketing, estate agents should review their website, implementing a UI that gracefully connect’s leads and agents. Digital marketing efforts’ are never a one-time thing, and by utilising analytics correctly, improvement is inevitable. 

What impressed you the most after all this?

“The volume and number of leads we are now getting, beyond what I thought was possible” 

 Craig Bees (Sales Director-Bartram & Co).

Those looking to begin their estate agency’s digital marketing journey, should look no further than Starberry, book a meeting with us today!