There is a broad selection of tools available to marketing teams, many of which are specific to Real Estate; it can be tough for firms to decide which ones best meet their bespoke needs. Cloud-based technology has created new opportunities, revolutionizing the way companies can build a suite of tools that aid commercial effectiveness.
In modern marketing, it is vital to get the right mix of technologies to harness the potential of each one. What’s more, any real estate marketing tool that a firm implements will need to integrate well with existing technologies and processes to deliver its associated benefits.
Real estate has needs and requirements that set it apart from other industries. Vendors are now targeting specific industries and companies, to compete against the rising number of solutions. Meanwhile, new trends such as cloud-based subscription models have allowed companies to easily experiment with new tech stack combinations.
What Is A Tech Stack
As we’ve already mentioned, there are a huge number of real estate marketing tools available. Real estate firms are adopting platforms and applications that facilitate leasing, accounting, project tracking, and building management to name but a few. These marketing tools can help real estate professionals increase efficiency and accuracy, add value to opportunities and make confident decisions.
A technology, or tech stack, is the group of technologies that a company uses to manage its core functions. The importance of a tech stack is recognized in all real estate businesses, large and small. Key examples of marketing tools are Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These are already considered must-have systems, but other tools to help manage digital assets, optimize sales funnels, automate marketing and nurture leads can work together in a tech stack to give ERP and CRM systems even more power.
A well-developed tech stack will reach out across the business, integrating seamlessly to empower marketing, sales, operations, and business development teams. With the right tech, stack organizations can streamline the workflow between frontline and back-office teams, better leverage marketing assets, effectively target and nurture leads, and better showcase the firm’s expertise.
Benefits Of A Well Integrated Tech Stack
At first glance, it might be tempting to try to find or create a single solution that meets all of a business’s technology requirements. However, it is likely this will result in an in-house solution that is resource-heavy, high cost to develop, and almost inevitably takes longer to deploy than anticipated. Integrating cross-functional platforms is difficult and time-consuming and will result in escalating costs.
A tech stack, on the other hand, is a culmination of all of the best solutions available to a business. Each piece of software will have been tested and modified to function perfectly. The lynchpin to success is making sure that each of the systems integrates perfectly. In the past, it might have taken months and a whole dev team to integrate two systems properly. However, it has become easier and easier to integrate multiple systems using APIs and tools such as Zapier. If this is achieved then powerful performance can be achieved across all of the tools within the tech stack.
If a real estate firm implements the right tech stack if will enjoy the following benefits:
- Enhanced commercial focus – focusing a tech stack around sales and marketing activity allows a firm to maximize the commercial potential of its data and assets.
- Improved relevance – sales and marketing tools help firms understand how their content is being consumed. By analyzing performance and behavioral data, firms can personalize communications and increase relevance. In turn, optimizing content allows firms to nurture leads more effectively and, ultimately, to win more opportunities.
- Measured return on investment – an integrated tech stack enables companies to have a complete end-to-end picture of their marketing efforts. On top of this having a clear oversight offers opportunities to win back lost business and to measure the value of each investment.
- Increased efficiency – having the right mixture of technology removes repetitive and manual processes that take up a lot of time. A tech stack is capable of streamlining data retrieval and automating everyday tasks. The result is that the team has more time to focus on strategy and business development
Maximized asset value – digital assets are one of the most powerful tools a real estate firm has at its disposal. The right tech stack dramatically improves the retrieval and use of these assets by organizing and tagging them in a user-friendly way. Assets are connected to other sales and marketing tools, while controls are in place to ensure correct access and usage.
The Optimum Real Estate Tech Stack
As we’ve already touched on, ERP and CRM systems are seen as a critical marketing tools for real estate companies. However, there are many other technologies which are becoming equally as important to ensure efficiency and productivity across the business.
Each of the elements in a tech stack is strong in its own right, but when brought together they represent a powerful beating technological heart of your business. The following software types integrate well, tying together the commercial elements of a business, and allowing a firm to utilize all of the data it generates.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
ERP systems focus on managing and integrating essential parts of the business. They streamline processes and promote better communication between departments, meaning information can be delivered in real-time to stakeholders. ERP systems serve as a unique source for important information; data is kept centralized, up to date and accessible.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A CRM system is a real estate marketing tool that gives a complete understanding of all customer interactions. The system allows firms to view these interactions on an individual level and to understand where each prospective customer is on the business development lifecycle. Having a deeper understanding of clients’ needs allows companies to tailor their communications accordingly and to build better customer relationships.
Property Management
Property management software helps firms oversee and control the operational aspects of managing a portfolio of properties. This could mean managing lease contracts, maintenance, accounting and many other tasks essential to any real estate company.
Knowledge Management
Many systems work to improve customer-facing interactions, but another critical business tool is optimising internal communications. Knowledge management platforms allow experts within a real estate firm to transform their knowledge to others quickly and efficiently. Sharing knowledge within a firm ensures that it isn’t dependent upon any one individual and that the team can be more effective as a whole.
Content Management System (CMS)
The majority of real estate firms will already use a CMS to add and edit web content. Having a CMS eliminates the need for a developer for simple content changes and different levels of access and approval ensure consistency and best practice. A CMS is critical to meeting the demand for new and dynamic content. In addition to this, the systems can provide insight into site traffic and how consumers are engaging with content.
Digital Asset Management (DAM)
DAM solutions work as a central repository for managing, organizing and retrieving digital assets. These digital assets are one of the most valuable things to real estate firms, including sales and marketing resources such as project images, videos and graphics. The growth of these digital assets is only going to escalate, making their management ever more important. Having a DAM system is central to the optimum tech stack as it allows the assets to be linked to other vital sales and marketing technology solutions. Marketers become much more efficient in how they handle and interact with images and visual assets and workflows are vastly improved.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation enables real estate firms to use their marketing business and development teams wisely. The technology enables firms to find high potential leads from within its database and then automate targeted marketing programs to those leads. The data-driven marketing that results leads to greater customer loyalty and increased revenues.
Contract, Legal & Compliance
Not so long ago, signing physical paperwork for agreements and contracts could be a bottleneck in a transaction process. But with tech that allows clients to digitally sign legal documents, firms can offer more efficient transaction processes and save costs. And using less paper means you’ll save some trees too.
Analytics
Most real estate firms will already use an analytics platform to help inform marketing decisions. Web analytics tools allow firms to gain a better understanding of site performance. The information acquired is vital to continually improving the quality and effectiveness of online marketing content and for improving customer experience.
Although not every real estate firm is using all of these technologies as yet it’s important for them to at least have a knowledge of them and the benefits they could offer. Incorporating this optimum tech stack enables each of the technologies to deliver the advantages that real estate businesses need to compete in the marketplace.
Other tools for the tech stack
There is a dizzying array of other tools with very specific uses that can prove extremely valuable for any real estate company. A social media management tool will help you to plan, schedule and manage your social media interaction. Using chatbot software on your website can help you to manage interactions with clients and potential clients. Video is among the best performing content on social media, but in real estate, it can also be a great way to showcase a property; video creation software can allow you to quickly create eye-catching videos. With new technology being developed all the time, the possibilities are endless.
How The Elements Of A Tech Stack Work Together
The most important aspect of a tech stack is how each element works together through seamless integration. This allows real estate firms to create a system where the whole equals far more than the sum of its parts. Meanwhile, the integrated tech stack eliminates the time and effort that would be involved in implementing a customized solution or forcing solutions that aren’t fit for purpose.
The integration of the tech stack ensures that data and assets are shared to create efficient workflows. If solutions are implemented that don’t work well together, then they could end up causing more problems than they solve. However, when the right tech stack is implemented the combination of technology has the power to deliver outstanding results.
