As an Agent, you may be seeing a shift in your client base in recent years. You may be working with more and more millennials (people between the ages of 18 to 34.) This is to be expected, because for the second year in a row, millennials represent the biggest group of home buyers in America, 32 percent of the market.
Should you be catering specifically to this fast-growing age group with your real estate marketing? The short answer is yes. But you should be catering to them based on their particular habits and trends. For instance, millennials may have different buying habits than their parents or older family members. They also absorb information differently. As long as you know how to connect with this very unique group of home buyers, you can turn more millennial prospects into clients.
Follow these tips to start:
Reach them at the right place.
Millennials are savvy web researchers and love to comparison-shop. They’ve grown up with technology and the Internet, so they’re used to using it to make purchasing decisions. Since 70% of home buyers begin their search on the internet, it’s key for you to have a strong online presence. Also, 81% of millennials are on Facebook. That means if you want to reach a millennial audience for real estate purposes, you need to be active on your social media channels, especially Facebook. This will allow you to build relationships with millennial prospects and maintain yourself as a top of mind Agent so they choose you when the time comes to purchase a property. Additionally, displaying your social media feeds (like Facebook and Twitter) on your website can instantly show millennials that you are active on your social channels. This is one of the many features offered through IXACT Contact’s Agent websites product.
Approach the concept of home-buying from a millennial point of view.
Millennials are unique because they consider experiences more important than “things.” This could factor into their opinions on real estate. This age group may not be as interested in buying a home as a form of status symbol or wealth. With this in mind, you can better speak to this audience and approach the concept of home-buying from an angle that fits their viewpoint on purchasing. For example, emphasize how an investment in a home is more financially-savvy than paying rent over the long term and, if done right, will allow the millennial to have more experiences like traveling, going to events and making memories with friends and family.
Focus on building a long-term relationship.
Millennials tend to shop locally and from retailers with whom they can establish a relationship. You can use this knowledge in the realm of home-buying, too. A millennial is going to want an Agent who they have convenient access to, including physical location, and they want to get to know you before choosing you. Millennials will care about how well they “mesh” with you, so spend time getting to know these prospects and letting them get to know you, as well. One way to do this is through email nurturing campaigns, which allow you to consistently communicate with your real estate audience.
Understand where they came from and where they want to go.
Unlike other generations, more millennials lived with their parents’ longer, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. This means that today, more millennials are taking the step to purchasing their own homes and moving out of their parents’. Knowing this, you can specify the language in your emails, direct mail newsletters, website pages and other forms of marketing to relate to what the millennial is going through. You can even assign them to a pre-written nurture plan targeted specifically at renters who are looking at purchasing their first home within the next year or two. Purchasing a first home can be intimidating and a little scary, so be supportive through your words. The right website and email marketing provider will make this content personalization easy and stress-free.
Be open to their long and short term real estate goals.
Older generations used to buy a home and live in it for decades. Millennials are different. When they think of buying a home, many of them think of it as a short-term asset, not a forever home. They think of home-buying as an investment, so many are open to fixer-uppers and house-flipping. Keep this in mind as you speak to millennials and show them homes, as they may be more open to a smaller, fixer-upper type home than other generations.
The more you learn about your audience, including millennials, the better you will be able to connect with them. This is especially important since millennials are quickly becoming one of the largest groups of home buyers. Never stop learning about your audience, and use those insights to better reach them through your marketing and real estate CRM tactics.
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