Randy became a HubSpot customer in December 2009, and we plan to share how his story is unfolding, even if that means blogging about any rough patches along the way.
Your hosts for this tour are: Kirsten Knipp, Product Evangelist & Randy Chavers, HubSpot Customer & Director of Internet Marketing for RE/MAX Metro Atlanta's website, Real Estate of Atlanta.com. Thanks for joining us!
Who is RE/MAX Metro Atlanta?
RE/MAX Metro Atlanta (RMA) is a residential RE/MAX agency that has been at the forefront of online realty since the Internet became a true force in the industry ten years ago. Founded by Donna Armstrong, today RMA recognizes that with 90% of home buyers going online first to find a new home, a successful agent has to have mastery of both sales and online marketing. In most cases, traditional word of mouth is not enough.
But doing online marketing as a "side gig" doesn't come easily to the average REALTOR® who, at 54 years of age, is not a digital native but is more comfortable on the phone than online.
Donna partnered with Randy Chavers, an experienced real estate broker and online marketer, to help turn the company's website, Real Estate of Atlanta.com, into a marketing machine that would provide all the online marketing services an agent needs in the digital age, letting them focus on the sales part of the equation.
How does Inbound Marketing make sense for your business?
Before Randy had ever heard of inbound marketing, he was already sold on the idea of transforming the way that REALTORS® engage with customers.
Because potential home buyers can get information with greater ease and anonymity, they expect more information and dialog in their search than ever before. To make matters even more complicated, in a business that was once ruled by word of mouth, the National Association of Realtors reports that even though 80% of buyers say that they want to work with a REALTOR® they already know, the less than 20% do. In fact most buyers actually end up working with whichever REALTOR® happens to reach out first when they are "ready to buy." That means staying in touch is more important than ever.
Enter Inbound Marketing
- REALTORS® today must get found by creating remarkable content. REALTORS® who provide access to great information about things like schools, neighborhood amenities, resale value, etc. are more likely to be found online by home buyers. Blogging is a natural way to do that ... and by providing both the tools and a group of REALTORS® creating content, RMA is lowering the barrier for any one REALTOR® to create great content and be found online.
- Managing and nurturing leads to be at the forefront when prospects are ready to buy is no easy feat. A single REALTOR® might use a variety of tools to try to keep up with all her potential leads and struggle to manage a large list of prospects. RMA is automating this process for their agents so their leads are automatically qualified, segmented, responded to and nurtured with relevant information until they are ready to make a move, letting the agent focus on the sales part of the equation.
The concepts of inbound marketing are not totally new to REALTORS®, as highlighted in Click & Close, a recent article describing how top Florida REALTORS® work the web, email and phone in hot pursuit of short and long term customers. But implementing these strategies is not for the faint of heart, and RMA wants to make it easy for its growing team of agents.
What goals does RE/MAX Metro Atlanta hope to achieve by using HubSpot & inbound marketing as its platform for RealEstateOfAtlanta.com?
RE/MAX Metro Atlanta thrives when its agents acquire and retain loyal customers. Investments in HubSpot and inbound marketing are expected to result in:
- Thousands of net new leads in their sales database
- A major increase in customer retention over time to drive repeat business
- Reduced marketing effort per agent, resulting in more time to sell, thereby increasing close rates
We hope you'll visit our journey in the coming weeks to learn how Randy and the team at RE/MAX Metro Atlanta are progressing toward their business goals!
Coming Soon ...
In our next post, Randy shares why he and the team at RE/MAX Metro Atlanta selected HubSpot to power realestateofatlanta.com ... then a few weeks later, we'll hear all about his onboarding with Inbound Marketing Consultant Lucy!
Originally published Feb 12, 2010 2:36:00 PM, updated January 17 2023