ReadyChat


Real estate Marketing Blog

Archive for May, 2012

Real Estate Websites with Live Chat Generate More Leads


Posted May 24, 2012, 12:15 AM by ReadyChat

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What’s your conversion rate?

Even the most informational real estate websites convert less than 3% of total website visitors to leads. However, in most cases, a realtor website will convert less than 1% (sometimes 0%) of visitors to leads. Follow me?

This is alarming as 99% of your website visitors are likely leaving with out contacting you for help in buying or selling their home. If this sounds familiar, your website is underperforming and you are missing out on a huge segment in the online home buyer/seller.

How can you improve your online engagement and website visitor conversion rates?

To be blunt, the common problem with most real estate websites is like hiring a seat warmer who are sitting around all day waiting for your online customers to reach out to you. They already made the first move by visiting your website. They don’t want to make a second move by picking up the phone and calling you. If this is your situation, you need a new hire.

How can your website be more proactive?

Imagine if one of your prospective clients walked into your office and your receptionist didn’t acknowledge their existence. No polite greeting, no smile, nothing. I bet you wouldn’t keep that person on your payroll for long. Your website is like your virtual online office and you need to treat your online customers the same way as a physical customer.

To be proactive, you will need to reach out to your online customers, in real-time, and greet them as if they were in-person at your office. With technologies such as live chat, you can reach out to your online visitors, in real time, and engage them in sales-focused live chat conversations about their home buying or selling needs.

With Live Real Estate Chat, you will have the ability to see who is on your website and communicate with your online visitors, all in real-time. This simple feature to your site will dramatically increase visitor interaction rates with you/your brand, and allow for the opportunity for you to transition simple online inquiries to in-person meetings. It is this human element that is missing from your site, and when well executed with proactive chat invitations, your real estate website will become a lead generation machine.

To learn more about live chat for real estate, be sure to subscribe to our blog for frequent updates!

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ReadyChat selected as Preferred Live Chat Provider for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®


Posted May 8, 2012, 6:45 PM by ReadyChat

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Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® has named ReadyChat a preferred service provider, presenting the company’s website chat services to its global network of 550 top real estate firms through LeadingRE’s Solutions Group program.

ReadyChat is a leading provider of live chat marketing services for the real estate industry, with a full range of lead generation, lead qualification, and lead transfer solutions. The company’s proactive live chat services offer website monitoring 15 hours a day, seven days a week.  Qualified leads are transferred live by phone directly to the brokerage’s designated sales associate or representative.

“Studies have shown that 67% of homebuyers will select the first agent or broker who contacts them,” said Justin Shum, president and CEO of ReadyChat.  “Our services empower brokers to be the first to engage with and establish a relationship with online prospects so they have no reason to search elsewhere.”

“ReadyChat’s focus on providing an easy way to capture qualified leads from website visitors makes it an ideal solution for our brokers who want to maximize their online investment,” notes Robin LaSure, LeadingRE vice president of corporate marketing.  “The benefits extend from the consumer who experiences a highly responsive approach to the agent who ultimately receives qualified leads.  The broker is able to satisfy both audiences, while driving more business for the company.”

About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® is the largest network of top independent local and regional brand-name brokerage firms in the residential sector of real estate. The 550 firms affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® are represented by 4,600 offices and 140,000 associates in more than 30 countries worldwide. The organization’s leadership is demonstrated by the fact that its affiliates comprise 15 of the top 25 real estate companies in the country. Collectively, LeadingRE affiliates produced nearly 800,000 home sales valued at $225 billion in the U.S. in 2010. In addition, LeadingRE locally-branded affiliates hold the Number One position in sales in 40% of the top 96 markets in the U.S., more than any national franchise organizations. 

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Live Chat For Real Estate – Why Outsource?


Posted May 4, 2012, 5:23 PM by ReadyChat

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Considering adding a live chat service to your website to boost real estate sales leads?

If so, there is an endless supply of software vendors and service providers for you to consider. Depending on your lead generation goals and objectives, a managed live chat for real estate service may be more effective and efficient. In this post we will examine the major differences between a managed live chat service vs. a “do it yourself” live chat solution.

So, what is meant by “managed live chat”? Managed live chat is a business practice of transferring day-to-day related live chat operations as a strategic method for improved efficiency (i.e. outsourcing the implementation, execution, management and optimization of your live chat campaign/service to a 3rd party). Let’s address some commonly asked questions for you to consider.

How do I choose the right solution for my real estate website?

This would depend on your objectives and the results that you are trying to achieve. What makes live chat such an effective channel for sales lead generation and customer service is the ability to be available to service your online visitors in real-time. Unlike email, you will need to have a dedicated person (either yourself or a staff member) to be available during key business hours and when your website has the highest website activity – which can vary throughout the day or night. One major aspect to consider is will you be available 8-12 hours a day to be able to respond to live chat inquiries from your real estate website? If not, how much would it cost for you or your office to hire and train a team of in-house operators?

How is a managed live chat service beneficial to your real estate business?

As a busy real estate broker or agent, you’re busy managing clients, listings, contracts, marketing plans, and the list goes on. Although live chat can be a highly valuable website feature for improving lead conversion rates, it is a major endeavour to manage and operate yourself. Not only can it be difficult to understand which solution would work best for your needs and objectives, but implementing and executing an effective live chat for real estate system requires a level of expertise in order to achieve optimum results. Having a managed live chat service provider with expertise in real estate will greatly impact website visitor interaction and conversion rates, and your overall return on investment.

How much does it cost for a managed live chat for real estate service?

Costs can vary from one provider to the next. Quality and expertise are major factors in pricing for managed live chat services. We’ve seen service providers’ quote anywhere from $199-$999 / month for managed services – depending on the features and coverage you are looking for (e.g. 8 hours per day / 24 hours per day). Software-only solutions are significantly less as you will need to only purchase the live chat software license, which can range from $40-$400 / month. But then again, there is the staffing and availability factor involved with a self-managed solution.

We hope this article was helpful in answering some initial questions you may have asked yourself when evaluating a live chat solution for your real estate website. If you would like to learn more about ReadyChat’s managed live chat for real estate services, or have any questions regarding the information above, please feel free to give us a call 1-888-693-0351.

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