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The industry has a new software option to turn to when devising marketing plans and when wanting something omnichannel, meaning the ability to reach audiences via print, digital and voice: a product called Harvist.
In an April 9 press release, the Los Angeles company aligned its brand with the idea of “farming” and with the promise to help customers cultivate as broad a market field as possible. It also specifically referenced a pending legal settlement that could lead to a number of changes in the way agents and brokerages make money, saying that the importance of communicating the profession’s value to consumers is paramount.
“The launch aims to empower agents to navigate the evolving real estate landscape with precision, efficiency and style at a tumultuous time in the wake of the landmark NAR real estate settlement,” the company stated. “Now more than ever, a strategic, targeted marketing strategy for agents striving to get more listings will become more critical.”
A sound marketing strategy in any industry includes reaching an audience through as many channels as possible, as Harvist notes. However, the rush to win social media attention and the affordability of digital media draws agents into focusing squarely on mobile messaging and web-based outreach.
The new company is hoping the real estate industry will aim for a broader target via multi-faceted tactics, which also helps agents better define a viable lead.
Farming is associated with location-based marketing, to which Harvist will apply an artificial intelligence-based analysis to uncover untapped submarkets. The AI will parse socioeconomic and demographic data around housing activity, family makeup, ownership history and other consumer behaviors. Those findings will become the subject of automated marketing campaigns with pitches unique to the recipient that can include voicemail drops, postcards and specialized landing pages.
The mobile-first solution includes insights for ongoing performance measurement and message adjustment as behaviors and business trends change and can target prearranged demos, such as notice-of-defaults and absentee owners.
Harvest includes a CRM, too, allowing users to keep track over time of leads’ market interest to record reactions to marketing tactics. It incorporates lead nurturing tools, communications and other capabilities common to modern systems in the category.
The company has earned the advocacy of OJO Labs’ and Movato’s Chris Heller, who said in a statement that the product, “makes sense.”
“As agents, we have so much to do in a day — we should only be doing things that are our highest and best use,” Heller said. “I love Harvist and my team uses it. In an ever-shifting, increasingly competitive real estate landscape, the power of technology can help agents not just survive, but thrive through these changing times.”
A number of CRM and enterprise marketing solutions offer omni-channel, location-based marketing, but as the industry faces challenges, shifting brokerage loyalties and the need to competitively differentiate, more options for streamlining outreach and aspects of operations can only benefit the space.
Inside Real Estate, Lone Wolf, Lofty and others combine various methods of marketing with location-based outreach and lead management, as do a number of tech-heavy global industry franchises.
