CRM & Email Marketing Automation for Real Estate

A real estate developer Urban Group came to us with the following task: to boost sales of 6 new apartment complexes. We developed a client communication strategy using several communication channels.

By the time we started working on the project, the company already had a database with 25 000 email addresses and 500 000 phone numbers. So that's what we decided to do to improve the communication with clients.

Step 1. We Conducted a Communications Audit

Before Urban Group started working with us, five of the company departments had been sending emails to one and the same contact base simultaneously. At the same time, some managers had been using their own domain names to contact clients. The result: subscribers received too many emails that weren't connected to each other and weren't relevant to the customers' interests.

So first, we developed a new set of parameters to define the stage of the customer journey the client was at before sending them an email. If a person was only thinking of getting an apartment, they wouldn't be interested in referral emails like "bring a friend". Such emails would seem annoying and could scare the clients away.

Step 2. We Chose A New Marketing Automation Platform to Send Emails and Collect Data

The company used several ESPs (Email Sending Platforms) at once, so the data they got was totally inconsistent. It was impossible to understand how the subscribers interacted with the emails and what they found interesting on the website.

Selling an apartment is usually a long and difficult process because you need to persuade the client that your offer is just what they need. So we chose a marketing automation platform that would store the data on the user activity and act according to it. For example, if a client was searching for an apartment on the website, they would receive an email with information on this apartment complex. This way we could send more targeted emails that were relevant to the subscribers.

Step 3. We Integrated SMS and Viber With Email

Before we started working together, the company had often used SMS as a channel of communication with clients. There were two main problems: first, SMS messages cost a lot of money, and second, they weren't integrated with other communication channels.

We found a different provider that allowed us to send SMS at a lower price and integrate the SMS channel with our marketing automation platform. This way, SMS and emails were synchronized and could show better results.

Apart from that, we set up a system of cascading messages. First, we sent the subscriber a message in Viber, and if the message wasn't received, we sent an SMS. It helped reduce the expenses, as messaging via Viber was cheaper than SMS.

Step 4. We Set Up Triggers

The stages of the customer journeys of our clients were different: some of them were at the stage of interest while others we almost ready to buy an apartment. There's a huge gap between a person considering all the possible apartments in various parts of the city and a person who has already chosen the apartment and discussed the details at the office. That's why we needed to build the communication process differently.

We set up several trigger email flows, which were activated depending on the clients' behavior.

Type 1. A Secret Selection of Apartments to Grow the Contact List

People could opt in to receive newsletters with promotional offers:

After the user subscribed to the newsletter, they received an email with the current discounts on apartments. The content was automatically updated for every email — a collection of apartments with a discount was added to the email after a manager tagged them on the website on the client's side.

Type 2. Abandoned Browse Emails

When the user was in our base, the marketing automation platform tracked their activity on the website and we could keep stirring up their interest. For example, when a user searched for apartments on the website, he received a triggered email with the last six viewed apartments.

Type 3. Email and SMS Messages Sent After Visiting the Office

After a person came to the office, they received a mixed email and SMS message series. To do that, we needed to make sure the client's contact was in the database. If it wasn't there, we added it by integrating the CRM system with the marketing automation platform.

When a manager marked a client as coming to the office, it triggered the messaging system in the platform. It allowed the client to find information about the chosen apartment complex and see the drone shots of the construction process. Here is what the series looked like:

When the client made a deal or, vice versa, cancelled it, the messaging stopped.

Type 4. Subscriber Reactivation Emails

If a client got no emails within 10 days, they received a reactivation email reminding them about the company. This was a one-time thing so that the subscriber wouldn't get annoyed.

Type 5. A Series of Loyalty Program Emails

Urban Group had a referral program: those who brought a client would get 10% off the deal. For the program members, we set up 16 emails telling about the program terms and conditions and why they should choose Urban Group.

Step 5. We Created Promotional Emails

As for promotional emails, we sent them manually. They were beautifully designed emails with special offers, discounts, or selections of apartments.

In Conclusion:

After we started sending messages via the combination of email, SMS, and Viber, we were able to increase the number of primary and secondary appeals.

The primary appeal was a new client who showed interest in buying an apartment and didn't communicate with the developer in the last 90 days. We collected primary appeals with the help of promotional emails and abandoned cart emails. As a result, the price for a primary appeal attraction turned out to be 5.5 times lower than it was planned.

The secondary appeal was a client who was also interested in buying an apartment with the only difference was they reached out to the company within the last 90 days. The number of secondary appeals increased with the help of the emails sent after the clients visited the office. About 5% of the data base were converted into secondary appeals.

Project Team

Dmitriy Golovanchikov, Head of the Project

Julia Stukalova, Project Manager

Alexei Olenev, Marketer

Ivan Ilin, Consultant

Daria Komarova, Designer

Sofia Skorobogatova, Designer

ivan Dudin, Technical Expert

Eugene Shishkov, Leading HTML Expert

Dmitri Knyazev, HTML Expert