Our Phased Marketing Model – Tortoise Property Blog

Hello everyone, I’m Sam. I’m new to Tortoise Property and Estate Agency. I have a BA Honours Degree in Marketing from Sheffield Hallam University and wanted to find somewhere that I can put that to use, which is why I’ve ended up here!

This blog will be a weekly series of me recounting my experiences, explaining why great marketing is so powerful when selling your home and the exciting plans I have for the future of marketing in Estate Agency. I believe this will be beneficial to me as I write down everything I do and hopefully will be to you also, as I do my best to explain Tortoise Property, convey our difference and answer any estate agency questions that anyone may have.

Welcome to Episode 2!

Following on from last week’s blog (the Race to SOLD), we’re taking a more detailed look into how we market our clients homes. We have 8 phases of marketing which we deliver over a 12 week period and this blog gives you an overview about how the phases work. You’ll be pleased to know we have another model to talk through! We’re calling it ‘Phased Marketing’. Let’s get into it.

Consumers visited the Rightmove platform over 2.2 billion times during 2023 (2022: 2.3 billion) and spent over 15.4 billion minutes searching and researching properties (2022: 16.3 billion). (Rightmove full year announcement 29 Feb 2024).

Around 900,000 to 1,300,000 homes change ownership annually, which is about 45% / 55% of the homes listed for sale in any one year, which shows that prospective buyers find it very difficult to find the ‘perfect’ home to buy.

The current ‘search and see’ / ‘self-service’ approach to property marketing does not produce great results for both owners of homes and Estate Agencies. When selling a home, reaching the right buyers amidst billions of searches in the UK can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. So a targeted marketing approach is crucial.

Tortoise Property’s phased marketing model addresses this challenge through a sales funnel approach that strategically narrows down prospective buyers.

Organic Marketing

The foundation of the phased marketing model is organic marketing. This stage leverages social media platforms, community-based groups, and local property groups to showcase your home to a broad audience. The goal is to utilise the power of community networks, where personal recommendations and shares by friends, family, and colleagues can significantly impact the visibility of your property.

Organic marketing employs photos, videos, virtual tours, and engaging content across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to create initial interest and buzz around your home.

Tailored Marketing

Building on the broad reach of organic marketing, tailored marketing takes a more focused approach by employing demographic marketing. This stage uses data gathered from initial advertising efforts to create engaging ads that resonate with specific buyer demographics. Demographic marketing involves segmenting potential buyers based on factors such as age, income, family size, and education level.

For example, if a property is ideal for young families, ads might highlight nearby schools and parks, whereas a home suited for retirees might emphasise quiet neighbourhoods and healthcare facilities. Tailored marketing can also focus on specific platforms, such as Pinterest or TikTok, depending on the interests and behaviours of the likely buyers.

This method helps to attract buyers who may not have been actively searching but are drawn in by the personalised appeal of the advertisements.

Structured Marketing

Structured marketing further refines the focus, targeting both active and passive buyers through psychographic segmentation.

This segmentation goes beyond demographics to include lifestyle, values, interests, and personality traits. For example, ads might be tailored to appeal to eco-conscious buyers by highlighting energy-efficient features of the home or to those who value luxury by emphasising high-end finishes and amenities. Supported by strong local market data, spotlight area blogs and property quizzes that further engage potential buyers, structured marketing delivers everything that a buyers needs in one places they can make that crucial decision as to whether or not to shortlist your home.

This phase involves strategic use of advertising platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google, utilising their advanced engagement capabilities and AI to reach the most relevant audiences.

By understanding the psychological drivers and lifestyle preferences of potential buyers, structured marketing ensures that your home resonates on a deeper level, engaging both those actively looking and those who might be persuaded to move by the right property, delivered directly to them on their own sofa.

Aggregator Marketing

The final layer in the phased marketing model is aggregator marketing, which involves listing your home on major property platforms like OnTheMarket.

A clear presentation of your home that meets the criteria of trading standards ‘Material Information’ cements a buyers confidence in pursuing and purchasing a particular home. This is a destination point for the phased marketing model without the use of the aggregators search tool. The decision point of whether a viewing is booked by a potential buyer.

Also, these platforms collect new active property buyers through their self-service search mechanisms that can compliment and draw more potential buyers into your the phased marketing model and your marketing plan.

So there you have it! That’s our Phased Marketing Model in a nutshell.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog!

Looking for some next steps? These links could be useful:

If you have any questions or topics you would like to see me discuss in the future, then please do get in touch. I’m more than happy to connect with marketers, whether you work in my industry or not, as well as industry experts who I myself could learn from. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here.

Thanks again, and I look forward to connecting.