Marketing During the Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us and though visions of sugarplums may be dancing through heads, you’ve still got to tend to your business: after all, sellers still want to close their deals and buyers need to place for Santa to visit.

But, staying relevant and keeping customers focused during one of the busiest and most social times of the requires creativity. Never fear! Take some of our suggestions for festive open houses and inventive marketing strategies – no stale holiday cards here — to ensure you close out December on a high note.

• Create a pop-up exhibition. The holiday season is the perfect time to turn an open house into a pop-up exhibit or gallery to draw in potential buyers. Consider partnering with a local artists, craftsmen or boutiques and couple your event with an opportunity for visitors to buy gift items, check out the property, and spread the word about your exceptional client relationship skills. If the property is in a family-friendly neighborhood with lots of children in the area, have a Santa Claus on hand to welcome visitors: if you are geographic farming the area, this will be an unforgettable tactic.
• Tell a story. Historic homes aren’t the only houses that have a story to tell: every home has its own character and illustrating that will help buyers feel a connection. Work with the seller to find outstanding photos of them enjoying the house, whether they be pictures of cookie-baking in the kitchen, playing in a snowy yard or bringing a baby home from the hospital. Frame them creatively and style them with props to tell the story of the house. There’s no better time to appeal to a sense of family than the holidays.
• Provide useful gifts to your clients. The best way to keep sales in the pipeline is going back to prior referrals or clients. Go above and beyond when sending holiday gifts to your existing prospects and even give different gifts to different client bases. New clients? Give them something useful – think personalized and branded USB drives with necessary documents already loaded. If you work with families, send a gift cards to local museums or zoos.
• Partner with a community group. Nothing screams holidays like gingerbread houses and who better to sponsor a gingerbread house-making contest than a real estate agent? Purchase kits in bulk, partner with a local community organization and invite families to make their own.
• Create a fun and shareable campaign. To go viral, create an easy to share holiday message that can be used on multiple platforms, complete with a reward for sharing. A ‘countdown to 2019’ contest can come with a bottle of Champagne and two glasses, for instance.

The real estate business isn’t just about hard skills of sales. Integral to our success is understanding the needs of buyers and sellers and helping them find the perfect environment to raise families, to retire in comfort and to host friends. There’s no better time for us to showcase our soft skills than the holidays, so get creative, grab some business, and enjoy your clients.

Doug Spak

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.