Marketing for Title Companies
We’ve heard a lot of good things from agents using Alanna’s Campaigns function. Our clients love the ability to have real conversations with prospects rather than simply blasting them with one-way messaging. However, while Alanna can make your conversations much easier, she can’t actually do the marketing herself! We’re occasionally asked for tips on how agencies can improve their marketing messages. Here are a few tips we’ve picked up on over the years.
Marketing title insurance services has always been a bit of a challenge. The way services are selected is somewhat unusual in the world of commerce in that title, and settlement service providers are often chosen by professionals in the real estate transaction but ultimately used and paid for by a consumer.
Title agents find themselves in that interesting hybrid land between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing.
Traditional B2B marketing strategies are directed toward providing services or products that are used in the production of a final product or perhaps as a wholesale product sold to businesses for eventual resale to consumers.
In the B2B world, title and settlement services can be seen as one piece of the final product, which is the real estate transaction – the consumer product.
In planning a marketing strategy for a title agency, it’s valuable to create a segmented approach that considers both a B2B approach for the real estate agent, lender, and homebuilder clients as well as a B2C outreach and follow-up with the homebuyers and sellers.
This is especially critical when executing a social media strategy, where a two-pronged approach would be helpful.
Title agents should also remember that real estate professionals as well as the consumers – the end user of title insurance and closing services – are equally likely to research title companies online, not only checking an agency’s website and Facebook page but also reading reviews posted to Google or Yelp.
Title agents often invite real estate agents to post reviews to Google or Yelp, but those reviews are going to have a far different focus than a consumer review, so it’s equally important to encourage your homebuyers and sellers to post reviews in the aftermath of a successful real estate transaction.
In contemplating the best approach to both business and consumer marketing in title and settlement, it’s helpful to start by taking an inventory of ideas your agency can employ to differentiate between the two approaches. Here are some examples:
B2B Marketing Focus – Real Estate Agents, Lenders, and Homebuilders
- Focus on how your agency successfully solves problems encountered in the transaction
- Emphasize cybersecurity, protecting both the service provider and their customers
- Highlight your ability to facilitate communication through innovation and transaction portals
- Play up tools and resources you offer that streamline the process
- Accentuate the skills and experience in your agency to manage complex transactions
B2C Marketing Focus – The Homebuyer and Seller
- Appeal to the emotional aspect of buying and selling real estate
- Simplify the technical language of title insurance, focusing on the protection aspect
- Accentuate generational preferences, emphasizing, for instance, digital capabilities to younger buyers
- Offer reassurance through a robust communication strategy to keep customers in the loop
These are just a few examples of ways to think about segmenting your B2B and B2C marketing. A robust brainstorming session with your staff can elicit specific ideas for your agency that play on your strengths and specific market needs.
And remember, Alanna’s Campaigns ability empowers agencies to start conversations with prospects. That means they get the opportunity not only to share their message but to hear about prospects’ needs as well–one of the most foundational advantages in any successful marketing campaign.