x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.

Walk or drive down any street and you will invariably see an estate agent To Let' board on the side of a property.


But recent actions taken by Newcastle City Council have led to a ban of To Let' boards across certain parts of the city where there are high concentrations of rented accommodation. Restrictions have now been put in place as the boards have triggered a series of complaints from residents, who regard the boards as unsightly and claim that they have a negative visual impact on the residential area.


This raises two important questions for estate agents all over the UK: How long will it be before other city councils follow in Newcastle's footsteps And what effect will this have on the most common and traditional form of
estate agent marketing


To answer the first question, let's first consider who actually governs outdoor advertising. There isn't a singular governing body in the UK. Rather, it is the responsibility of the local planning authority or city council.

With the demand for rental properties continuously rising as a result of the housing market crash of 2008, councils will continue to see an eruption of To Let' and For Sale' boards within their inner city areas. And if Newcastle City Council has taken action then it is likely to cause a domino effect, with the councils of other major UK cities - such as London, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol - extremely likely to follow suit.

The Effectiveness of To Let' Boards

For estate agents, the thought of no longer being able to advertise a property with To Let' boards is extremely ominous, particularly with research suggesting that 53% of an agency's presence within its market is directly linked to the effectiveness of its To Let' boards.

Moreover, To Let' boards have always been a relatively cheap and useful way of promoting and influencing customers' perception of an agency's brand and market position.

If a customer walks down the street and starts noticing your advertising boards, your brand is essentially having a subliminal effect on their decision making process.

That's where the power of psychology in estate agent advertising can be used to great effect; it persuades consumers that your brand is better than any of the others by rooting yours within their subconscious.


A New Era For Estate Agent Marketing

If To Let' boards face increasing restrictions and bans in the future, then online marketing and advertising - given the growing use of the internet - will become an estate agency's predominant marketing channel.

A survey of 9000 home buyers showed that 71% began their search for a new property online. If the use of To Let' boards gradually begins to decline, then that percentage will inevitably rise. However, there are a variety of solutions already available for estate agents to prepare themselves for the rise of online marketing.


Estate and letting agency software programmes - such as AgentPro - provide agencies with comprehensive marketing packages that deliver traditional marketing materials such as:

Brochures and window cards
Effective email and text message marketing
Automatic uploads to property portals
Automated social media marketing

And since the internet is used by millions of users every single day, estate and letting agents can reach large masses of customers - perhaps even more than they would be able to through traditional To Let' boards.

To Let' boards will not simply vanish overnight. But when they begin to face increasing restrictions, estate agents everywhere need to make sure they're using the most effective marketing channels, otherwise they could suffer in the long run.



Comments

MovePal MovePal MovePal