How the Real Estate Industry Can Bounce Back from the Pandemic with QR Codes

With the future of the real estate industry seemingly uncertain, real estate businesses need to find ways to sustain their business — enter the power of QR Codes in the pandemic. Industry figures have highlighted that QR Codes for real estate have helped the industry stay afloat and that the technology might even boost Realtors’ digital presence in the future. 

From real estate signs to virtual QR Codes for online viewings and walkthroughs, when digital transformation is combined with the flexible power of the QR Code solution, the real estate industry can become stronger than ever before.

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the real estate industry?

As ‘work from home’ quickly became the new normal, and spare bedrooms and kitchen tables were converted into workspaces, the need for traditional office spaces almost vanished overnight. This left the commercial real estate business in complete upheaval: buildings with open office plans are no longer viable in the age of covid, and with remote work now an everyday reality, there’s also the question of whether companies even require traditional office spaces.

On the other side of the coin is the residential real estate industry – which has survived the onset of the coronavirus pandemic surprisingly well and has not suffered any long-term damage. In fact, the demand for affordable homes has already rebounded to levels higher than pre-coronavirus times. Homes are staying on the market longer, but sellers have no intention of dropping prices to accommodate the changes — a decision that makes sense, as property is often a long-term investment. However, the question of how the future will unfold for the real estate industry as a whole is still an open one.

A new demand for digital real estate

An industry that heavily relies on physical spaces, real estate agencies have been slow to integrate technological processes. So when the pandemic struck, it left some in the industry lagging behind. Meanwhile, tech-ready companies that had already embraced digitization were leaps and bounds ahead.

One great example is Redfin, a tech-based real estate brokerage site, which reported that 63% of recent sales were made in instances where buyers had not seen the property in person. Their success is down to this quick pivot to digital and offering video tours and 3D virtual walkthroughs. For the real estate industry, there’s a lesson to be learned: to stay competitive digital integration is a must.

How QR Codes digitize the real estate industry

Going digital means that you then need to incorporate top-spec digital tools — it can be as simple as designing real estate signs with QR Codes on them. If you’re looking for a flexible yet effective way to adapt, then QR Codes are the ideal choice for transforming and digitizing marketing across the whole industry.

A direct link between print and digital

A traditionally print-focused industry, real estate companies can maximize their print advertising efforts by using a QR Code on print marketing materials. QR Codes create a direct link between print and digital — using a QR Code on a real estate sign is one example. 

Print mediums like billboard ads may be great for improving brand awareness, but there is no clear and concrete way to track their success. When you use a QR Code, however, it transforms your printed ad into a tangible revenue stream. All you need to do is integrate your QR Code campaign with Google Analytics, and you can monitor the entire process with everything from the initial QR Code scan to the final purchase.

A better customer experience

When used effectively, pandemic real estate QR Codes can improve the whole customer experience. When someone views a print ad and wants to follow up with more information, they then need the link to do that. Instead of hoping that they’ll look up your listing later, however, they can scan a QR Code — such as a QR Code on a real estate sign — to view the information they’re looking for right away. This makes the whole process much more convenient for buyers, especially when contactless and covid-safe solutions are becoming more expected.

Customization that matches all designs

Limitless customization means you can style your QR Codes to match your business needs. You can make them small for small property brochures sent in the mail or large enough to be scanned from a distance on a local billboard ad. There’s actually no limit to how far away a QR Code can be scanned — which is great for creating a social distancing Code — as long as you make it big enough and with high enough image quality. 

What’s more, giving your QR Code style is a breeze when you use the customization panel to add brand colors, a custom frame with an editable CTA (call-to-action), and your logo in the middle. QR Code images are also downloadable into four different image file formats (JPG, SVG, PNG, EPS), giving you the full flexibility to do further customization and add it to graphic designs.

Examples of how the real estate industry can use QR Codes

If business longevity sounds appealing, then it’s time for the real estate industry to embrace technology. No matter whether your goal is to grow social media followers, generate bookings for property viewings, promote a virtual property tour, and more, there’s a QR Code type for that.

To help jumpstart your next QR Code campaign with some clever and creative marketing tactics, we’ve taken a deep dive into some examples.

Put a QR Code on a real estate sale sign

One of the biggest missed digitalization opportunities for the real estate industry is property display signs. And no, you do not need to create a digital sign; all you need to do is make real estate signs with QR Codes! There are a few options here: either you direct users to an appointment booking landing page with a Dynamic URL QR Code or, if there is a fixed property viewing event (or even a virtual tour), you can use an Event QR Code which enables automatic event registration, ticketing, and adds the event to the user’s digital calendar.

Host virtual property tours

Any event for any business is transformable into a virtual event. Using a virtual QR Code also makes promoting these events even easier. For example, you can use a QR Code poster ad to promote the virtual tour with an Event QR Code, as seen in the above sign. Alternatively, you can use a Video QR Code so viewers can view a video of the property in their own time, and without having to sign up for a live event. The display page on the Video QR Code also comes with a customizable CTA button so you can incentivize further actions, such as scheduling an appointment to discuss buying the property.

Optimize your office windows

Many real estate agencies already make use of their front office windows to display information about their current properties for sale, which makes them an ideal location for a QR Code window display. It’s ideal for adding more information about property listings, so interested buyers only need to scan to find out more. By providing access to listings, 24/7 marketing, and automatic appointment scheduling, you’ll discover how QR Codes are a surefire way to boost property sales.

Another type of QR Code that can benefit your window display is a vCard Plus QR Code, otherwise known as a digital business card. If individual real estate agents are responsible for specific properties, you can coordinate each listing with the relevant agent’s digital business property card. In any case, using a QR Code business card as a real estate agent always makes networking easier because you can include even more information than traditional business cards allow. 

Get better results from magazine ads

Using magazine ads can be an effective way of promoting properties on the market, especially when advertising in your local area. Create an ad that showcases images of all the properties, and add a Business QR Code connecting the reader with a display page summarizing your business. 

The display page is an overview of the business that includes location, office hours, contact information, a description of the business, and a customizable CTA button. The CTA button encourages users to visit a particular landing page to book an appointment or view more property information.

Harness the full power of email marketing

QR Codes integrate with digital marketing campaigns and multi-channel marketing due to short URLs. Each dynamic QR Code you create comes with a customizable QR Code short URL for use on platforms such as email and social media. It’s a shorter and speedier version of your link that sends users to the same content as someone who physically scanned the QR Code. It can be useful for promoting property viewings (such as virtual walkthroughs) in an email marketing campaign as it gives users the opportunity to register for the event on different devices. 

Plus, you can use that same QR Code on other marketing channels (both print and digital) to optimize your campaign.

Over the course of the Covid-19 crisis, it might have seemed like the real estate industry had hit tougher times. Luckily for real estate agents, using QR Codes in the pandemic can help businesses adapt to the needs and demands of a changing industry. With their flexibility and accessibility, using QR Codes in the pandemic can provide a whole host of contactless marketing solutions for realtors — ensuring the industry can build itself back even stronger than before.