“I’d rather be at the front of the curve than look at what my competitors are doing and follow them”
Rightmove Optimiser customer stories: VitalSpace
VitalSpace is a south Manchester based independent estate agent established in 2001. We caught up with Managing Director Richard Antrobus, to find out how being on the Rightmove Optimiser package is helping them lead the way in their market for sales.
With the Rightmove Optimiser package, VitalSpace pay no core membership fee. Instead, all of their spend on Rightmove is on advertising products – giving them maximum exposure for their brand across all of a customer’s buying journey.
Headline stats
- 670 enquiries received per month from Rightmove (up 73% vs. 2015)
- Weekly exposure to over 77,000 Rightmove visitors
Getting maximum exposure helps stay on top
‘Out of about nine agents in the area, we’re the market leader for sales and probably number two for instructions, and that’s been consistent for about five years. My strategy therefore is all about maximising our exposure to maintain our position and keep doing more of what we’re doing at the moment. We’ll then look to expand into new areas that are on the boundaries of our target market.’
Advertising heavily to get ahead of the competition
‘I believe strongly in advertising both online and offline, and Rightmove provides a great platform for us. We make the most of every aspect of Rightmove to help us get ahead of the competition. It starts with our property content. As a rule, we use video walk-throughs, floor plans and have between 16 and 20 quality photos on all our listings.
We’ve increased spend on the other Rightmove advertising products over the years, too. I’d rather be at the front of the curve than look at what my competitors are doing and follow them.
Outside of Rightmove, I spend a lot on SEO to drive traffic to our own website, do a lot of social media and extensive flyering of my local area. I’m constantly with testing things, analysing the results and changing things up to deliver the best ROI.’
Newspapers no longer delivering value
‘A year ago, we were spending around £40k per year on local newspaper advertising, covering 6 to 8 pages a week. But when asking customers at valuations where they heard of us, very few were saying the paper. The vast majority say they’ve seen us online and that they wouldn’t consider looking in a paper, which made me think I could spend the money more wisely.
So I stripped it back to a couple of pages and have invested more heavily in online marketing like Rightmove, that I can measure more accurately. The proof for me was when I went from 6 pages to 2. I saw absolutely no impact on the amount of contacts coming in.
Getting known in new areas using Featured Agent
VitalSpace use Featured Agent adverts on targeted search results pages, which are seen by 40,000 visitors every week and used to drive traffic to the VitalSpace website.
‘In new areas, we use Featured Agent to build brand awareness and get our name out there. Being seen prominently on a banner in the search results alongside our property listings makes us look like a serious player in that area. And the person looking to buy now might also be a seller – either now or in the future. By consistently being seen on Rightmove, we’re then more likely to get considered to be invited out in the future when that person is looking to sell.’
Helping to sell properties using Featured Property
VitalSpace use three Featured Property boxes that they swap and change regularly depending on the needs of their clients.
‘‘If I pitched myself against the same property and pictures and mine has a Featured Property and the other doesn’t, I’d bet my bottom dollar I’d sell quicker than them.
The stats you get are great at helping with client mediation – particularly if their property has been struggling to sell. I show them the stats before and after I add a Featured Property, and it’s really clear to see the uplift in visits and interactions. I also use them where a property has been dually listed, to give mine a boost over the competition.
I tend to only use Featured Properties for properties that have been on the market for 7 days or longer. In the first week we get a massive spike just by listing the property well on Rightmove, with lots of calls and interaction – so the boost in enquiries isn’t needed as much’.
Using premium advertising products to create a bespoke marketing plan for customers.
‘When out at valuations, I position Featured Property and the other Rightmove products at my disposal as part of the broader bespoke marketing plan we offer to every client.
So we might propose a marketing arrangement where the client gets a Premium Listing the first week, other exposure in the second and a Featured Property a bit later depending on how things are going. It helps us be flexible to the needs of our clients, rather than offering a blanket service to everyone. That’s what helps set us apart from the rest.’
To see how your business could benefit from maximum exposure with Rightmove Optimiser, speak to your Account Manager.
