Entegral Blog

Creating a professional online presence has never been more important and to ensure that we offer the very best to our clients, we continuously work on not just the way your website works but how it is presented to visitors. With that in mind, our designers and developers have made it possible for clients to choose from new themes that adhere to the latest design trends without losing what makes our Flex product unique in its offering. As always all our websites are responsive, hosted on the cloud and backed by our unrivaled tech to produce a 24/7 lead generating machine. Starter Theme Our Starter theme no-frills, no-fuss cost-effective real estate website solution you have been looking for. We have worked tirelessly to create a product that would offer real estate agents the perfect base to get started from in the digital landscape. Our new Starter theme boasts with all the basics you would need to get started and will be available as either the Normal Starter theme or as ...

In a competitive market and jam-packed weekends filled with open houses, is the mid-week open house the new frontier? Do home buyers even care about open houses? It is easy to assume that in the digital age an open house isn’t as relevant as it used to be - however in polls posted by MyProperty , an overwhelming amount respondents argued that even with all advances in digital technology an open house is still relevant. Does this reflect the number of visitors on show days though? The truth of the matter is that with weekends jam-packed with events, errands and other open houses many home buyers opt to only see a few open houses on a day and therefore the chance of them seeing your listing in person dwindles. There are many ways you can ensure you host the perfect show day - whether it is on a Saturday or Sunday - but have you considered hosting an express mid-week show day? The thinking behind this is that buyers who simply don’t have the time over a weekend would prefer ...

Despite the rise of e-commerce, the majority of shopping still happens locally. A study from May 2014 showed that 72% of consumers who searched for local info on a smartphone visited stores within eight kilometres of home - and this year data shows consumers stay even closer. So what does this mean for your marketing efforts? As a real estate agent, we are all trying to become the neighbourhood expert and one of the ways to establish yourself as an expert is by popping up in search results. There are two ways to achieve this - making sure your agency has a Google My Business listing and by ensuring you are providing vital area information on your website . Here we take a look at how to approach hyper-local advertising and here we find out more about the importance of Google My Business. Local agencies must adjust their marketing reach to account for the small radius of their audience. However, that audience might include local residents, commuters who work nearby or out-o...

While online tools can serve as an excellent supplement to any real estate agency, they are by no means a replacement for traditional quality service. Here are five key components of good service that will never go out of style: 1. Go the extra mile Unfortunately, many real estate agencies these days do not make customer service a priority. As a result, they end up having mediocre service that leaves clients and customers frustrated. Therefore, if you choose to prioritize good service, you will differentiate yourself from the competition and customers will appreciate you for it. A little extra effort goes a long way, so show your clients that you care, and you will be creating a positive relationship that could last a lifetime. 2. Maintain strong internal communication If you don’t have your act together within the company, it will be immediately obvious to the outside world. So in order to achieve good customer service, start from the inside out. The first step is to organize you...

Not all home buyers are created equally - each has their own set of wants and needs, and if you want your marketing to be effective, you’ll have to know who you are marketing to. Before thinking about embarking on a marketing campaign or strategy, you must understand your target audience. In order to create the most effective campaign, each message must work together with the last and also be tailored to the same target market. Failing to do this could result in valuable capital being wasted with little results. Saying that ‘home buyers’ is your target audience is not wrong, however, you can be assured that trying to market to an audience this broad will only cost you more than generating the leads you want. As a real estate agent or any business owner for that matter, you must fully understand your audience. If you sell homes upwards of R5 million, don’t assume your target is anyone with a net worth of over R20 million. Someone looking to live in a sought-after golf estate wit...

While virtual tours have their place in the industry, in-person show days are still vital for the real estate industry. However, the way show days are presented and done can be enhanced to ensure the entire experience is extraordinary. There are many other real estate professionals ready to take your client the moment you blink, but also a few simple things you can do to ensure that your client clearly sees the difference between you and your competitors. Branded from the start You are already representing your real estate brand with your on show boards, but you can go even further. Branded brochures that visitors can take home with them, create info packets with the brochure, information on the area and other relevant information. You should also consider how you present yourself - after all, you are also your own brand. Dress professionally, have your business card on hand and be ready to answer all the questions your visitors might have. Being prepared is not just good for ...

Operating in various cities across South Africa, the real estate agents from Hamptons Realty Group needed a website that not only reflected their brand but would also promote their listings - both residential and commercial - as well as their other services. http://www.hamptonsrealty.co.za/ With our industry-leading Flex real estate website solutions you are not just getting an online home for all your listings but a marketing tool with all of the latest technology backing it. The responsive design allows for the website to automatically scale itself to the screen size it is viewed on - this means that the site will never lose its functionality whether you are viewing the site on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. This counts in your favour when it comes to Google ranking and you can find out more about that here:  Responsive vs Mobile websites, which is best for your real estate agency? The Hamptons Realty Group chose our Franchise theme which boasts with all the standard F...

Chatbots (short for chatterbots) are making inroads into almost every business - evolving from a single question and answer AI, to AI that can hold a conversation.  But is there a use for them in real estate? Real estate is a relationship-orientated industry, and as we have discussed before, no form of current AI will be able to replace the client-agent relationship . However, with chatbots, there are some very real-world applications that real estate agents could benefit from. For visitors to your website, chatbots could be used to answer questions that beg for more than a simple yes or no answer. For example, “how can I save money selling my house?” or “I am looking for a property in Bryanston.” Each needs a conversation with targeted questions to arrive at a call to action. A chatbot could easily engage a potential client that is still on the fence, this could prompt them to pick up the phone and actually speak to an agent. Tech-savvy buyers who prefer to interact online f...

The last month of 2015 is proving to be just as busy with yet another newly launched Flex responsive website. Our long time client, Properties by Lorraine , not only recently revamped their logo but also launched their new Elegant theme Flex website. For this team operating in the ever popular Northern suburbs of Cape Town , their new website not only allows for potential buyers and sellers to find all the necessary information and listings quickly and easily, but keeps with the agency’s unique branding. When visiting www.propertiesby.co.za from any device you will be able to find the latest listings, sign up for property alerts or request a property valuation. Visit us at www.entegral.net for more information on how you can have your real estate business setup on the OMS , have your own website and feed to major real estate portals within a few working days.

Retha van Zyl Real Estate , area specialist in Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate in Bloemfontein , which has been a client of ours for quite some time proves that she and her company are not only able match the perfect home with the perfect owner but they also ensure that they stay up to date with the latest technology and trends. This fast growing real estate agency recently expanded to more areas in Bloemfontein , now also operating in the popular suburbs of Pentagon Park and Waverley . With the expansion of her company,  Retha van Zyl , owner of Retha van Zyl Real Estate , replaced her old website and mobile website with Entegral's new Flex Website product.  This brand new website offering enables the buyer or new tenant  viewing this website to view the full version website on any device (pc, tablet or smartphone). The Flex Website option also enables the owner of the site to customise the website with various add-on's available like property alerts, l...

It's with great excitement that we announce Keller Williams Explore Properties joining our client network.   Keller Williams Explore Properties consists out of two offices, residing in Bryanston and Port Elizabeth .  These offices cover a spectrum of areas in which they operate. You'll be able to find both property for sale and to rent by them in areas such as Bryanston , Sandton , Randburg , Krugersdorp , Roodepoort , Midrand and all areas of Port Elizabeth . Being fairly large offices, they also have a large turnover of new stock, thus increasing the time spend on marketing and listing these listings online.  The OMS system, which is a property management system built for real estate agents, enables Keller Williams Explore properties to capture their stock once and advertise simultaneously on the largest property portals and their own website at the same time.  Speaking of, owners Dean and Estelle Ferreira ordered a  Flex website for thei...