Should you be spying on your buyers, sellers and tenants? British Airways thinks you should!
There have been dozens of stories in the news raising concerns about the intrusion of Facebook, Google and certain apps that have eliminated our privacy. These companies have not only been found to be tracking our movements, contacts and internet browsing history as well as capturing passwords and reading personal messages but even have the ability to turn on the microphones and camera on mobile devices remotely.
Yes, this is scary but the bottom line is our privacy is gone so why not use it to your advantage?
Obviously some of the spying and hacking which has gone on is taking it way too far but the public information which is available creates great opportunities for real estate investing professionals to hone their marketing, maximize ROI and makes closing deals a breeze.
Companies like Facebook and the credit bureaus sell this data or allow marketers to use it to target advertising to hit the best prospects at the best time. However, British Airways has announced they are taking this even further. Under their new “Know Me” program they are arming staff with iPads and having them Google passengers before arrival to add a whole new level of personal service. It’s the “Cheers” effect where everybody knows your name, what you look like and what you are about. Certainly there are a lot of businesses who probably ought to be doing this to treat consumers better and build more loyalty.
For real estate investing this strategy can be incredibly profitable. Even just Googling and checking out prospects’ social feeds you can be in a far better negotiating position when dealing with home buyers and sellers as well as using these tactics to screen potential tenants better.
