Use of digital marketing in estate agency industry in Malawi

Abstract

The study aimed at finding out the adoption of digital marketing in estate agency companies in Malawi. The key issue in this study is to check if the companies have embraced the current dominating use of online advertising of the services that they offer to the community they serve through digital marketing. Specifically, the study focused on finding out the digital marketing channels that are used in the industry, the challenges and the strategies in place to achieve the digital marketing goals. The study targeted 10 major real estate companies in Lilongwe city, the capital of Malawi. Out of these 10, six (60%) companies responded to the questionnaire. The study established that estate agency companies in Malawi have adopted online use of digital marketing in selling their services. The channels that are currently in use include Email, Affiliate Marketing, Website and Social Media. On social media, the companies are using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp. Further, the study revealed that the companies face numerous challenges in their digital marketing drive. These include expensive purchase costs for digital gadgets, lack of well-trained personnel in digital marketing, high operating cost on data usage from Internet service providers and unreliable Internet connectivity. Considering these challenges, some organizations have put in place measures aimed at minimizing the current situation and increasing their customer base through development of mobile apps, linking of websites to other news websites for broader access and frequent updates of their respective websites. Lastly, the study therefore recommends that organizations should aim at equipping their personnel with digital marketing skills, investing more finances in purchase of digital gadgets to increase the level of interaction with the consumers on the property market.