Constant Contact is launching a real estate-focused marketing platform in Canada following a two-year company-wide investment aimed at adapting its technology to the structure and needs of the country’s real estate industry.
Constant Contact for Real Estate is designed for the broader Canadian real estate ecosystem, including associations, Multiple Listing Services, brokerages, franchises, teams and individual agents. The company says the platform is intended to connect with marketing and customer relationship tools already used by real estate professionals.
The launch comes as Canadian agents face pressure to manage their existing relationships, maintain visibility between transactions and use technology to support their businesses. Constant Contact’s research found that 86 per cent of an agent’s business comes from their existing database and sphere of influence.
“Real estate has always been a relationship business, and that has never been truer than it is today in Canada,” said Jim Mandala, vice-president of strategic verticals at Constant Contact. “We made a deliberate decision to build for how this industry actually works – to be the marketing thread that connects the technologies Canadian real estate professionals already rely on.”
Two-year investment
Constant Contact said the development effort involved its product, engineering, user experience, partnership, customer success, marketing and sales teams, as well as executive leadership. The initiative was focused on changing the platform to reflect the organizational structure of the Canadian real estate industry.
The company said the work included developing functionality for brokerages, franchises, associations, teams and agents, expanding integrations with customer relationship management platforms and other tools, incorporating artificial intelligence into the platform, and investing in Canadian-specific education, onboarding, partnerships and industry experiences.
“The research kept pointing us back to one truth: relationships drive this business,” said Stephanie Alfonso, senior director of vertical innovation at Constant Contact. “Everything we built starts there — and we built it to work for the full structure of this industry, from national associations and brokerages right down to the individual agent managing their sphere from their phone between showings.”
The platform is being offered through two tailored experiences, with features aimed at different levels of the real estate sector.
For brokerages and franchises, Constant Contact says the platform is intended to scale agent productivity while maintaining brand standards. It also provides centralized visibility into usage, adoption and engagement, which the company says can support leadership coaching, recruiting and retention.
For associations and member-based organizations, the platform is positioned as a member benefit intended to support year-round engagement and continuing education.
Integrations with existing technology
Constant Contact for Real Estate also integrates with a range of technology platforms used by Canadian real estate professionals.
The company lists CRM platforms including BoldTrail, Lofty, Follow Up Boss and Cloze, as well as design tools Canva and MAXA Design. Content solutions integrated with the platform include Roomvu, Real Grader Instacard and Keeping Current Matters.
Constant Contact said artificial intelligence is embedded throughout the platform to help agents create, personalize and automate marketing activities.
The Canadian launch is being announced as Western Canada’s real estate community prepares to gather in Vancouver for PacificWest, presented by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and Greater Vancouver Realtors. Constant Contact said its real estate platform is available now to Canadian real estate professionals.
The company said it has been operating as a marketing platform for nearly 30 years and describes its broader business as providing marketing technology to small businesses, nonprofits, franchises, multi-location brands and real estate teams.
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