Sotheby's International, operated by Lew Geffen estate agents, is marketing South African real estate to its wealthiest clients in 25 countries, through an e-mail service developed by the South African operation.
Barak Geffen, executive director of Sotheby's International in SA, says the group's marketing platform allows it to showcase its portfolios through cyberspace. This allows would-be buyers to receive information rather than to laboriously 'pull' information from the Internet.
This is only possible if one has a valuable database of e-mail addresses, he says, and Sotheby's International Realty's database comprises the world's wealthiest people in 25 countries.
"The problem many would-be property buyers have is finding information on properties via the Internet. Many international buyers do not know the names of South African property companies and don't know where to look for properties for sale," Geffen says.
"To overcome this barrier, we have designed a unique system through which we can interest buyers. We send information on a particular property contextualised though scenic settings, lifestyle images and other relevant business information directly to their e-mail address."
Geffen says the South African-designed package has had such a positive response that Sotheby's International Realty associates all around the world now want to use it too.
"We are confident that it represents one of the most sophisticated electronic marketing channels across the globe. We are uniquely positioned to market SA to a whole new foreign target audience - and not to just those foreigners who have happened to come here already or been marketed to via other channels," he says.
"The platform is something we came up with and were delighted to discover that nothing quite like it exists in any of the 1 200 offices in 25 countries in which Sotheby's International Realty operates," Geffen says.
Sotheby's Auction House was established 260 years ago. Sotheby's International Realty taps into the auction and art division's network and database of high wealth customers to market its properties. This has allowed its global property division to grow so fast that it now accounts for three-fifths of the Sotheby's Group turnover, says the company. Last year it made $30 billion (R195 billion) in commission on luxury residential property sales around the world.
In SA, it has grown its market presence, opening 21 new offices in the past 10 months. A further 20 offices are on the cards for the current year.
The e-mail and the South African operation's site can be accessed here.
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