What I'm about to tell you won't surprise you at all. In the coming years, more of your clients will belong to Gen X and Gen Y – and they're going to demand a more tech savvy approach. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 31% of recent buyers belong to Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) and 28% of recent buyers belong to Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000). Consumers in this age group are quite proficient with technology, and are going to expect the same (or better) from their real estate professional.

You may be thinking this is a stale topic. You may be right. But given the importance, it doesn't hurt to reevaluate how well you're serving this demographic and "up your game" a bit.

Electronic Signatures

Electronic signatures are a great fit for Gen X and Gen Y buyers. There's something so clean and modern about this mobile and paperless approach to signings. When you look at a tool like DocuSign, even the aesthetics are bright, clean, and attractive. It's especially appealing to the environmentally-minded, online-shopping, busy folks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Stacks of paper, inkblots, copiers, and fax machines are how their grandparents closed a real estate transaction – not how they want their closing to feel.

And as we'll discuss next, mobile is a big thing for these groups so having a mobile app for your digital signature solution is a great idea.

Mobile

An overwhelming majority of Gen X and Gen Y have a smartphone and/or tablet. In fact, many of them are spending more time browsing the Internet on their mobile device than they are on a desktop or laptop computer. Make sure that you are reaching them there. A few ideas:

• A mobile property search app (we'll talk more about property search next) for your buyer clients
• Mobile marketing strategies for your buyers – i.e. QR codes, mobile-friendly virtual tours, etc.
• Interactive reports and CMAs that are viewable on a tablet to help you win the listing during your listing presentation

Property Search

Online research is a way of life for Gen X and Gen Y. It's how they approach most purchases – big and small alike. So it's important to understand that your Gen X and Gen Y buyers have done and will continue to do research online. The biggest piece of this will be property search. You can be relatively certain they've visited one of the "big boys" (a.k.a. Zillow or Trulia). The concern is that they might not be getting information that is 100% accurate and that the leads won't be going to you. So, if you have a Gen X or Gen Y client, one of the first things you'll want to do is take over their online property search. There are a few ways to do this:

• IDX search on your website or your broker's website
• A mobile property search app
• Links to your MLS and/or realtor.com® (which gets a direct data feed from the MLS and thus is always accurate and up-to-date)
• Sending them daily or weekly emails with new listings that match their search criteria

And, of course, we can't forget about your sellers. They'll be doing online property searches as well, to check out the competition and try to get a feel for the market. Like the buyers, they'll probably be visiting the sites that they've seen in banner ads or on TV commercials. And they'll probably want their listing to appear on as many sites as possible. What you'll need to do is warn against this "buckshot approach" to online marketing, explaining that an educated and targeted strategy for listing syndication is best. Emphasize the importance of listing accuracy, lead capture, and trackable metrics.