Industry: Real estate

Scenario: Research shows that 69 percent of consumers work with the first real estate agent they meet. By using behavioral targeting and knowing where a consumer is in their buying process, a real estate agent can identify a potential consumer well in advance of a transaction, significantly increasing his or her chances of winning the business.

As with autos, buying a house can be a long, drawn-out process. What's worse, though, is that people usually only move to a new home every seven to eight years, on average. Understanding where consumers are in their ownership cycle, and when they might be close to buying and /or selling, is key to providing them with the information they need at the right time and with the right frequency.

"It's a big advantage for real estate agents to understand how best to provide service to home buyers, sellers and owners based on where they are in the cycle," says Matt Heinz, senior director of marketing for HouseValues Inc.

Enter behavioral targeting.

"A couple of years ago, HouseValues commissioned a study with Hebert Research to better understand how long consumers think about buying and selling homes, and what goes into that thought process," says Heinz. "We found that the typical home buyer and seller can spend up to four years just thinking about buying or selling a home-- essentially collecting experiences and ideas about what they want next."

"We also found, however, that as they get closer to the actual transaction, they start seeking specific types of information. For example, people thinking about selling will want to learn the value of their home, the types of short-term projects that can quickly add value and they'll also pay much closer attention to comparable home sales in the neighborhood. Short-term home buyers pay far more attention to local "for sale" signs, do extensive research in desirable neighborhood qualities and spend up to several months browsing homes for sale online.

"We've been most successful in leveraging insight from this study to pay much closer attention to consumer behavior and requests, thereby estimating where in the process a consumer is prior to buying or selling a home, and helping our real estate customers provide the right, timely services that ultimately bring consumers and real estate professionals together into a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship."