Strategic lead generation approaches by estate agencies for Malaysian Residential Property Market

The Malaysian real estate market is highly competitive, requiring estate agents to implement effective lead strategies to ensure they have a quality of lead generations. This research focuses on identifying and determining the most effective strategies used by estate agents in acquiring quality leads. The research is guided by two main objectives: Objective 1 is to identify the practical strategies in acquiring quality lead generation in the estate agency best practices and Objective 2 is to determine the most practical strategies in acquiring quality lead generation in Malaysian estate agency best practices. This research employs a quantitative approach, using simple random sampling to collect primary data from registered estate agents and negotiators who are actively involved in residential property transactions in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics (including frequency distribution and mean score analysis) and Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA), to determine the actual effectiveness of each strategy. However, the findings revealed that while traditional, digital, and AI-based strategies are being utilized, their effectiveness varies. The most effective strategy based on statistical analysis was AI personalization tools, followed by the combination of all strategies, content creation, and cold calling. Interestingly, some strategies perceived as effective such as social media marketing and chatbots, were found to have a negative statistical impact, indicating a mismatch between perception and actual performance. In line with the findings, this research offers practical implications for estate agents, negotiators, and real estate firms by identifying which strategies should be prioritized to enhance lead generation performance. It also provides useful insights for regulatory bodies in developing professional guidelines for the estate agency strategy.