As the real estate industry transitions from a post-pandemic boom to a more stabilized environment, industry insiders are continuously discussing how title and settlement professionals can adapt to the “new normal.”
During the 2026 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Kansas City, Mo., SoftPro Director of Compliance Leslie Wyatt and Ardán Head of Marketing, Branding and Communications Susan Green discussed what strategies companies can use to gain a competitive edge while navigating shifting market dynamics.
The conversation centered on four common strategies designed to help firms maintain a competitive edge: “Cost Leadership,” “Differentiation,” “Focus Strategy” and “Blue Ocean Strategy.”
Cost Leadership
Leveraging available tools to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency can be a crucial part of a company’s success.
“I implore you to look at whatever production system you’re using,” Wyatt told the attendees. “I promise you, you are paying for stuff that you’re not using.”
She urged them to look into automation tools and third-party integration options as ways to cut down on unnecessary expenses for software, social media tools, etc.
“You might be paying for a service that you already have access to in whatever system you’re running, so I would definitely look at your technology and how many of them you’re using,” Wyatt added. “I think you’ll be really surprised.”
Differentiation
Whereas Wyatt views cost leadership could be thought of as a basic function leaders should be concerned with, the task of differentiating a business from the competition can be more challenging but just as beneficial in the long run
“Standing out for unique features or innovation doesn't mean you need to be a trailblazer,” she said. “It doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money. It just means really thinking about your market. Everyone’s market share is different, the size of everyone’s company is different and everyone has experience in different markets.”
Through her travels around the country, Wyatt has encountered all manner of accounts from business owners about the state of the market at any given time.
“I say, ‘It’s a stable market,’ and someone else will say, ‘I don’t know. We’re really busy,’ and someone else will say, ‘You lie!” Our business is terrible!’ So, it really just depends on what works for you,” Wyatt explained. “But it’s a way of creating value that customers can clearly see. Tell me why you’re the best, what makes you different, what makes you stand out.”
For a starting point, Green said companies should focus on identifying one thing they feel they do better than anyone else consistently and build from there. She gave an example from her experience working to get repeat business through a personable, customer-oriented approach.
“When we would have our customers at a closing table, we would sit there and have conversations with them, but we also knew we had a warm lead sitting at the table,” Green explained. “… We would talk to that Realtor and say, ‘How can we help you? What would make you come back and do business with us?”
The simple act of asking for the customer’s future business and for direct feedback while sitting at the closing table proved effective with several agents, she said.
“We trained our closers to do that and say, ‘Would you consider giving me your next deal? Did you like what happened here?’” Green said. “So, we kind of used that approach and it worked out well for us.”
Wyatt said the one thing that differentiates a business might not be immediately obvious. It may require some reconnaissance to uncover.
“You could look back over the past six months or a year and realize you are doing a lot more commercial closings or first-time homebuyers,” she said. “They you might think, ‘Maybe we should advertise that. Maybe we should go out and start talking about how we kind of specialize in that. Let’s differentiate ourselves from XYZ title and see how we can make ourselves stand out and create a value that customers can see.”
Focus Strategy
Noting that it is one of her favorite topics – and one that often can be done at no cost – Wyatt explained that “Focus Strategy” can be defined as targeting a specific or niche audience, such as first-time homebuyers or commercial businesses, and becoming an expert at it.
Similar to differentiation, the core objective behind this approach is to make a business stand out from the competition. Wyatt urged companies to not be shy about spreading the word once they’ve identified their unique niche.
“Go to your Better Business Bureau, put your ads out, spread the word that you’re a fifth generation ABC town and that makes you different,” she recommended. “Especially in today’s world. It’s a very transient era. Most people move around, so if you are a local to an area and I’m moving into it, because I might want to work with you simply because of that fact.”
Green added, “People want to do business with people who they like and they trust. And if you’re in the communities and they see you, they may build that trust with you. It can be the same thing with social media. If they see you’re putting things out there, they trust you and they’re building that trust with you, so they’re more apt to pick you versus your competitor.”
She suggested business owners have discussions with their business partners, underwriters, vendor partners, etc. to “brainstorm” ideas of what to focus on.
Blue Ocean Strategy
One surefire way to separate a business from the competition is to set out on a path that no other company has yet explored. This “Blue Ocean Strategy” can be beneficial to businesses wanting to expand that are willing to step out of their comfort zone.
“It’s essentially creating a new uncontested market space,” Wyatt explained. “So, a familiar product, but a new way of either providing it or a new area providing it.”
She offered an example involving someone she knew who was in a fairly competitive market. While they were getting a lot of business, they wanted to expand, but found doing so to be very difficult and potentially expensive in the market they were in.
“They were brainstorming and they said there are a couple counties around here that are a little bit more rural that we feel are kind of underserved,” Wyatt said. “They don’t have a lot of people that will provide the service that we do in those areas. So, they went after that business and they just exploded. Same product. Same service. New market. Different area. They got so much business from it, and they created so many more partnerships and it was really just across the county line.”
Green noted that not all companies or independent agents are willing to experiment with offering new services, but those who do often reap the benefits.
“It obviously varies on a state by state, case by case basis,” she said. “We have some agents who are very progressive and do just remote online notarizations (RONs). We have agents who are in rural towns, and they’ll say, ‘Nope, I’m in the community. People want to come into my office when they want to close.’ So, helping them say, OK, but did you think about this?’ Just having that conversation sometimes will help plant the seed, getting them to kind of rethink things.”
Wyatt and Green concluded that success in today’s market requires a clear, budget-conscious marketing plan rooted in repetition, network building and the courage to step outside the beaten path in search of untapped opportunities.