A good staging marketing strategy begins with an analysis of the property that includes buyer and neighborhood demographics, an update and /or remodeling plan as needed, and developing and implementing a thorough design plan, creating a "neutral" (not empty and barren!) space that will appeal to a greater number of people.
It's statistics. It's numbers. It's a puzzle. It's design concepts. And, it encompasses a tremendous ROI of 5,10,15+% for the sellers. (NAR Profiile on Home Staging Report, 2021)
And, according to "NAR's 2021 Real Estate in a Digital Age Report"...97% of buyers start their search online.
Making sure that what's IN your photos looks INCREDIBLE to those buyers is one of the BEST ways to market your listings, and yourself. (I mean, would you go visit a house that looked unappealing in online photos, showing clutter and other distractions center-stage?)
Realtors can provide various levels of staging support to their sellers, from recommending a consultation to all your sellers, up through paying for all of it -- it's up to you and what works best for you.
Here are the most common ways I have seen Realtors support their sellers through staging. (The most basic is found at the bottom of the pyramid):