New This Month
Print Article Archives
Reprints / Subscriptions
Editorial Calendar
Media Kit
Popular Features
Architecture Guide
Cost vs. Value Report
Good Neighbor Awards
Handouts for Customers
Top 100 Companies
Take a Quiz
30 under 30
Young Professionals
REALTOR® Emeritus
Architecture Guide
Cost vs. Value Report
Good Neighbor Awards
Handouts for Customers
Top 100 Companies
Take a Quiz
30 under 30
Young Professionals
REALTOR® Emeritus| ONLINE DISCUSSIONS INNOVATOR SERIES: MARKETING ROUNDTABLE Marketing innovators from REALTOR® Magazine's September article answer your questions and share their thoughts on what's in store at the convergence of tech and real estate. Our experts will respond to your questions starting Aug. 29.  |
|||||||||
|
your qUESTIONS aNSWERED
Click on the topic links to see questions from other readers, or scroll for the most recent posting. |
|||||||||
|
PARTICIPATING EXPERTS
|
|||||||||
| Print vs. Online Ads Word-of-Mouth Marketing Sam Miller;Daniel Custom Homes & Real Estate;Chapel Hill, N.C.: Are the days of effective print ads and paper flyers completely dead? I suspect that if your answer is yes, then you say the Internet has taken the place of these advertising methods. But what online format is the best? There are so many. Kim Cipriano Prior: Yes, the days of an advertising campaign driven by print media are over. Print media as one component of an effective marketing campaign is a better strategy. Why? For the home buyer, printed media presents a flat, one-dimensional experience: an ad with abbreviated terms and maybe one property photo. For the real estate professional, the newspaper is a one-shot deal. You pay once and get a one-time exposure. Conversely, the Internet provides a far richer experience for home seekers. They receive virtually unlimited property information, many photos, and maybe even a virtual tour — which is like an open house right from their desktop. For the real estate professional, the Internet provides a blank canvas on which to market the property for the life of the listing at a very affordable price. Internet listings are viewed nationally. They're not limited by regional boundaries, as print typically is. So, I boil it down to exposure, depth of information, and value. That's why print media effectiveness is waning and being steamrolled by the Internet. However, I'm an advocate for taking a mixed approach rather than putting all of your advertising eggs in one basket. So, as to which Internet media format provides the best advertising option, I think it is important to assess what is available based on your goals and your budget. If you are a sales associate, assess what your broker provides to you for company and agent branding and for listing exposure. Then, beef that up with some personal investment. You must first define your goals: Listing exposure? Lead generation? Company branding? Agent promotion? And then assess the return delivered by your various options: REALTOR.com? Zillow? Homegain? Unique property Web addresses? More branding to drive consumers to your own site? Also look at TV and radio. Then, pick a plan that fits your budget. Not all online media provide the same results. Do your research to find the best fit for you. How Do I Keep Pace With New Technology? Robin A. Schwartz, GRI, ePRO®;Phillips Realty;High Springs, Fla.: What is the best way for the "average Joe" like myself to keep up on technology, blogs, virtual worlds, and the ever changing tricks, tools, and toys? I just can’t seem to keep up and always feel like I’m falling behind. Kim Cipriano Prior: I agree that it's hard to keep up and easy to feel drowned by the amount of information that's available. In addition to high-tech tricks, tools, and toys there is a constant need to not neglect traditional approaches: Development of your sales skills, keeping up on new legal industry items, and expanding your sphere, even while staying on top of your everyday business. So, here are a few things to help you stay on top of trends and tricks while not digressing too much from your core business. First, stay focused. There is so much cool stuff out there to distract us from our goals. On Monday and Friday mornings I spend my lunch skimming a few of my online "key industry" sources. I do that for the "hot stuff." Second, I plan a few hours each month of what I call "find it and learn it" time. Third, during the month, all of my industry information goes into a pile and I keep a running list of things that have piqued my interest and bear further investigation. Fourth, during the "find it and learn it time," I conquer my list and I skim, filter, and immerse myself in the things that I need to know. Finally, I share those items of highest importance with my peers, our management team, and my staff. Open House Overkill Zach Furr; Century 21 Goldcrest Properties; Reno, Nev.: How effective do you think it would be to hold open houses every day, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.? Kelle Sparta: (Editor's Note: For general marketing questions, we brought in the expertise of Sales Coach columnist and book author Kelle Sparta) That would be massive overkill as well as a tremendous burden for you. There’s a line between being available and being desperate, and what you're suggesting crosses that line. If you're looking for better open house traffic, what might work for you is an evening-commute open house, in which you host an open house during hours people typically travel home from work. This works especially well if the house is located near a major travel route. Some well-placed signs might get you some good foot traffic, too. Some of this is covered in one of my recent Sales Coach columns, "10 Dating Rules Than Can Help Your Career." New Career, Old Clients Arian Mossa: I'm a new real estate sales associate with some decent existing clients from my previous career. Any tips on getting those clients work with me in my new career? Kelle Sparta: (Editor's Note: For general marketing questions, we brought in the expertise of Sales Coach columnist and book author Kelle Sparta) It’s all about establishing your credibility. Right now your clients think of you as being the expert in the field where they knew you. You need to establish yourself as the expert in real estate. Send them newsletters talking about the market and what they can expect. Talk with them about the deals you’re doing. Give them a sense of how your skills from your previous career (the skills they knew and appreciated about you) apply to real estate. You need to convince them that you know what you’re doing before they’re going to use your services. Then, once your credibility is established, make sure you stay in touch so that you’re top-of-mind when they need an agent. Finding Affluent Clients Ben Abdallah; WaterfrontAndWaterview.com: What are the best ways to reach and retain affluent buyers? Kelle Sparta: (Editor's Note: For general marketing questions, we brought in the expertise of Sales Coach columnist and book author Kelle Sparta) The affluent usually do business with other affluent people. So, if you want to be in the club, you have to join the club. Get into the country clubs, go to high-end charity fundraisers, take up tennis and golf. If you’re looking to do something more marketing oriented, look into the marketing approach taught by the people at Nurture Marketing . They offer a two-day seminar that will teach you the ins and outs of getting in touch with the affluent. That’s their specialty. Dealing With Market-Wary Buyers Celia Taylor; RE/MAX One;Bowie, Md.: How can I explain to potential buyers that it is a good time to buy (Maryland in particular)? Kelle Sparta: (Editor's Note: For general marketing questions, we brought in the expertise of Sales Coach columnist and book author Kelle Sparta) Take the historic approach. If Maryland is on the same track as my home state of Massachusetts (and I think it is), then you’ve had a year of decline. Historically, real estate runs in seven-year cycles. Ours is being a little extra challenged at the moment by the problems in the mortgage industry. This makes it an ideal time to buy. Based on historical markers, the market is probably close to bottoming out (we won’t know exactly when the bottom hits until we can look back and say, “Yep, that was it,” so trying to time the bottom is just silly). We’re close enough. And, with the challenges in the mortgage industry, sellers are really motivated. The other thing that buyers should look at is how long they plan to stay in a home. If they’re planning on being in the house for more than four years, then they should be happy with what they get on the back end, since by then the market should have recovered. If that doesn’t work, then start talking to them about how much renting is costing them in lost tax deductions and equity accrual. Even if the market continues to decline such that they are losing the equity they are paying in, they are still ahead of the game on their tax costs. (Also, check out NAR's free resources from its "Good Time to Buy" campaign.) Word-of-Mouth Marketing REALTOR® Magazine: The challenge of word-of-mouth marketing, particularly in the digital environment, is maintaining control of your message. How can you keep control when, in effect, you’re allowing anyone to pass along your message for you? James Burroughs: The fact that word of mouth is extremely difficult to control is what gives it higher credibility than paid-for advertising, which is why so many people are interested in it. And the risk really isn’t that high. Average consumers are interested in getting information they can use, and they’re not interested necessarily in harming or hurting Coldwell Banker or RE/MAX. If a negative message about a company is originated and spread by others, there’s something resonating with people for them to take the time to send it on. People aren’t generally malicious. One way to control your message is to make sure you have an upstanding product to begin with. Knowing Your Audience REALTOR® Magazine: How do you get to the point where you know your audience well enough to move forward on a strategy? John Bell:Tons of research. We at Ogilvy create, in the course of an engagement with a client, a thing called a digital user profile of whomever the client is trying to reach, whether it’s women 35 to 50 or African-American men with a propensity for heart disease. For every group we’re working to reach, we create a profile of what they use from a device standpoint, from computers to digital video recorders to mobile devices like phones and so forth. For us, it’s a combination of syndicated research we’ve purchased, one-off research for which we’ve contracted, and research we’ve accessed through Google: stuff that’s out there now and available to anyone who’s diligent enough to search for it. Branding Through Social Media REALTOR® Magazine: New social media marketing platforms and the growth of word-of-mouth strategies online are boons to sales associates who know how to leverage them, but what about the company? Does this trend make company marketing less important, and how does the company protect its brand image? Charlie Young: The role of the brand today is as relevant as ever, if not more relevant. In today’s world, where the consumer can literally bounce from market to market, associate to associate, and company to company with the click of a mouse, the ability to represent a consistent level of service is critical. When consumers go to the online space, they’re a little bit wary of what they’re going to find, so we believe that the brand can deliver a level of confidence to consumers that they really need in this world. |
|
|||||||
