Wouldn't it be great if you had a massive audience of fans? Imagine filling Yankee Stadium with loyal customers clamoring to get you to help them with their real estate transactions.
It's a compelling fantasy, but it's not going to happen.
If you spend your marketing budget trying to reach the greatest number of people possible, the best you can hope for is "opening act" status. Warming up the audience is not a great gig. At best, people are waiting impatiently for you to exit so they can get on to what's really intersting to them.
Marketing guru Seth Godin suggests a different approach. It's a strategy to build a devoted following:
"I'd argue that the two keys to becoming a rock star marketer are:
1. settle for a tiny audience that views you as a star, not an opening act. Then grow that audience.
and
2. Be really good."
Determine who your target audience is going to be, and market to them exclusively. It's tempting to want to be all things to all people. But unless you have an ad budget like Coke or Nike, spreading yourself too thin will establish you as nothing to all people. That's not meant to be harsh, but it is a financial reality.
Choosing a farm area may be a good start, but you can get more focused than that. It's important to really determine who is most likely to view you as a star, and market to them at least on a monthly basis over the long haul. You'll be amazed at how your fans will recruit others for you, helping your audience to grow in quantity and quality over time.
Have you had any success in targeting your marketing to a well-defined group? Retired military? Dog lovers? Young, tech-savvy professionals? I'd love to hear what's working for you.
By the way, I encourage you to benefit from the great marketing insights on Seth Godin's blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com. He's a rock star in my eyes. And as a real estate professional who's working hard to grow their busines, so are you.
Comments(4)