We did a tongue and cheek post yesterday about not being able to sell Crest for $35.00 a Tube. There were really two main points that we thought about when putting together this nonsense tale.
The first was about the impossibility of selling overpriced listings in today’s real estate market.
So far 90+ of you have commented and most all seem to appreciate the overpriced message... from personal experience! (Just how many overpriced listings does each one of us have?)
The second, and perhaps foremost thing we thought about was the difference between marketing and advertising. Many professionals know this difference, but it has been our experience that some don’t, and that many Sellers and Buyers are not as aware of the difference as they might be.
Isn't it interesting how many Sellers these days tell us we're not "marketing" their house properly? How many of them understand that the fundamental component of marketing anything is always "Price"? And further, how many of them are actually talking about advertising and calling it marketing? We think pretty much all of them.
Let's see if we can help them out. So here goes the difference between the two:
Lets Define Marketing:
It’s the planning and execution of business methods and activities to sell a product.
How to Think about Marketing:
Think of Marketing as a Complete, Luscious Strawberry Pie.
- There are Nine Pieces to the Pie.
- Some Pieces are more important than others. (Price is the most important by far.)
- All the Pieces Have to Work Together, and Independently to Complete the Marketing Pie.
- The Pie won’t work unless you can eat the whole thing!
The Nine Pieces of the Marketing Pie: (not necessarily in order of importance, but in order of business execution)
- Market Research (uncovers Price)
- Product Price (the biggest slice of the Pie.)
- Sales Strategy
- Media Planning
- Public Relations
- Advertising
- Distribution
- Customer Support
- Community Involvement
Let’s Define Advertising:
A public message paid for by a firm to promote the sale of it’s product.
How to Think about Advertising:
Advertising is only one piece of the Marketing Pie.
- Advertising never works if the product is overpriced. (That’s why we can’t sell Crest for $35.)
- Advertising is the piece of the Pie involved with getting the word out only.
- Advertising involves strategies for ad placement and frequency.
- Advertising often involves various media:
- Print Media (magazines and newspapers)
- Direct Mail
- Billboards (we don’t have any to speak of in our market)
- Television
- Radio
- Internet (80+% shop for homes here first)
- The MLS (the next most important marketing tool after price.)
- Advertising is the the most expensive piece of the Marketing Pie (presumably it has more strawberries). Public Relations is a close second, and Market Research is not far behind.
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