I've done marketing for around 10 years in some form or another. I've been absolutely fascinated with the change in technologies, the speed in which it has happened, and how utterly left behind companies have gotten because they thought it didn't apply to them. Did you see the C.A.R. report where 72% of buyers now start their searches online compared to 28% in 2000. That's revolutionary!
Long gone are the days of fax blasts, cold calls, and to some degree, mass mailings. Long gone are the days of Realtors getting to pick what a client was going to go see. They've already got their own ideas before they even pick up the phone. Marketing is taking more sophistication, a different mix of resources, and a team that can help. It's very difficult to do everything by yourself. Consumers are more demanding and your marketing dollar has to be spent in more avenues.
I'm in the real estate education business and most recently I've started listing our properties. For the education side of the business, the questions I always ask myself: How do I keep them coming back for more? At what point have I earned the right for customers to be super excited when they get an email or mailer from my company? How do I win the hearts of an audience?
It's been an interesting two years at The Norris Group and I've learned lots. I was fiddling around Active Rain today and I saw ANOTHER website I had never heard of before and got to work (on a Saturday) for over an hour updating my company's information on several Wiki sites. I know I can't be the only one that this happens to. I'm not complaining. I just feel a little like an Active Rain junkie. It's a wonderful tool.
Anyway, it just reminded me of how complex the web has made our lives. At least for those of us that have completely had to revolutionize the way we communicate with our customers. Then again, what company has not been effected by the Internet. I myself as a consumer have become so demanding. I want the info and I want it now. I don't want to have to go to the store, I want it delivered to my work. I don't want to talk to a sales person at Best Buy about a new TV, I'm going to visit several websites and figure out which has the highest ratings by not only independent reviewers but also my peers. If I get a cold call I tell them to forever take me off their list. I hate junk mail. I want to consume what I feel like consuming. I don't want to be tricked or dictated what ads I see. Now that I have DVR, I don't even want watch commercials anymore. If its good, I'll hear about it from friends and look it up on YouTube.
I guess when it comes to knowing my audience, I don't have to look too much past myself. Wow, that's tough. If I'm this demanding and fickle about media consumption, why wouldn't my customers be? So the trick has been to constantly tweak what we do to see what gets the best results. I have a few things to share.
The Norris Group started a radio show last February in the Inland Empire. Not only are we providing a great resource for Realtors, investors, builders, and mortgage professionals, it helps us create fantastic good will and constantly makes us do tons of research to prepare to interview guests. It's also a ton of fun. I don't think 50% of our guests would have ever decided to appear if "radio" had not been part of the equation. Our local AM radio station is completely reasonable and great to work with. We're on tons of mp3 directories and it really helps in SEO efforts. Creating content every week keeps our website growing and constantly adding features for visitors to consume.
One of the complaints I was getting from sales people was that they didn't have anything to talk about when they called clients. I radio show and our news blog was designed to keep staff up-to-date on current real estate news, give them lots of things to talk about, and to create a warm and dedicated audience. In a world where people get 1000 emails per day, I've got to create content that people WANT to consume. Having them come to me is way easier then constantly chasing them.
The radio show and the blog have accomplished this. Numbers are steadily increasing and I can't tell you how much I love to get positive feedback on the shows we create. I did make the mistake of thinking since I had a new radio show to talk about every week AND articles I had diligently collected that was important to our listeners that I had earned the right to email them once a week. WRONG! Readership down 10% every week for three weeks straight. I pulled the emails. I've noticed much higher readings since people know when we email we really have something to say. We're getting closer to a good mix but I know it's a moving target.
I haven't given up on direct mail. I think there's something very gratifying by holding a great letter or a well-designed piece of art (that's the graphic designer in me talking). I haven't even given up on phone calls as long as you have something to talk about. We're always trying to create new resources and keep it fresh. We even developed a web portal for our clients to watch videos and download charts on market timing. I know for us to get to the finish line, I've got to help them get there as well.
In this new world of Web 2.0, marketing can be quite the task. Depending on the industry, it takes a unique balance of all the tools available (web, blog, newsletter, fax, phone, emails, seminars, webinars, radio, tv, online videos). Never forget having a client's email address is a privilege that can't be abused. Don't forget about the other ways to reach out. Know your audience and know what your end goal is. See what other people are doing but don't be afraid to go above and beyond. Take some risks and create a blue ocean. If you haven't hear that term, I highly recommend "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. It's one of those books that opens your eyes to the possibilities if you just stop and think.
Thank you Active Rain for such a wonderful resource. I continually refer tons of people to your site. We have a large investor crowd and I tell them to start here to find tech savvy agents. I think everyone here "gets it" a little more then the rest.
Happy 2008! Thanks for reading.
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