I'm thinking about maybe, someday possibly buying one of those cute little Lexus CT200h.  So I did a little Google search.

Now, I can't remember giving up my email address, but all of a sudden, I started to get Lexus related emials.

One had a link that promised to tell me about price reductions now available on this model:

LEXUS CT 200H CLEARANCE EVENT
     Big Blowout Deals! Limited Time Only.   

So I clicked.  And guess what.  It was bogus!  

Then, inexplicably, I began to be bombarded by emails from Lexus salesmen at dealers around the DC Metro area - and I'm on the other end of a drip campaign.  The same guys email me every day.  And some of these fellows sound pretty impressive:

"We've been talked on the phone about a month ago ..."

Actually, He's sent me this same email a whole bunch of times. 

OK,we didn't talk.  And your grammar is atrocious (times ten identical emails you sent).   and I'm really judgmental about stuff like grammar!  Yikes!

When it's time to do the deal, I will go back to the dealer I bought my last Lexus from.  Over the years, they have earned my loyalty and future business. 

But these daily drips from grammar impaired salesmen are a waste of their time.  And I find them annoying and offensive. 

Oh, and how did they get my email address anyway?

And this makes me wonder about how a drip campaign fits into my own business plan. 

Call me retro.  But I do think that mindless drip campaigns can be a real turn off.  They are to me, and my guess is that they are to many people, or at least the kind of people I'd like to attract as clients. 

Still, it's important to make sure that I do two things well.  The first is to stay in touch with all of the prospects on a regular basis.  The second is to make the contacts more personal.  And I haven't found a computer program that can do that for me automatically. 

Hmmm.  I'll just have to get up a half hour earlier.  Oh, or maybe blog less?

 

 

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Star Posted by Patricia Kennedy on 06/18/2012 07:40 PM   Comments (64)   Internet Marketing in the Online Marketing Channel   drip campaigns  
Short URL: http://actvra.in/CKp
Post is included in group: Diary of a Realtor
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64 Comments on Somebody's Dripping On Me and I Don't Like It

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

JUN
19
974,415 Points 349 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I can't believe these guys think this is successful marketing.  How annoying.  I would walk into his dealership, invite him into his manager's office with me, and ream his butt.
12:36pm • #45
493,808 Points 75 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Patricia - Well, at least you know who NOT to go to when buying that new ride.  I call shotgun!

 
1:04pm • #46
980,853 Points 114 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

It's cookies and I can't stand that stuff either.  It's interesting isn't it?  You do a search and then the drip campaign.  Clear your cache, I do that frequently.
1:07pm • #47
2 Featured Posts Hit Router

Hi Patricia,

Liked your closing line. Reminds me that the personal stuff is so much better. I recently had a similar experience. Price a hotel in a city I dream of visiting and all of a sudden I get loads of hotel discount ads. Even the paid searches are all for hotels in that city. Too big brother for me. Now we have an idea of how our clients feel when these robo marketing things start grabbing their info.

Michael Layton CDPE, GRI, E-PRO
Realty One Group
Palm Springs CA
1:31pm • #48
478,501 Points 11 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

UGH - how unfortuante.  They are so good at setting up these sites that are bogas.  Good luck with trying to get them to stop!
2:42pm • #49
1,911,248 Points 385 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

OK, I took William Johnson's advice.  I emailed the guy who's been stalking me (another email today) and offered some unsolicited coaching about how to drip effectively.  And guess what?  The message bounced back!  Seems like he's not longer at that Lexus dealer.  Wonder why?
4:59pm • #50
1,519,952 Points 275 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Patricia.... the car salesman who is no longer a car salesman is probably going to be your next cobroke..
5:30pm • #51
510,688 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

You are so right. Over-selling oneself is such a turn off. In our business there is a fine line between marketing yourself agressively, and going overboard, too.

Gretchen
6:00pm • #52
504,537 Points 26 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Pat, I got a TON of those same kinds of email from Ford dealers all over the place. Annoying. I send them to spam.

 
6:19pm • #53
493,808 Points 75 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

@Patricia - Your damn right it bounced back.  Now he works as "pay ne" ;)  It's all about the lap top!
7:15pm • #54
1,153,559 Points 86 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Your little excursion into cars got you a bunch of new best friends, and no quick way to get rid of them. Drip campaigns are a sensitive area and need to be addressed properly and sent not to frequently
7:26pm • #55
865,870 Points 18 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Lots of things to think about.  I try to have as much personal touch as possible.  I haven't used the drip much.. so with this post I am not inclined to do so.
8:06pm • #56
872,258 Points 47 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

They are to me, and my guess is that they are to many people, or at least the kind of people I'd like to attract as clients.

Those are my sentiments exactly about drip email campaigns! I think about doing them, but every time I think about the people who are attracted to me, I can't bare to start one. They are just too generic or something!

Sharon
8:06pm • #57
548,216 Points 9 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Patricia

I am amazed at how soon I receive these type of email after I search Google for some item.  Someone has a file called Evelyn Kennedy and every day they are adding more information about me.  Am I paranoid.
9:51pm • #58
1,351,912 Points 42 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat - I have an argument with myself because of these types of things about my own drip campaigns.  I wish I had any easy answer to it.
10:17pm • #60
472,973 Points 12 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat, in my opinion, the only touches that work are the personal touches and emails that we send to our sphere. Robot emails are annoying!
11:18pm • #61
JUN
20
1,137,589 Points 153 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Oh gosh...everyday?  That would drive me crazy.  And, so would the poor grammar.  This is a great watchout of how drip campaigns can go awry.
2:19am • #62
1,335,754 Points 128 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat, Great idea of William to email the guy. I see you took his advice and no surprise he is no longer with that company.

Margaret
6:50pm • #63
JUN
21
741,859 Points 18 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

A few points of reference:

http://mikemueller.activerain.com/post/2423061/why-is-this-ok-

Mike nailed it.  Big time, and the link in his blog takes you to a list of spammer newsletters.  Entitlement mentality assuming the right to spam others is so common in real estate and lending, it is hard to fault car dealers.

Report spam emails, if they do not stop after you ask:

spam@uce.gov

http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0038-spam/#report

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/07/newspamemail.shtm

And, everyone should have a throwaway email address for on line stuff.  One with no contacts in the address book in case it is hacked.
I get so much spam via KW, I use my KW.com email box to catch a lot of spam.

I also use GOOG's Postini, which is provided with my Outlook Exchange email, and Postini catches many dozens of spam emails every day.

When you are stalked by advertisers on websites which pester you with ads after you surf or ask an innocent question, you are a victim of "retargeting."  An ugly practice, which is in the beginnings of being promoted to real estate agents.  Thank goodness it is costly.  I am gravitating to using other browsers where I can surf in stealth mode as a default to avoid some retargeting.
4:58am • #64
JUN
24
1,928,681 Points 155 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Good question on how they got your email. You must have put it somewhere or you happened to mention it somewhere in a comment or a post where you did have an email address.
6:58am • #65

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Patricia Kennedy

Washington, DC

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Evers & Company Realtors

Address: 4400 Jenifer Street NW, Washington, DC , 20015

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Pat Kennedy -- author of The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate -- gives you a look at life on the streets as a real estate broker in our nation's capital. And her blog is peppered with great advice combined with humor!


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