Target Marketing – Like trying to wrestle an alligator

When agents conduct a "listing presentation," they sometimes talk about their company's superior marketing -- that ought to be your first clue to run!  Sometimes they even talk about "target marketing."   What in the world is that? 

Much as been written (mostly by the marketing companies who benefit from helping hapless realtors or real estate companies) about this elusive concept.  How do you identify the target market?  The short answer is it is next to impossible.  A classic example I have heard in seminars and while working in and with real estate companies and indivdual agents is to target marketing to apartment dwellers for a starter home that is nearby.   I  have never run across an agent who has obtained a buyer for a home they have listed using this technique.

For example, how would an agent market a home to relocation buyers?  By mailing 150 million postcards to every adult in the United States since there is no way to know who will ultimately buy the house?  Will it be the neighbor five doors down?  A buyer that is half way across the country, or one who is three counties over? Many real estate companies state that their target marketing efforts revolve around a "Just Listed" postcard campaign.  Who do they send the postcards to?  Most of the time, it's your next door neighbors and the general neighborhood in which you live.  If that is the case, here is a question to ponder:  How likely do you think it is that one of your neighbors will buy your home?  The easy answer is: slim to none.  That said, then why would a company/agent do this?  Easy: they hope to obtain more business in your neighborhood, but they do under the guise that it benefits you, the home seller.  While it is true that a neighbor may know someone who wants to live in the neighborhood, the likelihood of this is next to none.  I also send out "Just Listed" cards, but I tell sellers that I am the primary beneficiary of this exercise, not you.

I always look at every home I sell, whether I represent the buyer or seller and ask myself one question:  Could I have somehow, proactively, found this buyer through target marketing if I were the listing agent?  In EVERY SINGLE CASE, the answer has always been NO.

Moreover, I am not aware of one real estate company that tracks this kind of claim.  In fact, real estate companies really don't talk about how effective their marketing is, regardless of the marketing techniques they use.  If it were that easy, everyone would be claiming success.

Sellers should always ask for evaluations and confirmations of any claim an agent makes. 

Myth Buster:  Marketing is only about 10% of the total pie when it comes to selling a home. The largest factors, about 80% of the pie, are price, condition (influenced by home staging, redesign, renovation), location and demand.