Ok, I do not want to sound like a broken record, but when are agents going to truly understand which type of marketing is truly effective for their business in 2011, and beyond? I am not going to quote the statistics from the National Association or Realtors, or many other reports that point out that print advertising is declining, and that the Internet is one of the major keys to success for both the agent and their seller.
Are you still scratching your head on how you will find your next buyer?
Is your seller yelling at you everyday that their house is not sold, and you must hold another open house or that you must run another ad in the newspaper?
The reason for this is that you are using old, traditional, and non effective real estate methods, and attempting to compete in a game that has a new set of rules. This is a loosing battle if you do not know the new rules of the real estate game, or better yet, you understand them, but you want to break the rules or play by your own rules.
So, this brings me to what I feel are the most INEFFECTIVE marketing practices in real estate today.
1) Open Houses - They can be effective, but for Who? Please do not kid yourself, I know everyone has been "lucky" and sold a home through an open house, but for the most part, they are used to attract "Buyers" for those agents that do not have a well grounded Internet Marketing Buyer campaign. However, agents can benefit from open houses when performed as a business with a well thought out, on line and off line, marketing campaign with open house sign dominance. But, a well placed online strategy is much more effective than any open house strategy. The media and most real estate shows, always portray open houses as the source to selling homes. Of course it would be rather boring to show a real estate agent behind his laptop working on lead generation. Open houses make for good television.
2) Newspaper Ads - Newspaper ads for both your "Ego" and for the sellers "Ego" do not usually generate positive results for everyone involved. The word "Ego" is the main focus with newspaper ads. Sellers like to see their home in the newspaper and agents enjoy seeing themselves for the instant gratification it provides... You can spend $50.00 to $100.00 and create a great website and video for the cost of a newspaper ad.
3) Billboards- This is one that I still can't figure out? We are no longer in the "ME" age of real estate. We are in the information age. Unless you are going to put only your website on the billboard, it is my opinion that it is a waste of space and money. The same goes for park benches, bus stop advertising, shopping carts, etc... Don't get me wrong, personal branding is important, but one who brands where the buyers and sellers look for real estate information will always win in the end. Real estate is local, but with any marketing campaign, you should be targeting your market. It is not always the best idea to market to everyone and see what sticks, it is more effective to target to your exact audience, with the right message at the right time.
I know some successful agents that have been in business for awhile that use some of these methods. However, if you really investigate into their business, you will find most of these agents have developed a "niche." They may represent a builder, they may handle relocation, or they may represent a major bank. Moreover, most "new" agents will not be successful if they only rely on traditional methods, as most new agents do not have the contacts or networks that a seasoned agent has. Therefore, to truly succeed in real estate one must mix the old with the new, with a heavy importance placed on the new, and develop new strategies out of this that will extend into 2011 and beyond.
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