THE WINNER
For several years I have found several beneficial marketing tools that provided good business return, while at the same time cost little, and were a great deal of fun. Each Halloween I created little Trick or Treat bags, filled with candy, and a Free Comparative Market Analysis Certificate. Attached to each CMA certificate was my bio about my living in the neighborhood, being licensed since 1981, and my experience.
However, as my neighborhood aged, the population of children ringing my door on Halloween reduced dramatically, because the inhabitants became older. But for a relatively few dollars, with absolutely no distribution or postage expense, there was a great deal of bang for the buck with my Halloween treat idea.
THE LOSER
I have spent money and time marketing to renters. The return wasn’t as I had expected. I suspect it may have had a great deal to do with trying this method in a depressed market - A time when many renters were entrenched in getting back on their feet economically, after having lost jobs or homes. I do believe similar forms of renter focused marketing may be more beneficial in our current market. Folks tend to be in a healthier financial state; although a shortage of good homes in our present inventory may be a deterrent. A second form of marketing that I think is a real loser is paying for lead generation. For a while I worked in cooperation with a builder. The builder paid for a comprehensive list of leads, and had a gathering of about a dozen agents, including myself in a room dialing up those leads. At the end of the day, hundreds of calls, and exhaustion of the list, there were only a handful of leads found to be viable. The list was obviously very stale. We found folks had bought the previous year, had moved out of the area or weren’t serious buyers (or sellers). The amount of disconnected phone numbers listed was staggering.
THE FUTURE
In more recent years, my best marketing dollars are spent writing and creating newsletters to distribute to past clients and friends. I also send out calendars for the upcoming year during the Christmas holidays. There are several companies which produce calendars as part of a holiday greeting card. I prefer these because it allows me to also send a greeting during an important part of the year. I also find it beneficial to put materials into people’s hands, which they likely will hold onto for a time. It puts a smile to my face when I visit homes and I see my calendars attached to a kitchen refrigerator, or other visible places around the home. I know each time my calendars are viewed, my name and contact information is also there.
After 36 years as a Realtor, I tend to not beat the bushes with marketing as I have in the bygone years. But, I still enjoy working with past clients and friends.
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