Now, i'm sure we all know the four P's of marketing:
Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
Now, most of us use this method to promote listings, but how many actually use this formula for self-marketing?
Lets take a peek at product YOU! Maybe this will get your gears going!
You - The Product.
- How can you improve quality?
- Have any new products or upgrades lately?
- How do you provide better service and support?
- Do you have a warrantee?
- Are you a bundled product? ;)
You - The Price.
- Cuts costs? Reduce prices? AACK! (there's that commission thing again)
- Do you offer discounts for quantity or loyalty?
- Do you offer better terms?
- Are you low risk?
- Maybe if you made a list of what it costs you - out of pocket, to market a property + the cost of your company to market the property - and the fact that you do not get paid unless it sells = could that make a happy customer?
You - Placement.
- How do you reach out to prospective customers?
- What is your image?
- Who is your target market?
- Do you just generally reach out to geographic areas, blindly?
- How to you reach new groups of customers?
- How do you sell yourself on the web?
- Do you ask where people have heard about you - and track it?
You - Promotion.
- How can you improve the quantity and/or quality of leads through direct response ads, trade shows, websites, newsletters, e-newsletters, direct mail, brochures, letters, etc?
- Can you update and polish your image by upgrading your business card, letterhead, website, or other materials?
- Is there any way to raise the power of your ads and marketing materials?
- How about writing letters that create high involvement?
- Is there anyway to diagnose your style issues - to make sure you are reaching a maximum audience?
Some things to consider adding to your ads and marketing/promotional materials:
- Toll-free telephone/fax numbers
- Website Address
- E-mail Address
- Free offers
- Give them a reason to contact you!
- Publicity (media coverage of some type usually tends to generate leads - how can you get this?)
And here's a question for you: How old is the picture on your marketing materials? Are all of your materials (area info included) up to date with all the correct phone numbers? I see area info in really ugly BW photocopies that look like they are from the 1970s! And they have the wrong area code! lol But the thing that makes me chuckle the most is when I get mailings with a photo that has GOT to be from Glamour Shots (or something similar) and looks NOTHING like the agent! I sometimes wonder what decade the photo is from! ;)
But seriously. I think most of us really do spend soooo much time marketing properties that we slack off on marketing ourselves. I'm sure there are many things that agents can do to promote their selves that are free too - just be creative!
What type of marketing has gotten you the highest response rate? Does anyone cold-call anymore - and find it succesful?
Obviously, this does not apply only to realtors!
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