You Don't Need a Bazooka To Kill a Fly

YOU DON'T NEED A BAZOOKA TO KILL A FLY

Hey Mr. or Ms. Real Estate Professional! As the housing market begins to turn around in the Charlotte region, how does a realty firm like yours increase its marketing efforts effectively, yet affordably? Effective marketing, when planned properly, can be affordable. Sure, today everyone is watching every expense. It is a mistake, however, to view marketing and advertising as an expense. IT'S AN INVESTMENT.

TARGET, TARGET, TARGET The fact is, the right message at the right time to the right audience with the right offer will give you the marketing results you seek. This is precisely why we at Lippi & Co. favor direct marketing.

LET'S START WITH THE FACTS.

WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SELL? I'm not talking houses here; I'm talking about separating your services from the competition. You must think hard as to what it is that benefits your clients by working with you instead of someone else. You'll need to be real creative to increase listings, inquiries and sales. Pick an area in which you are recognized as the expert. These areas may include, but not be limited to, urban, suburban, new homes, condos, short sales, etc. Once you establish that position, own it.

IT'S A BATTLE OUT THERE.

Just like in combat, you'll need a battle plan and strategy. Plan the actions necessary to reach your objectives. If you've done the research and your plan is solid, do not deviate from it. REMAIN CONSISTENT AND ON POINT IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS. Next, develop the tactics. These should include methods necessary to get your message to your target audience. If you can cluster your audience into groups, it will make it easier and more affordable to reach them frequently. Here is where Social Media allows you to cluster your audience and get them talking amongst themselves. FREQUENCY IS KING

LET'S LURE THE AUDIENCE.

The tools you want to use are the ones that cost the least and put you in front of the lowest hanging fruit as often as possible - easy to reach and ready to be picked. By keeping your costs low you can do more. ONE AD WON'T DELIVER THE RESULTS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. Not only should you maintain multiple impressions in a particular media outlet but utilize multiple forms of media. Not everyone is reading, watching or listening at the exact time your ad is running. Please, whatever type of advertising you do allow for a response mechanism which will give you feedback from your potential client and allow you to test your advertising effectiveness. Add every inquiry and contact to a database. Your database should be built from potential customers, current customers, former customers and if possible, your competitors customers. I would suggest capturing email addresses from these groups, allowing for a less expensive form of communication via email. YOU'LL WANT TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR TARGET. Not everyone you reach will be in the market for your services at the exact time they got your message. However, if you remain diligent and consistent, you will be remembered down the road.

AND NOW FOR THE KNITTY GRITTY.

Any ad placed can be easily missed by the flick of a page or change of channel. Your ad needs to be bold enough to command attention and focused enough to generate a response. Trends may come and go, but good advertising never goes out of style. The use of a timely delivered of message will get you the results you want. Capture the customer's interest and get them to buy. REMEMBER IT AIN'T CREATIVE UNLESS IT SELLS.