Realasponse™

Marketing guru Seth Godin responded to questions from Ubertor.com regarding real estate business. Though there were only three questions asked, I felt they were well answered. However, the last question is what really stood out and exactly captures what we at Realasponse.com are all about. Here’s the question:

Ubertor:
How would you pick a Realtor to sell your home?

Seth Godin:
Someone I trusted
Someone respected
Someone who was the clear and obvious best choice!

We couldn’t agree more. Which is why we’ve been providing a marketing solution that allows you to do just that: (1) win trust (2) build repoire (3) offer something valuable to prospects that makes it easy to choose you over others.

Thanks Seth!

Is it really as simple as just throwing up a real estate website and having prospects line up for business? The short answer is an obvious no. However, it’s quite common to hear many play up the benefits of having a website. For certain, a website is a necessity for today’s Realtor, but it’s important to understand that having a site alone means nothing if it isn’t marketed. And with thousands of agent sites already in existents, and more being added everyday, marketing is ever an important thing.

Using Google Adwords is certainly an option, however, here’s the problem with this channel of marketing: it’s not personal enough. If you think about it, you’re using the same thing as your competition to attempt to stand out and appear different. A simple looking headline along with two lines of body copy. Is that really enough? Where’s the experience for the customer? There isn’t one. And the fact is it doesn’t take much for them to move past your ad and go to a larger competitor like Ziprealty or Redin who are buying up better ranking Adwords in the area you work. Bottom line: it’s too easy to get eaten by the big guys and not enough to stand out for the customer.

The answer to all of this is using real estate postcards to market your website. If you really want people to get a sense of what you’re about and what you can offer them put something in their hand. Give them something in their hand they can interact with and experience. Remember, according a 2005 National Association of Realtors study, most home sellers and buyers contacted only one agent. That means prospects aren’t doing a lot of searching out there for Realtors. So it’s best to go to the prospect first and meet them at their doorstep in the form of a postcard.

Another benefit about marketing with real estate postcards is that your marketing material is only competing for attention with mail that the prospect has received for that day (and chances are it won’t be another agent’s postcard right then and there.) So, again, using our website postcards will give you a better chance of standing out and securing a customer. It’s about increasing chances not taking them.

I’ve noticed over that last couple of months or so more real estate agents marketing with real estate postcards for various reasons. Most agents have come to realize that innovative marketing in today’s market is more than posting up Goggle Adwords and having a website. It’s about being first of prospects. Literally. In fact, in their hand. This is what postcards allow you to accomplish; and accomplish without being there.

On our site there are three main benefits we share about postcard marketing. Here they are:

1) Open Mail (no need to open)
When mailing brochures, packages, and envelopes, you’re left hoping that prospects take the time to open and read your message. However, with postcards the visuals and message go to work immediately without any need for opening. Prospects are hit upon contact. This is important since research shows that your marketing pieces have only 3 seconds to capture the attention of potential clients.

2) Effective -vs- other methods
Aside from being cost-effective, real estate postcards beat out other real estate marketing methods by sheer circumstance. Unlike an ad, your postcard competes with only a handful of items in the mailbox on that day, rather than with the 250-300 ads in a typical newspaper or magazine.

3) Personal Interaction
Unlike emails or websites, postcards are held in hand while read. The act of consciously picking up a postcard is the first step toward opening up your prospect to your message. Remember, the prospect is physically holding your message and has to interact with your postcard (turn it over) for more information. This experience makes for a loose personal contact between you and your prospect from right within their home.

And there explains the massive move toward more traditional marketing like postcards. However, mind you, traditional marketing with long over due treatments to postcard marketing. Realasponse.com

Go on any website selling just listed postcards and just sold postcards and you’ll find the same dated postcards from years back. The first thing that any real estate agent should ask is why should I market with postcards are clearly in a time warp when today’s marketing times call for a different approach?

The problem with these postcards are twofold. First, let’s start with their messages. Ofttimes the typical just sold postcards consists of one message entirely: “Just Sold!”. That’s not good enough in a market where prospects have been numb to this message over years and realize the market has changed. The best thing to do is put the “Just Sold” message in context with today’s market, as seen here: Just Sold Postcards . The reason these postcard messages work (aside from prospect-researched layout) are the fact that the postcards don’t ignore where the market is currently at, however, embraces it and finds a way to use it toward an advantage.

Remember, clients are smart today and have access to much of the same information as you have. So, if you come with the same-old-pitch, they’re thinking “same-old-agent”; and the “same-old-agent” can’t get my home sold in today’s market.

The same applies for Just listed postcards. Where’s the ‘UMF!”. There’s no spark in seeing a postcard with a headline of solely “Just Listed”. Again, putting things in context with today’s market will set you apart from the countless agents who haven’t got a clue as to what they’re doing.

So, while others may be drowning in a sea of slow transactions, you’ll be hitting the mark with robust messages and presentation that keep you afloat.

I think we’ve all heard a hundred times how important it is to stand out and create a memorable brand… however, there are limits on what’s considered effective and what’s downright cheesy and tired. Here are 5 of the most common branding mistakes I’ve seen agents make over the years…and for some, even cost them their business.

1) Home holding needs to be dropped
Wait…let me think on what’s being said here, “My home is in good hands with you?”, “You build model homes?” or better yet, “You passed GO, collected $200, and want to place a house on Boardwalk.” No, but seriously, the home holding images are one of the most overused images to date in real estate. Prospects are numb to its meaning and it carries to “pop value”. To prospects, it’s just another quick give way sign of a “real estate person trying to sell me something.” Brand building is not built on commonality…it has to have pop.

2) Trash the recycled messages
I’ve seen them, you’ve seen them…you may have even used them. The “card board-cutout” messages of five and ten years back. Sorry, but they don’t work in today’s market. A free consultation is NOT an offer, it’s expected. Asking someone to call you if thinking about “buying or selling”…….
One question?

WHY SHOULD THEY CALL? You’ve told them nothing.

Branding is NOT blending in.

3) Branding without borders
Kids cover your eyes!!! And yes, this is a real postcard. What are we saying here?! “I’ll present your open house half nude and bring Bruiser with me?” There are standards in NAR, remember?. If you care to show yourself down-to-earth and adventurous you can, however, marketing is for the prospect, NOT your ego. Most prospects care about the bottom line, “What can you offer ME that others aren’t?”

4) Out dated photos are out of style
Ok, so you put on a few pounds over the years or managed to pick up a wrinkle here or there. It’s natural. But don’t resort to using your high school photo to cover your shame. Over the years I’ve seen agents use photos that clearly misrepresent what they look like. The problem here is that some prospects, after seeing you in person, may feel a sense of disappointment and equate your slightly dishonest representation with the type of service they might come to receive as a client. You might find yourself asking, “ What happened…everything seemed to be going good by all signs?”.

Get a nice photo that represents today’s YOU and get it retouched if you care to. Remember, honesty builds repoire.

5) Recipe marketing gets cooked
They say the way to some peoples heart is “through their stomach”, however when did this apply to real estate? The common misplaced belief when marketing with recipe postcards is that “perhaps the prospect will remember me by offering something useful.” Come on, do you really think people would make one of the most important financial decisions of their life by referring to a recipe? Also bad, is its natural ability to eliminate possible business by discrimination. Look, I love Sloppy Joe, however, my mother doesn’t…and she’s not alone, vegetarians don’t like it either. Get the point?