While marketing for real estate both as realtors and investors, there are tens of similar patterns. But most marketing campaigns fail because they are laced with a few very serious mistakes. Though there are many in that regard, here are seven of the most common ones.
Inconsistent Marketing Plan:
This is one of the major problems in the real estate industry. Most of the people working in this industry are not consistent with the marketing plans and period.
Any sort of marketing either through word of mouth, emails or phone calls is essential for the survival of the businesses. In the absence of these, your real estate business is likely to fall face down.
Inconsistency is especially common among people who have just started working in the real estate industry. They continue with their efforts of sending out postcards and greetings for some time then they get disappointed and finally they stop.
For such people, it’s important to understand that the business takes time to grow. It is not a one-day event! Your customers have to remember you and that takes time.
More problems are caused by using multiple marketing tools. Thus use just one commercial marketing software.
Whether you are trying to get in touch with the seller or a realtor, it takes quite a few touches to convert someone. This takes a few months and patience is required.
Related: 6 Top Real Estate Marketing Strategies for Agents
Pulling the Budget Hard and Spending Out of Budget:
While making the marketing plan for your real estate business, always make a note of how much you can comfortably spend on direct mail without fail.
Do not settle for an unrealistic budget where you spend a huge chunk for a few months only to realize that it is too expensive for you to handle.
Being consistent with your budget is also essential as that will help you to reach out to your clients at least once or twice a year.
Keep your expectations real. There is a very thin chance that you can bag in your first deal before six months. Once you start gaining some success, you can roll in some profit in your market plan and repeat the cycle.
Letting Go of Leads:
No matter what others say, every penny that you spend on your marketing campaign is valuable. In that light, it is indeed shocking when people absolutely throw away valuable leads.
For instance, let’s assume that you have sent out 100-200 mail campaigns to absentee owners. Out of which, quite a few mail pieces have come back to your return address. Many a time, the post office lets you know exactly why with notes like “house vacant”, “unable to send”, and such.
It’s shocking when many realtors and agents throw away these leads! This is a golden opportunity- the harder it is to find someone, the better is it for you since there will be less competition.
Instead of throwing away such hard-earned leads, it’s better to search around the lead a bit. Make use of your to-go skip trace service and you can identify the address and contact details of the owners in a matter of minutes. If you use this means of follow up then perhaps you will be the only person reaching out to them.
Related: How to Find Out Who Owns a Property for Off Market Deals
Not Taking Advantage of the Power of Testimonials:
Be it any business, there is nothing more powerful than 3rd party recommendations. However, this becomes crucial for real estate. When you reach out to get your listing or to call an offer on the property, just think of how powerful it will be to show the clients a list of people from that location.
However, do not put any generic statements. Try to put in pictures, testimonials, videos, and other interactive content.
Problems of Not Following Up:
There are many realtors who work on expired listings. Plus they follow a very different kind of follow-up system. The deal expires and they try to call once and that’s it. If the call goes unattended, then the lead ends up in the trash.
The people that these realtors call will require the house at some point. If they don’t sell or list with your firm, they might do so with you. In that light, follow up is important. You can make use of a simple method of tracking the leads. Keep track of when you spoke with them last and whether or not their property was sold. If the house has not been sold then you contact them again.
No Online Presence:
Online is the way to go in today’s time. If you are not online, then you are losing out on a good chunk of leads which will be effective for your business. In order to have a firm footing in the digital world, having effective SEO is crucial. With proper keywords, it would be easy for your clients to reach out to you over the digital platforms. If you have a higher ranking on the search engines, you are destined to have a better reach than your competitors. So consider digital marketing your firm step towards success.
Related: 20 Proven Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies for 2019
Not Making Use of the Power of Referrals:
This especially goes out for the realtors. They sell houses and people buy it. But what happens after that? Usually, they cease to exist in your sales funnel like they have never been a part of it or they have never heard of you.
In this case, referrals become important. All realtors must connect back with the clients they have done business with in the past to check if they know anyone who is selling a house. Additionally, it is a good practice to mail them a few times in the year so that they do not forget you. This way you can get a few leads as well. After all, if your clients are satisfied with your work, then they would be happy to help you and would want their friends and family to have a good experience with house selling as well.
Of course, many of you in the real estate business have committed these mistakes. But don’t worry, all is not lost in a year. Every year presents a new opportunity and you still can correct all these mistakes in the days to come
So gear up and make a pertinent marketing plan which fits your business purpose and makes it grow.
This article has been contributed by Prince Kapoor.