In every business — not just real estate — marketing to a specific demographic is key to successful growth and often is one of the most difficult problems to solve at the same time. Most of us in the real estate industry probably did not go to college for marketing specifically, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to market yourself and your business in a better way. After years of owning my own real estate businesses and helping others develop theirs, I have found the problem that most people run into when trying to create an effective marketing strategy is spending more time looking at data and other competitors’ marketing than trying to come up with their own strategies.
Don’t get me wrong — data is important, and so is knowing what your competition is doing. But it is not and should not be the primary focus driving your own business’s marketing strategy. Instead, I am suggesting you understand who you are and how that is reflected in your business. For example, if you are a fun, detail-oriented and extroverted individual, you will naturally attract other people who share these types of values when engaging in everyday conversation.
So how does this get missed when it comes to our marketing strategies? It’s easy: We are human. we tend to follow what others who have been successful do, and we attempt to put our own twist on things to make them fit our persona. That’s not necessarily bad, but it can have negative effects, such as creating mixed messages about the product or service you are trying to market, which can decrease your ROI and contribute to stagnation in your customer pipeline.
In order to avoid this, I believe it is key to understand this idea: “Who you are is who you will appeal to.” This will help you identify who your core audience is and how you should approach the first steps of creating your marketing strategy. Once you truly have identified who you are as a broker or real estate agent, you can better understand the core needs of the people you are trying to attract. Starting from a place of introspection can help you begin the process of using the data on your demographic differently, and can allow you to be more accurate not only in your advertising message, but also in the results you want for your business.
Consider the following tips to keep on track when delivering marketing to your target audience for the best results.
First, create a list of all the principles and values that you and your business hold at the core of every decision, product and service you provide. For example, as a broker, do you value efficiency, happy service and open communication with your clients? Remember, the key is to be honest in how you look at the driving values of your business.
Next, consider outside feedback to help you understand and influence the way others are seeing your business. Insights from employees and clients are essential here, so consider sharing surveys with your team of agents and clients. The more feedback you get, the easier it is to see common issues that need to be resolved. The added benefit is that you will likely also learn about the values that your customers and employees share to help you glue your messaging together correctly.
Finally, do not over-examine the information you receive from surveys and feedback. Take it at face value, and focus on using all the information — good or bad — to help redefine your marketing message so it is the clearest representation of who you are and how your company will actually serve its clientele.
When your message is clear, no matter what demographic you decide to market to, you will see the difference in your customers’ engagement with you and your firm. You will see old and new faces alike become more excited about the values and principles you share, giving you and your clients the best chance to connect over more than just what property is being bought or sold.