Kudos to a Creative Marketing Twist
April 18, 2008
By: Kaya Hardin
Author's Website: http://idxbroker.com
Image from here.
I have been brainstorming creative ways to approach marketing from a real estate standpoint and for some inspiration, regularly read my Bloglines feed. I came across this post on BloodhoundBlog by Greg Swann and had to smile as it’s a great example of the type of marketing ideas I have been looking for: something different, something interesting, something useful.
Marketing’s past is a convoluted one. With a murky self-definition and an inability to clearly quantify its value, marketing has had its work cut out for it. Luckily, it has also had a lot of support. There were lovers and friends who stood by it even in its darkest days, before its impact was measurable, its effect was clearly discernible and its market definable.
Like all underdogs (at least in the stories) marketing managed to pull itself out of the fog and emerge as a solid and dependable tool. Now there are reliable ways to optimize its benefits, to determine what its measure is and to decide if and how it is profitable. What remains is the question of how it will continue to grow and thrive without getting caught in the comfortable circle of self-perpetuating repetition that leads to mediocrity and the eventual stagnation (and perhaps failure) of the business it’s being applied to. Remember that old adage? You know 50% of your marketing works – you just don’t know which 50%… and now with marketing establishing itself online, it’s becoming easier to pin down that elusive percentage, easier to target and definitely more efficient.
Along with the need for marketing to continue developing in a useful way is the need for recognition and avoidance of the many pitfalls along the path. With such a hazy beginning, marketing is still faced with the constant questions regarding its performance, its actions and its outcomes. While this demonstration of its capabilities is fundamental to the companies it is used by, too much on-the-dot accountability can start to bog it down and even stop it from accomplishing its goals.
When I see marketing techniques like the one used by Mike Rohrig, I become excited for marketing’s future. This is just one example of “thinking outside of the box” and hopefully it will be an inspiration for you to take the initiative to keep marketing fresh and growing!
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- Categories: Marketing
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Brian Brady on April 18, 2008 1:03 pm
Hey Kaya,
Congrats on joining Geek Estate! A great place for a great contributor.
I don’t want to be overly critical here but marketing can be measurable. Claude Hopkins taught us how to measure it some 110 years ago.
Greg Swann is a DISCIPLE of the Hopkins method. The post he highlighted was a result of what he’s been using for years (single property websites and weblogs) with tremendous success:
http://1322eastvermontave.com/Custom_Yard_Signs/
http://bloodhoundrealty.com/Bloodhound_Realty_Sign_Philosophy/
Mike did some nice work with his single property sign (and website) but he took the idea from Greg. Greg’ sinnovation was from Jay Levinson (Guerrilla Marketing), who copied Claude Hopkins.
Mike’s an innovator and a damned fine one at that.
We’ll be talking about how to use this stuff, next month, in Phoenix. We subscribe to the belief that ALL marketing is measurable. Scroll over to the top right and click that cute hound dog for more information.
Mike Rohrig on April 18, 2008 2:09 pm
I absolutely take no credit for the sign. In fact it was my “Thank You” letter that Greg turned into a post. The joy of all of this is that by putting the ideas out there it is easy to take a new step.
I built the sign because I saw him do it and thought it was genius. We can build upon each others ideas.
I added the FAQ to my website in response to a repetitive question buyers had about my listing. I played with some ideas but while talking to my client the FAQ page popped into my head. I doubt I was the first person to come up with that.
One thing I think many agents worry about is that other agents will copy their ideas. The best and truest answer to this was given at a seminar.
The speaker answered someone’s question asking if all 200 people in the room used his technique it wouldn’t work. He said, “Unfortunately the truth is no matter how jazzed up you are as a group, only 3 to 5 of you will actually implement this technique.”
We have to share our ideas which is why I am trying to arrange to go to the Bloodhound Unchained Seminar in May. That site has given me great ideas for awhile.
Greg Swann on April 18, 2008 2:46 pm
> I added the FAQ to my website in response to a repetitive question buyers had about my listing. I played with some ideas but while talking to my client the FAQ page popped into my head. I doubt I was the first person to come up with that.
And first or not, it’s a great idea. Sales is the transfer of enthusiasm, but selling is taking away the objections to going ahead with the transaction. A FAQ is a great way to admit to and take away objections — which is why we’ll be doing it from now on.
Jim Heim on January 26, 2009 4:59 pm
In this market, you definitely have to differentiate yourself. That is a really cool example from Greg. Thanks for sharing
Fifth Wheels on March 18, 2010 5:23 pm
my hero…
Fifth Wheels on March 19, 2010 12:23 am
my hero…