Consider this post your official marketing intervention.
We’ve got an issue that needs to be addressed – and that issue is copycat marketing.
Copycat Marketing
By “copycat marketing,” I mean when real estate and mortgage pros simply replicate what they see from other area pros and hope the same techniques work for them.
Not only is this strategy inefficient, it’s also not sustainable. How can you possibly get the attention of potential customers in your community if they’ve already seen the same thing from someone else? Unfortunately, this issue is running rampant in the real estate and mortgage industries. But, there is something you can do about it!
First, let’s talk about why it’s a big deal.
The problem
It may not seem like copycat marketing is worth talking about. However, the result tends to be that of a snowflake turning into an avalanche.
Think about it. You don’t really know where the person you’re copying got their idea. Was it originally theirs, or did they copy it, as well? If they did copy it, did the person before them do the same?
See where I’m going with this?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. (A lot of ice-related phrases appearing in this post. It’s cold here.) When all we’re doing is blindly copying others’ original work, we can’t be sure it was well thought-out in the first place. This puts you in the position of not only replicating something that already exists, but doing it without a good reason.
So, let’s say you see an ad for another local agent that you think is cool. You decide you’re going to try the same thing. When you send out your ad, another agent sees it and thinks it’s cool. So, they try it as well. Before you know it, every agent in your community is advertising themselves the exact same way, and every potential buyer is seeing the same thing come across their mailboxes/doorsteps/inboxes/etc.
Who stands out in the end? No one.
The solution
There are about a million different cliché ways I could say this, but I’m just going to get right down to the point – you’ve got to be different.
Marketing is a creative process, so you’re going to have to flex those muscles a little bit to see the kind of success you want. After all, real estate is an incredibly competitive industry. Your potential customers don’t want to see the same thing from every person. They want to know why you’re better, what you do differently, and why you’re the best option for them.
In other words, they don’t want a cookie cutter agent or lender. They want an agent or lender that’s going to suit their specific needs. A great way to determine the best marketing tactics for your particular ideal customer is by creating buyer personas. Your buyer personas are essentially descriptions of your target audience. Using their demographics as a jumping off point, you can determine the best course of action when it comes to reaching them. For example, if your ideal customer is a millennial first-time homebuyer, you would probably do well with marketing in the tech spaces where they spend the most time– like Snapchat or Instagram.
However, if you tend to work with retirees looking to downsize, you likely wouldn’t want to waste time, effort, or money advertising within those apps. After you’ve filled out your buyer persona worksheet, spend some time brainstorming a few ideas for how to market to those particular customers. You can even bounce some ideas off your friends, family, or colleagues and ask them for their ideas and input. Before you know it, you’ll have more concepts than you know what to do with, and they’ll be designed with your customers in mind – not someone else’s.
Most of all, remember, marketing can (and should) be fun! So, think outside of the box and try something new while tracking what works and what doesn’t. A lot of marketing is made up of trial-and-error.
Just approach it all with a good attitude and a willingness to learn and grow. You never know when you might strike gold.
At Pipeline ROI, we pride ourselves on providing real estate and mortgage pros with everything they need to successfully market their business with our specifically-designed tools, tips, and training. If it’s time for you to re-assess your marketing, we’d love to help. Give us a call at 1-866-300-1550, or click below to get a free demo of our complete inbound marketing platform. Until the end of December, you get 20% the cost of the platform.
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