Well, are you In or Out? Don’t worry, I’m not trying to get you to join some double secret probation group, I’m talking about Marketing. Is your marketing an example of Inbound marketing or Outbound Marketing?
# 1 In the Real Estate and sales industry we have been conditioned to work with Outbound Marketing. Examples of Outbound marketing are
- Telemarketing
- open houses
- Email blasts
- direct mail campaigns
- TV & Radio Ads
The problem is that our customers are doing everything they can to block our marketing efforts. Look at the list again
- Telemarketing=Do Not Call List/Caller ID
- open houses
- Email blasts=Spam blockers, junk folders
- direct mail campaigns
- TV & Radio Ads=TiVo/DVR Satellite Radio
The methods above are characterized as Interruption Marketing (Marketing that disrupts potential customers activities). Now, let me tell you that I have nothing against Outbound Marketing IF it’s working. Question is: Is it? I recently saw a statistic from NAR that said “87% of buyers used the Internet as an information resource during the buying process. 33% of them said they first learned of the home they purchased on the Internet”. With the advent of social media, (Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Blogging, Digg, Zoo-Loo, (I could Go On and On) I would expect those numbers to continue to rise significantly. The Internet has afforded us a new way to generate business. It’s called Inbound marketing.
# 2 Examples of Inbound Marketing are
- Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.)
- RSS Feeds (Real Simple Syndication)
- Blogging
- Social Media
- Videos (You-Tube, Viddler)
- Analytics
- Landing Pages
These methods of marketing are considered Permission Marketing (Obtaining customer consent to receive information). Simply put, Outbound: You Find Them. Inbound: They Find You.
So, which one are you?
Personally I would love to be found by my customers, its a lot cheaper than the alternative.
If you are a Realtor/Lender in the Phoenix Metro area and your a # 1, lets talk.
