Have you ever been to Mars? Well you could be in luck, rather out of luck depending on how you view a trip to Mars.
Since the dawn of the ages man has been amazed by new frontiers. We are explorers, always wondering what is on the other side of the ocean, the horizon, the world. Let me try and show you what is on the other side of your real estate business for those that do not adopt some form of inbound marketing strategies in their real estate business.
Many real estate peeps will be waking up to the reality that their businesses have changed, what was once up is now down, what was once right is now left – it will be like waking up on Mars. This is what life on Mars will look like for many real estate and title professionals.
It’s 2011. Lets talk about your reality. If you are in Phoenix, 80% of your housing marketing is dominated by distressed sales – short sales and bank owned [REO]. You know where your business is, because you can SEE IT. You can see who needs to short sale their homes, you simply check the notice of trustee sale, notice of default, buy some trigger leads [30,60,90 late’s], or guestimate – anyone that bought a home in between 2004 – 2009 is a potential candidate. This is the proverbial – low lying fruit.
This is and has been your reality for the last 5 years [and most likely 7] by the time the housing market recovers. Many real estate agents do not know any other market than the one we are in now.
When the housing market recovers, all bets are off. I call it THE GREAT RESET. Many real estate agents have not contacted their databases in years [or don’t even have one], they have not prospected in years. Let me show you what waking up on Mars looks like.
Life Before The Boom
Real estate agents could grow their real estate business using standard Outbound Marketing tools and techniques like:
- Cold Calling
- TV
- Radio
- Direct Mail [post cards, fliers etc]
- Over 200 Million Americans have registered their phone numbers with the Federal Trade Commissions “Do Not Call List” [FTC]
- Over 90% of email users have unsubscribed from a company email they has previously “opted In” to [HubSpot]
- Over 85% of consumers skip, forward and or avoid television ads [Mashable]
- 44% of direct mail pieces are never opened.
- The infographic below from Voltier Digital highlights the differences between inbound and outbound marketing techniques. This is what waking up on Mars looks like.
Disclaimer: By all means, if what you are doing is working, whether it is advertising on shopping carts or handing out jewel encrusted fly swatters, if what you are doing is working – keep on keepen on! However, if those traditional methods of marketing your real estate business are falling short, i.e. not providing that ROI, you should think about adding another spoke to your marketing wheel.
I am not one of those guys that believes in Social Media as the end all be all of marketing, you may find those that do have a vested interest in you believing so – they sell custom Facebook pages or handle social media marketing campaigns etc – I am not one of those guys. I simply believe Social Media is a tool, one that can reap significant benefit IF used correctly. Your latest listing is not necessarily the best way to use tools like Facebook. Further, Inbound Marketing is NOT right for every industry, but in Real Estate – IT IS. Why? Because you are not asking the consumer to find you online for a product they have never heard of or even know exists, in this case you would need some form of brand marketing, Inbound Marketing works well in the real estate space because consumers are already online looking for information about real estate and homes for sale, those that master inbound marketing will get their unfair share. I know I have.
Can you see it? Imagine, going to sleep on “Earth” one night and waking up on “Mars” the next. Earth is what you know, your reality, what is comfortable. Mars is the new frontier, the unknown and certainly uncomfortable for the real estate and title professionals that do not learn how to grow their business – On Mars. You know how to market to consumers on Earth, you don’t on Mars. Ready to learn?
