Post about "Marketing"

The 7 Secrets Of Real Estate Marketing Success

It looks like every real estate professional on the planet is looking for fresh marketing ideas! At any one time we have a number of ideas and concepts in play to make sure our clients keep the edge in their local area. So I made some notes and want to share some thoughts and ideas with you that you can begin using today to attract more business.I’m continually astounded at the lack of quality marketing produced by our industry to promote real estate services.The amount of money wasted each year must be in the hundreds of millions. I notice Radio, Television, Billboard, Newspaper and Internet ads that cost a fortune but generate little or no response and this is before we consider the dismal quality of most letter drops and marketing cards.Advertising experts all agree that the power of re-stating a message is a whole lot more effective than introducing a new message at every opportunity.Notice how a new ad on TV gets played and replayed until the advertiser is sure we get the message? It’s not ten different ads in ten different spots. Corporations spend millions testing their marketing messages to make sure they work. Why don’t we just save our money and copy the giants by using a consistent response driven message?Here are the 7 Mistakes of Real Estate Marketing
They confuse the target market (I don’t know what they stand for. They just want me to list with them)

They fail (dismally) to create any connection between each message. Each ad carries a different message and the time lapse between messages is too great.

They are mostly without any design element or layout and look dreadful. Too much copy no image.

They have no definable point-of-difference or Unique Selling Proposition that sets them apart from other real estate agents.

They are too ‘busy’ and have obviously never heard of the power of white space and cram not one but two sides of the flyer. White space is our friend not our enemy.

The communication is all about the agent not the target (fatal) Remember our favourite radio station; WIIFM?

They have no call-to-action. They give me no reason to want to call them so they can ‘capture’ my details and begin a relationship.
Let’s consider what MUST happen to boost the effectiveness of communication and get a serious return on our marketing investment.Here are The 7 Secrets of Real Estate Marketing Success(They must be secrets because so few people actually do them!)1. Establish a dynamic point of difference. This is what you stand for and what you believe in. If you were a country it would be your national anthem.2. Repeat your message consistently at every opportunity. (Don’t chop and change) From your office, in your emails, your on-hold message, at your opens, on your webpage. It needs to be compelling and interesting. Create a can’t-say-no offer!3. Develop your personal marketing plan for 12 months (Printing and all advertising is cheaper if you do it bulk)4. Use a call to action at every opportunity so you can…5. Take names. A contact base is currency in real estate. Used correctly, every name on you database is worth hundreds of dollars. This will allow you to…6. Initiate ‘value contact’ with your database so when they think of real estate, they will think of you. This is top-of-mind marketing. We need to give them enough reasons to call us when they’re thinking of selling or know whom to recommend when someone asks. (Referral business is the best business)7. Develop your professional contacts as well and include them in your marketing. (Your local mortgage broker or finance professional probably has hundreds of clients who would benefit from your expertise. Why don’t you look at doing a joint venture promotion?)These 7 ‘Secrets’ actually define relationship marketing. People do business with people they know and like. We need to build a relationship with potential clients before we can expect them to call us.One final word of warning; Putting your logo on everything is not going to help. In fact, I’m convinced it will work against you. It’s not about you. It’s about them! There will be plenty of opportunity to ‘logo up’ with For Sale signs and local paper ads once you have a heap of fresh listings as a result of your dynamic lead generating campaigns.Advertisers love to tell us how we need to constantly promote our brand. They call it ‘brand awareness’ and commit us to expensive advertising by convincing us that it’s the only way to go. (Sound familiar?) Relationship marketing is a whole lot more effective and a fraction of the price which allows individual real estate salespeople as well as real estate companies to build personal marketing profiles with a very affordable investment.As you read these words, there is someone in your target market ready to list their property for sale. Have you given them enough reasons to call you?

Boom in Digital Marketing Jobs in India

Today, the Internet has totally transformed the way people buy products and companies sell their products. From mobile phones to computers, clothes to shoes, books to electronics, people are increasingly turning to Internet to purchase products and services. This has resulted in the evolution of innovative ‘dot-com’ companies and eventually creative jobs.

E-commerce popularity is not limited to developed countries. As with computer literacy rate, PC ownership and Internet users, the Indian market is witnessing significant growth in ecommerce similar to American or European markets.

This article analyzes and lists the factors that led to exponential e-commerce growth in India and discusses on how it is creating many new jobs.

Exponential growth in Internet usage in India
Few years back, using Internet in India was like using high-end technology; it was available only to those who can afford a personal computer and high Internet rates. Today, the scenario has completely changed. With the reduced prices and increased access, the number of Internet users has grown exponentially in the last 10 years. From just 1.4 million in 1998, the number of Internet users has grown to 121 million in 2011 and is expected to reach 376 million by 2015.

Online purchasing on rise
E-commerce in India is still in its budding stage. But if we look at the trends in consumer behavior, we can expect a lot to happen in online space in the coming years.

According to Zinnov report, shopping is the third most popular category of search on the Internet. While 77% of the respondents shopped online at least once in 3 months, over 50% shopped at least once in the last month.

E-commerce market in India
As more and more people are showing interest in online shopping, investors find it worth investing in India. According to Forrester report, the current e-commerce market in India is US $ 1.6 billion and it is expected to grow five times by 2016 to US $ 8.8 billion.

E-commerce success stories in India
Many companies in India have already entered online space and tasted success that they never imagined. Indian railways web portal – IRCTC; online bus booking services like Red Bus; online job portals like Naukri, Monster; movie booking, matrimonial services, etc., are a few portals that became big hit in India. IRCTC received 5.56 million bookings in April 2012 compared to 2.26 lakh in April 2011, achieving a growth rate of 146% in a year.

Growth in e-commerce and digital advertising
With as many as 121 million people using Internet, advertisers find Internet a worth pursuing space. According to IAMAI, as of March 2012, digital advertisement spend in India was 28.51 billion and by the end of 2012 it is expected to touch 43.91 billion. On an average the digital ad spends are growing at 25% year-on-year.

Digital marketing outsourcing
Further, in countries like US, UK, Canada, etc., e-commerce is an established market and the use of SEO and SEM techniques has been in practice from many years. Offshoring digital marketing needs to India have also started. As the demand increases the number of digital marketing companies will also increase. As the field has demand at both national and international levels, we can expect decent number of career opportunities in this field.

Recently, NASSCOM (The National Association of Software and Services Companies) made an announcement that it is going to promote Indian e-commerce and digital advertising companies in US and European markets. This shows the seriousness of the opportunity in the field of e-commerce.

With e-commerce emerging as a profitable market, companies are increasingly using Internet marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage. In order for them to stay on the top of the search engine results, adopting SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) techniques became highly essential.

Without a doubt, all the above point to a huge demand for digital marketing professionals. Since this field is highly specialized and requires fairly complex skills, it is likely that the digital marketing needs will be addressed by specialized service providers. Whether companies opt for outside digital marketing firms or in-house digital marketing professionals is difficult to predict now. Probably, it does not even matter, what is important is, there is a tremendous need for digital marketing professionals right now and in the immediate future.