If you are an agent looking to establish yourself in a marketplace or grow your existing market share, then marketing yourself to build your profile is a fundamental ingredient.
The challenge with marketing is that it’s a long term commitment.
A commitment to designing, positioning, promoting and distributing your message in such a way that your prospects see value in it.
The role of agent profile marketing is to increase awareness and loyalty, attract new clients and retain those who have worked with you in the past.
Ultimately it’s to drive more business.
What agent wouldn’t want that?
Now, I am not a marketing specialist but I have learnt from experts and adopted the key principles of marketing to support my clients build and grow.
Below are four key components that will go along way towards your marketing success:
Check your expectations
Measuring the impact of your marketing can be difficult.
Many agents say to me, ‘I dropped 2000 DL cards and didn’t get a single call, it’s just a waste of money’.
The fact is, that your marketing return is probably much more subtle than that.
The awareness from your consistent profile building may deliver a call months after a particular message hit.
You may also meet someone at one of your open homes who has received your message consistently over time when they have not been active in real estate and are more receptive to you in the present, due to the trust that has previously been built.
Consider that your investment in marketing is just like the investment in the clothes that you wear or the car that you drive.
It may not bring an obvious return but it’s all having an impact.
Allocate an annual budget and just stick to it.
Letterboxes are not dead
Any good marketing plan will include the ‘foundational four’ which are the basic avenues to reach people – Social Media, letterboxes, inboxes and sms.
Of course many other avenues exist, but these are the most accessible to all agents and easy to manage.
The power is in the mix, so that your message has a higher probability of reaching people, and I am a firm believer that letterboxes still have a powerful reach.
I recently engaged a tradesperson through a letterbox flyer.
It hit me at the right time when I was thinking about a project at home.
I had seen his business around in the past but the simple fact is, he would not have my business if he did not drop that in.
So when designing your marketing plan start with these four avenues.
Consistency
For someone to choose you, they must know you and trust you.
As I have written in previous articles, the way to build trust is through demonstrating Care, Commitment and Consistency.
A simple marketing plan will deliver all three, and Consistency is the most important.
Consistency proves that you can be relied upon, you are not seeking short term gain.
You will always be there, you are the one to keep them informed and you are active.
So when creating your plan, start off with a frequency that you can maintain.
As an example, schedule letterboxes, inboxes and sms on a monthly basis, and social media three posts a week.
You can use a combination of time based information (eg: an appraisal drive, Spring or New Year) and event based information (eg: recent listing or sale, community event or legislation update).
Map this out for one quarter and then hit repeat.
Keep it simple and consistent.
Who are you marketing to?
There are four different behavioural styles of people within your market, and you may be familiar with the DISC human behaviour model.
Utilising the DISC model to target your messaging can improve your marketing and capture their attention.
A snapshot of how to do this:
- Dominant styles are direct and appreciate concise communication.
They will respond to brief and concise messaging and bullet points with facts. - Influencer styles thrive on social interactions and will respond to captivating images and video content showcasing people enjoying working with you.
- Steady styles seek security, comfort, and positive emotions.
To resonate with them emphasize how working with you contributes to their well-being & security. - Compliant styles are detail-oriented and analytical and look for certainty and evidence.
Appeal to them by providing in-depth information, data, and client reviews.
As you approach the end of the year, now is the perfect time to make a decision about building your profile to grow your business!
How many more people could you help with their property journey?
They need to know you to choose you, so get to it – map out a three month plan, set your budget and begin.
