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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article

Email Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales ArticlePotential real estate clients are of high value. Independent real estate agents and large, well-established realty firms and businesses are equally invested in reeling in potential clients at the first chance they have. After all, the average home seller pocketed a whopping $54,000 throughout calendar year 2017, says Attom Data Solutions. This marked a 10-year high on average returns on investment of between one-fourth and three-tenths of their original investments!

As you can already tell – as if you don’t already know – the worth of a potential real estate client is nearly priceless. For this reason, combined with the long-ongoing market trend that buyers are shopping online more and more, digital marketing is of utmost importance for professionals in the real estate industry. Email is especially crucial, as 94 percent of REALTOR realty agents make offers and tend to clients’ questions via email. An astounding 96 percent of REALTORS use email on a daily basis, making the communication channel more popular than even smartphones.

Here are a handful of solid tips for all real estate agents when it comes to email marketing.

First Impressions Matter – Both In Person And In Email Subject Lines

According to iContact, a holding of tech giant Apple, roughly half of all email recipients decide to or not to open emails based on nothing but subject lines. Real estate professionals should avoid using all capital letters, excessive exclamation points, and other symbols, though they should always otherwise try to make email headers as engaging as humanly possible.

Emails Need To Be Short

Some things in life aren’t, in fact, best when kept short ‘n’ sweet. Realty-related marketing emails should generally contain all pertinent information above the fold, meaning recipients shouldn’t have to scroll down to understand the email in its entirety.

Be Consistent In Sending Emails

Nobody likes to be spammed with marketing emails, though it’s generally a good idea to send out at least five personalized, targeted emails to each active buyer on your contact list.

Email marketing for real estate agents isn’t a walk in the proverbial park to master. However, since it’s so important in today’s realty trade, all real estate professionals should strive to master the art of email marketing.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article

Why Your Company Needs a Mobile Marketing Strategy

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article
As a business, you want to make the best of your brand as possible. That means you need to have an effective marketing strategy that will attract customers and encourage them to make a purchase. You might not think that you need a dedicated mobile strategy when it comes to marketing. However, when you consider that most searches online now happen on cell phones and tablets, it makes sense to have one.

What Type of Mobile Marketing do You Need?

When you think about mobile marketing, you are probably thinking about those ads that pop up on games. Although they are a good way to get your brand in front of people, they aren’t the only way to advertise on cell phones.

  • Over 80 percent of mobile use involves apps, so it is the perfect medium to get your brand in front of your audience. While you can create your own app for your business, it isn’t essential. There are many other ways such as Google AdMob to get your advertising onto other creator’s apps.
  • If you are a company that wants to attract more local people to your business, then you can use location-based marketing. It enables ads to be shown to the user if they get near to the location.
  • Another useful type of marketing is SMS based advertising. You are able to send targeted SMS messages to your customers with details of deals and special events. Companies such as Reach Interactive provide you with the ability to send bulk SMS marketing campaigns to your audience which can help retain customers as well as new clients.
  • When someone searches on their cell phone, they will often see targeted ads on the search results. These types of mobile search ads are different from those on laptops, and you can direct users to a different part of your site if you wish.

Email Marketing

People use their cell phones continuously; they check their emails on the go rather than wait until they get home, and that means you can use email marketing to reach your customers. The trick is to keep the content engaging and try to tailor the emails to your customer’s tastes. You can also offer promotional codes, deals and money off coupons and a link to your website to make easy for them to buy.

Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

There is no point trying these mobile marketing techniques if your website isn’t mobile-friendly. You want all your content to be visible and easy to read on a small screen. Otherwise, you may find that viewers will be put off and click away. If you have made the site yourself using a web builder, there are usually options to convert it into a mobile-friendly version so that you can test your design to make sure that it works properly.

Your marketing campaign is a vital part of your business and adding a mobile element along with the other parts of your campaign will allow you to reach your customers much easier.

John Montana

The Disadvantages of Using E-mail to Sell

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Some sales people think using email to sell everything is the best idea. But the truth is…it’s really not. It is not a good idea to replace calls with emails when contacting a potential new client. Some people use email to sell products, to avoid the humiliation of rejection. Also the major disadvantage of taking this approach is that there can be a possibility of not getting an email while awaiting a transaction related to a sales process.[wcm_restrict]

More than seventy-five percent of the businesses today have replaced calls with emails, and in the process have lost the personal touch. The reason why businesses do this is that their sales people feel awkward and are afraid of the rejection when speaking directly with the customer. It hurts less to hear a no though an email. Some people also get tired of hearing the voicemails repeatedly. They think it’s a better idea to switch to emailing their prospects.

When trying to sell products or services to a new client, it’s not possible to gain a customer’s trust through an email, which makes the foundation of a long-term relationship very weak. Some well-to-do firms think that they are recognized in the market but they forget that there are strict spam filters installed. By forgetting these filters, these firms take the risk of sending introductory emails to their potential new customers. BUT, there is very little chance that the prospect will receive the email and will read it. But when calling a potential customer, there is a higher probability of the customer taking the call, and all the resources you’ve invested will be put good use.

If the company still thinks that sending emails to clients is the best approach, then some important points should be addressed.

  1. The introductory email must contain introduction about the company, brief information about the products and services they offer and information about method of purchase and contact.
  2. All the information included in the email should give the impression to the reader that the company is interested in benefiting the customer and not themselves.

The introductory email should sound like it’s trying to solve the problems and try to build a strong relationship with the prospective customer. For this the targeted people should be thoroughly researched in order to understand their shortcomings and what they would expect from a particular product. In the first call; do not mention that you think the company and the client will be a great match for each other. Sales pitches should be repelled completely. A sales pitch will turn your new prospect cold in a matter of seconds, and then you will get hung up on much more frequently.

Don’t put your company’s name in the heading of the email. When the company’s name is included in the heading, the customer gets the impression that profit of the company is your top priority and not interest of the customer. It’s a good marketing strategy to include the name of the product being sold, features of the product and how it can solve the problem of the reader. The subject should tell it all, and should also catch the attention in the first glance itself.

In my opinion, it’s best to start emailing your customer ONLY after the foundation of a strong long-term relationship is in place first. At first the customers should be personally approached. Later when the customer’s trust is gained, further dealings can be done through emails. Emails should only act as a back-up method of communicating. Take care that word like “we” should be avoided and replaced with the word “you”. The customer feels that he is being directly referred too.

There should be no negativity in the matter. This sets the mind of the customer in a negative mood and he will actually get the opposite message. For example, instead of writing “We don’t sell low quality product’s, write We sell high quality product’s”. Don’t condition the customer. This creates a pressure on the customer and they will start to avoid any calls and emails from the company.

Emails can be used during difficult times. Suppose some aggravation or misunderstand erupted between the parties, or at least from the side of the customer, and the customer is really pissed off at you or your company. Emails written with polite and gentle words can melt the animosity and can open up good terms again. The best thing is to stop using email as the only way of communicating, completely. Companies that directly reach out to clients reflect higher level of confidence and create a good impression on new customers.

In my experience, I have always found that “Face-to-Face meetings are the best. I have clients that now are so busy, that they have actually asked me to use email more frequently… that this is how they would like me to stay in touch with them. I think that this is ideal… build up your trust so much that by using email as a form of communication is actually the preferred way. This will show you that you are on the right track.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

John MontanaJohn Montana has been a successful salesman since 1990. He currently lives with his wife and travels between Chicago and Los Angeles. He created his site – ABMSNOW to offer tips and ideas on how to become better at selling… no matter what your product is.

Kevin Layton

5 Email Missteps Every Online Marketer MUST Know

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Email is by far one of the best digital marketing solutions to have in your toolbox. However, with this approach there is plenty of room for error amid an industry rife with regulations; delivery, filtering and other technology concerns and a glut of ever-evolving best practices. While email marketing is definitely not rocket science, there IS a certain degree of skill and artistry involved in crafting a winning email campaign. Proceed with abandon and it’s likely you’ll end up wasting time and money on failed email campaigns.

Email campaign failure can happen for a multitude of reasons, and the 5 missteps listed below are among the most common and easily avoidable offenses that every online marketer should take proactive measures to avoid.[wcm_restrict]

  1. Boring the Audience. There are a ton of ways online marketers can bore their audience, from lackluster subject lines to verbiage-laden text only emails, to emails that only talk about the company and provide nothing of tangible or even perceived value – the all-important “what’s in it for me” factor. While email can feel one-sided, it is really intended to be a conversation — the start of one. Savvy marketers understand this. For a better success rate, provide an enticing offer and certainly an eye-catching subject line to encourage positive open rates. Design colorful and well-branded graphics to appeal to our world’s love of visual content. Provide valuable resources, articles, offers and calls to action that truly give something to your email audience. Ultimately, think about how you can provide value to those on your email list.
  2. Annoying the Audience. You know the feeling when you get interrupted by a little fly buzzing around your head, and then again 30 seconds later, and then yet again 30 seconds after that? Don’t be the little fly pestering people too frequently. Of course, finding the “sweet spot” for the timing tolerance of each audience takes a little experimenting, observation and an understanding of the industry in which they operate. Your audience will love hearing from you if you are providing value in a way that gives them room to breathe — to consider your office and how it fits into their own needs and objectives. Understanding the “pulse” of an industry and the standards by which they operate is a great starting point to determine a suitable frequency and timing of emails. When you find the sweet spot, you’ll know it and your audience will respond to your campaigns in kind.
  3. Confusing the Audience. All too often online marketers try to cram too many messages into one email, trying to accomplish or convey too many things at once. There should always be one clear call to action and any messaging or imagery, and links should always direct the customer to a landing page where they can act upon that main call to action. When an email campaign vehicle is cluttered with multiple messages — to purchase one thing, call for a free consultation, follow the brand and more — the recipient can be distracted from the main reason for the email. Stick to one primary message around which all else is focused and be sure to tell your potential customer what you want them to do next. Don’t cause them to wander aimlessly around your website or landing page.
  4. Bombarding the Audience. Marketers get excited when they’re embarking upon an email marketing campaign. It’s where the rubber meets the road. . As touched on above, they often try to throw everything they’ve got at their audience in the form of too much written copy and too many design features such as star bursts or complicated shapes. While you can include all of these bells and whistles from a technical standpoint, it’s simply not necessary or even beneficial to do so. The best email campaigns are those that keep the design interface and messaging simple. That means clearly written and formatted content as well as clean, fresh graphics and design. Keep in mind that even the best email marketing vehicle won’t convey your message as effectively as a well-conceived and executed website. This is why the email campaign should compel the recipient to head in that direction and facilitate in an intuitive, efficient and streamlined fashion.
  5. Missing the Audience. At a high level Email marketing seems simple enough but, when you dig into all of your options with data filters in particular to specifically target certain audiences, it becomes clear just how complex the endeavor really is. Today, online marketers have countless list segmentation options but, sadly, they often choose poorly when it comes to filtering their email list. There are many mission-critical segmentation options to consider like geographic, socioeconomic and demographic filters that allow the user to refine a list. For example, a localized Mercedes dealership would target potential customers who live within a certain zip or area code radius of their location, have certain interests and make enough in salary to afford a high end vehicle. In this way, online marketers can use list segmentation filters to target an audience with a high likelihood of being receptive to your message.

While nothing in the advertising and marketing realm with notable upside comes without risk and there are definitely ways to waste money and ruin opportunities with email marketing, there are even more ways to increase site traffic, lead generation and revenue among other goals. The key is to invest the time up front to design an effective email campaign, which starts by heeding the blunders detailed above. For extra assurance, digital marketers often enlist the help of field experts and outside voices who can consult on the preparation process and catch errors that may have otherwise been missed. When executed properly, email marketing can grow a business in a very strategic and calculated manner, not just delivering a good return on investment for a single campaign but also ultimately growing your business over the long-term.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Kevin LaytonKevin Layton is CEO of Data-Dynamix, a premier source of demographic data, a go-to partner for delivering digital marketing campaigns and experts in advertising sales training that was ranked 1,226 on the 2015 Inc. 5000. The company partners with a litany of top-tier ad agencies and media groups across newspaper, radio and television. Kevin, author of the upcoming book, Building Your Digital Marketing Machine, is also a revered inspirational speaker on digital marketing, international business and business strategy. Reach him online at www.data-dynamix.com.