Would you like to create your own “unique roadmap that will take you where you want to be”? If so, Tricia Andreassen’s new book, “Interfusion Marketing,” shows you how to create clear marketing messages that will help you to “grow and bloom with powerful results.”
If you want to be a more successful marketer, Andreassen says you must first ask: “What do the people crave in your business world?”
She continues by warning that the biggest mistake that agents make is “developing your brand before you know your customer.” In other words, if you’re not clear on whom you are talking to, you will be trying to speak to everyone and reaching no one.
Hit the branding bull’s-eye with target marketing
Andreassen strongly recommends that before you brand your business or begin any additional marketing campaigns that you answer these questions about the type of business that you are attracting. Go through your sphere of influence to determine where each individual fits based upon these three categories:
- Your existing customer base (the people you’re working with right now).
- Your ideal customers (the people you will work with in the future).
- Your evangelists and influencers (the people you’ve worked with in the past who help bring you ongoing success and connections).
The next two questions will unlock important information that you need to know to be a successful marketer:
- “If you were to have someone interview them, what would they say about you?”
- “What would you want them to say about you?”
When you answer these questions for your personal sphere of influence and past client list, you will have a snapshot of what you are already attracting. If you would like to upgrade the quality of the clients you attract, place your focus on your evangelists and influencers. Discover what they love about you and then expand on that.
The next four questions will help you to dig deeper into what matters most to your clients.
1. “What words should come to mind when they think of your business?”
While you can start this process by brainstorming whatever comes to mind, it’s important that you narrow this list down to 3-5 words that can help your customers understand your unique selling proposition more easily.
2. “What emotions do I want clients to feel when they use my products or services?”
Unless you’re working with investors, most people purchase based upon emotion rather than logic. This means that you are focusing on the benefits of purchasing the property (i.e., the emotional feelings) as opposed to the features such as the bedroom-bath count. When you market your listings based upon the benefits of owning a specific property, you’re much more likely to achieve a sale.
3. “What frustrations, challenges or emotions may be leading them to inquire about using my service?”
One of the most powerful ways to market is to discover where your clients are experiencing pain in their current living situation (e.g., noisy neighbors, nasty landlord, etc.) and to provide a solution to their problems (a new home.)
The next question is probably the most important:
4. “If I could solve three of my customers’ biggest challenges, what would those challenges be?”
The answer to this question will help you to target-market in a way that will produce the greatest results.
Embrace your uniqueness
In addition to target marketing what matters most to your clients, it’s equally important that you identify what makes you unique as compared to the other agents who serve your area. The secret is to match your strengths with the needs of the clients you attract. This is a powerful combination that produces the impressive results.
Once you have identified this information, Andreassen walks you through a detailed process of creating the postcards, landing pages and other tools you will need to launch your marketing campaign.
Create your marketing plan
Assume that there is a new down payment assistance program in your area for firefighters, police officers and teachers. Here are the steps that Andreassen recommends you take:
1. On Monday, do a direct mail campaign to the surrounding farming areas to catch the attention of potential customers in the area.
2. On Tuesday, post the offer on Craigslist to the geographic market you want to generate business in, focusing on some of the great features that will attract that demographic.
3. On Wednesday, promote it on Facebook with a call-to-action graphic and a link driving them back to registering for the offer. Use Facebook’s target marketing tools reach the specific demographic that would qualify for this program.
4. On Thursday, post a quick video on YouTube talking about the challenges that new buyers face in putting together their down payment. At the end of the video, create a message and a clickable link that offers a special e-book that can help the person to achieve their goal of putting their down payment together more quickly.
Andreassen then concludes: “Your marketing should always lead people back to your website, and it should always be generating leads.”
Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author of the National Association of Realtors’ No. 1 best-seller, “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.” Hear Bernice’s five-minute daily real estate show, just named “new and notable” by iTunes, at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com.