There’s always something to howl about.
Marketing Provocateur
Not all business cards are created equal. Good ones burn into the brain. Start a relationship. And build your brand. The best ones turn a simple intro and some bare info into lasting commitments and customers for life.
Some cards are better than others as this recent article from Inc. shows. Use it to ignite your marketing imagination. And make your own card an ace.
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P.S. Already have a great business card? Or one you admire? Do share…
Interesting piece at kausfiles.com.
Excerpt:
Real estate prices started to plummet just as expectations of imminent semi-amnesty were turning into the reality of harsher enforcement. Schools in immigrant heavy areas of L.A. for example, reported declining enrollments in 2006. The nationwide character of the Gran Salida became apparent, even to the press by early 2008. It seems highly plausible to me that there is some non-trivial causality running between the decrease in the net inflow of illegal immigrants and the real estate bust–all the immigrants who have disappeared would have had to live somewhere. Even if they were renters, not buyers, they would ordinarily have bolstered the value of housing stock. (And some were buyers–search for “this borrower has gone back to Mexico and has no intention of returning.”)
I know the entire RE.net will be focused like a laser on its future starting this evening (in case you haven’t Heard).
And we’re all truly wondering about the depth of Trulia’s mendacity (several layers deep apparently).
And who isn’t speculating about the story behind the story behind this story? (I think it may soon be available on DVD).
Just a word of caution before you find yourself all fired up by these relatively minor distractions. Remember what really matters.
Well-written piece by Mark Gimein in Slate this morning asks an interesting and important question:
In ordinary circumstances, the people and institutions you deal with reinforce social norms. They say it’s not OK to lie. But what happens when the structures and institutions break down and start telling you the opposite?
The answers it portends are unsettling.
Depending upon where you sell homes, you now have one powerful reason (of two) to target single, out-of-town buyers (as if Miami realtors need another reason to attract Minneapolis men). Me, I’m staying put in Charleston. But while the numbers may look good, I am furiously mining the data for the age (and, okay, income) to gain a better picture of where the girls are.
Buyer beware: The underlying article was written by 1 2 3 4 Richard Florida 5 6
Book Recommendation
He had me at “The Economist.”
He being Dan Ariely, author of the new book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. It’s about the buying and marketing choices we make and why we make them. And why the seemingly rational path to a purchase is often the road less traveled.
Chapter one opens with an example drawn directly from the subscription promotions of my sometimes client The Economist. Which is why you’ll also find this article posted here.
Mr. Ariely’s second example involves real estate. Showing why most buyers choose the more expensive, and yet demonstrably less valuable property among the three houses he presents.
As a “behavioral economist,” Mr. Ariely organizes the book using the scientific method. In successive chapters he postulates a theory. Devises a controlled experiment. Tests his hypotheses. And reports the results … which are fascinating as well as illuminating. (Conduct a few tests on yourself: The door game. Easy-hard game. The circle illusion. Table illusion. Jastrow illusion. Stroop illusion. Line illusion. Checker board illusion. And Koffka illusion.
Predictably Irrational reveals that many best practices in marketing may, in fact, be predicated on myths. And it gives the lie to some long-held, fiercely-defended beliefs about customer behavior. But its greatest contribution is helping you achieve what I think is most missing in sales—whether real estate or subscriptions: The ability of sellers to think like buyers in accurate and advantageous ways.
These “hidden forces” will help you understand the true meaning of free. The concept of price anchors. The power of social motivation. If you’re in real estate, I think you’ll find it easy to take what you learn and apply it to the pricing of properties, the showing of homes, the marketing of listings. If you’re selling magazines, it may cause you to re-frame your offers, re-cast your benefits, and re-position your brand.
Now fair warning: Mr. Arieley has a grander vision than I. So he doesn’t draw the same conclusions from his data as I do. As a result, he tends to airily end chapters with sweeping pronunciations on the implications of his Read more
Daniel Gross writing in Slate on how things got so, well, unchained. Key bit:
And so, since the bubble popped and home prices ceased to rise, desperate players in the market have taken a series of actions intended to delay price discovery in housing. Rather than cut prices, sellers began to throw in free cars or other inducements to buyers who paid the asking price. Brokers reduced their commissions. Builders started including all sorts of extras (fancy kitchens, pools, etc.) for no additional price. Every link in the chain sacrificed margins and profits rather than cut prices.
While I know most of you looking in are industry professionals, I found the writing crisp, the thinking clear, and the piece instructive reading for the rest of us in the run up to BloodhoundBlog Unchained on May 18th.
One Hed Fits All. My thoughts exactly.
Mr. Gross of Slate is at it. Mr. Cook: Your thoughts?
Remember these guys? From this post? Well, this just in…
Seems the one on the left (in the right hand picture) may have taken it a bit too seriously.
As for me, I’m Italian. And you know what they say.
You wouldn’t know it from its advertising, but Jordan’s is a furniture store local to Boston. And a rather successful one too. Always near or at the top of national lists for most sales per square foot in the retail furniture business. So profitable, it attracted the attention of the Sage of Omaha who bought Jordan’s with the expressed purpose of leaving a good thing alone. He wanted it to continue doing what it has always done: Act like anything but a furniture store while making money at a phenomenal rate.
If you didn’t know better, you might think Jordan’s was a movie theater. Or a theme park. Perhaps a restaurant. And when you got to know better, you would be right. That’s because Jordan’s realized early on that success in the furniture business first required success in the baby-sitting business. So they created stores that kids thought were way cool. A place where mom and dad would eagerly take them — and leave them alone! — for unadulterated fun. Mom and dad too thought this way cool. Because where else could they safely escape from the kids for an hour, and serenely spend their suddenly free time exploring an adult fantasy of their own? An Eden filled with rooms of perfectly arranged and accessorized furniture, all of which — when combined with a ready credit card and the relaxed sales resistance of couples floating in what feels like homes for their dreams — could be delivered whole the very next day?
Without jumping ahead, I know you already know what makes Jordan’s successful. And what you can learn from their example. The brothers Jordan asked “what business are we in?” And the right answer was show business. Entertainment for kids to be precise. A perfect, powerful synergy — because kids, most of all, drive the demand for furniture. You buy it when they’re born. You replace it as they grow. Again when they ruin it. And once more when they move away — free at last to repeat the same cycle.
Summon the gods and you’ll learn “What business are you in?” was Read more
Marketing is as much a way of thinking as it is doing. Thinking about your customers and their motivations. Thinking about your lawn signs and listings and your picture on your card.** Thinking about where you can find ideas and inspirations that will cause buyers to come to you instead of the other guy.
From time to time, I’ll introduce you to people from my world who have influenced my thinking so they can work their magic for you, too, in your world. This is Denny Hatch. He’s strong coffee, but sometimes exactly what’s needed to kick start the day.
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** Kris, a little unsolicited professional marketing advice? Keep the picture. It’s working for you.
A fundamental difference between general advertising (image, awareness, brand-building ads–the stuff Century 21 and ReMax does nationally) and direct response advertising (the targeted, measurable results-driven stuff YOU and frontliners like the Bergs–and welcome Kris! what a good get Greg–do locally) is that the former tries to change the way customers think over time and the latter works to change the way customers act right now.
Since direct response advertising can measure results,** it creates opportunities to test and account for the value and effectiveness of things. Like headlines.*** Copy. Pictures. Or even blog posts.
Which is what I am doing now.
I want to see why BloodhoundBlog Post 703 is drawing so few responses (okay, none right now). Is it because it’s just boring and uninteresting to readers? Or perhaps all it needs is a much better headline to get you to take a look and benefit from all its great advice on how to write compelling listings copy. I want to test the supposition “You can lead a real estate agent to a blog, but you can’t make him think.”****
Vote with your mouse.
or
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** When should you use general advertising and when should you use direct response advertising? Well, first determine who’s paying for it. Then decide.
*** For those of you who care to get under the hood of your marketing, John Caples was the godfather of Tested Advertising Methods. It’s a classic text. (Okay, it’s really, really old, and “They’ll laugh when you order it at Amazon, but OH! when you begin to put his ideas to work…”)
**** Just kidding. Greg urged me, originally, to use the “makeover how-to” headline. I resisted. I even thought of titling this post “You lookin’ at me?” but I checked and the actual line is “You talking to me?” So I guess the real supposition I’m testing is “You can give a guru good advice, but you can’t account for his ego.”
Technorati Tags: real estate marketing
DC: A very charming Georgetown house in the very center of the east village…
CHICAGO: Very charming Gunderson style home located on great block…
SF: Sunnyvale charmer! Updated kitchen. Great neighborhood…
Let’s step past the navel-gazing** about why most real estate copy is so dreadfully banal, and step up to the question: What can you do in the next 10 minutes or so to make your listings more attention getting, more interesting, and most of all, more effective?
And let’s start by dispensing with the myth — if not mystique — that marketing and advertising is more difficult to understand than other professions.*** Doctor, lawyer, real estate agent: It’s all about problem solving.
“Doctor, I’m feeling pressure in my chest.”
“Counselor, I’ve been sued for divorce.”
“[Your name here], I want to sell my house.”
There is one key difference. Those professionals are looking for solutions to clear and present problems. You, however, start with the solution in hand — a property for sale. Your job is to find the problem. Advantage you, for therein lies the path to better copy.
You simply need to become a method writer. At your keyboard stop and think: “What problems do my listings solve? And for whom?” Write your answers in simple declarative sentences. One after another. Action verbs preferred. And go easy on the adjectives and adverbs — no matter how charming, elegant, and delightful you find them.
Here are two to get you started.
For that in-town condo:
The end of your two-hour commute — this is a country home in the city with the kind of kitchen that causes suburban envy.
Or that suburban ranch:
In the basement…your health club. In the master suite…your day spa. In the family room…day care. Out back…your florist. In this home…your new life.
While I can’t see your listings, I already know the kinds of problems for which you have solutions.
“I’m eating at the same three restaurants every weekend…”
“I never see my kids because I’m commuting hours each day…”
“I’m sick of taking my clothes to a laundromat…
“I’ll never meet a man living out here alone in the boonies…”
“Yada, yada, yada…”
The more specific the problems you describe, the better your copy Read more
