Throwing WIDE aside: How to go DEEP with your marketing

When it comes to real estate farming or prospecting, the traditional approach is to go “wide” — to hit every house in a given neighborhood or ZIP code. Real estate marketing, too, was conducted with a wide approach; we hoped that drivers would see our open house signs or bus benches, that consumers would see our phone book ads as they looked up a number.

This wide approach meant that we had to be everything, to everyone — instead of something specific to someone specific.

And while this sounds like a great opportunity, it can also be limiting. It doesn’t help you realize the type of agent you want to be, the type of clients you want to have… or how to narrow down both your marketing creative and your prospecting activities so you can drive in the clients you desire.

We talk a lot about predictive analytics, algorithms, big data and data-driven marketing. But the truth is, you don’t need to know how all of that works. You just need to know what it can do for your business.

What you need to know is how data-backed knowledge can empower you to:

1. Send smarter marketing campaigns that resonate with your target audience
2. Narrow down your prospecting so you can spend real time, and real effort, winning over clients who are ready to hire an agent

1. Send smarter marketing campaigns that resonate with your target audience

Have you ever heard a new word, then noticed that word follows you around for days after? What about when a friend tells you about a new trend they’ve heard of — whether it be a song, a TV show, or a bottle of wine — and the next day, you see an ad for it?

It feels like a sign.

And good marketing should always feel like a sign.

When you leverage data-driven marketing, you don’t have to use tired language or your standard catch-all flyer. You can go deep so that you’re targeting:

• Move-up buyers who need more bedrooms for their kids or hobbies
• Boomers who are ready to ditch the family home in favor of a more manageable condo or townhouse
• Homeowners who will feel represented by trends like Spanish tile roofs, vacation properties on the beach, northwoods cabins or starter homes in the midwest suburbs

By sending resonant campaigns, your marketing can feel less like an advertisement for your business and more like a value-based proposition that speaks to them. In other words, it can feel like a sign.

To create data-driven marketing campaigns, of course, you need the data. SmartZip can run assessments for every market in the U.S., or for your own sphere, to help you determine who your prospects are — and what they want to see or hear in your marketing efforts.

2. Narrow down your prospecting so you can spend real time, and real effort, winning over clients who are ready to hire an agent

Marketing is just the first step of winning new clients. The second, and most important step, is to engage them one-on-one so you can build a relationship and get the sale.

Smart prospecting is just like data-driven marketing: it arms you with the information you need to make a connection and break through the noise.

When you know, for example, that a homeowner is living in a desirable school district with high property taxes despite not having school-aged children, you can speak to them about a house or area that might better fit their needs.

By contrast, if an absentee homeowner is hanging on to a property that’s gone up 30% in value over the last few years, you can speak to them about how their investment has paid off — and how if they plan to sell, now is the right time.

Smart prospecting gives you:

• The clarity you need to make strong recommendations to potential clients

• The power to reach out to those prospects individually

• The confidence you need to stay on top of clients who say they aren’t selling — but who are showing undeniable signs and signals in their data

Do you want to go wide or deep?

In the end, it’s time for every agent to decide if they want to go wide (to reach everyone, whether or not they want to sell) or deep (to reach those who are showing clear selling triggers).

To get more information on data-driven marketing or smart prospecting, and how it can change your business forever, reach out today.

For more helpful tips, visit the SmartZip blog.