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“Real Estate from A to Z” if you feel like that is the only acceptable message, but that one message will be far more effec- tive than four separate messages. If you have four separate and individual things to communicate with a potential custom- er and cannot compromise, you should have four different ad campaigns. The most effective and persuasive ad has one single point, and it is said powerfully. QUESTION #3 AM I BRANDING OR ASKING FOR ACTION? When you create a piece of promo- tional material, you will usually need to choose whether your goal is establishing an effective call to action (CTA) or is branding. Some real estate professionals try for both, but this usually becomes confusing (see Question 2). There are pros and cons for both options. A CTA drives the reader to make a decision and take action as a result of that decision. For example, if you operate a company that specializes in turning rentals and getting them ready for the next tenant, then you might have a CTA that says, “Call today to get total turn service for [a very cheap rate]!” The hope is your target market, landlords and property managers, will act immediately to snag the discount and, as a result, create rapid sales in high volumes. This often works for a short period of time and, as a result, is a favored strategy for some advertisers. The downfall to this specific CTA is that an advertiser must sell the product at a reduced price while still investing a significant amount of money in every campaign. These campaigns tend to be volatile, so sales will go up and down. Furthermore, people become immune to your “sale of the century” verbiage after a while, and it becomes nearly impossible to maintain the initial high levels of response over the long term.
Often, advertisers use CTAs to better effect by simply using them to elicit an action that initiates a relationship with a potential client, such as “Call Gertrude to schedule a consultation” or “Text RE- PORT to 12345 for a free report.” These CTAs allow you to collect additional information about a potential customer and begin building a rapport with them rather than necessitating an immediate, possibly discounted sale. The alternative to using a CTA is to work on establishing your brand using advertising. This is certainly a slower process but can be more lucrative over time – if you do it right. With the right message, consistency, and great customer service, people will come to you, trust you, and send others to you. Then when you decide to run a sale and use the call to action method, it will have better chances of success because you have put the brand equity into each customer. With the right message, consistency, and great customer service, people will come to you, trust you, and send others to you. I ask this question constantly. Real estate is an incredibly diverse sector, but often companies end up mirroring each other’s ads. Of any 100 companies, about 99 of them appear to be similar because their advertising appears simi- lar (or nearly identical). They are failing to separate themselves from the crowd, and it makes them hard to remember. Here are two of the most common mistakes people make when identifying their separator: 1 IF YOUR ANSWER IS “BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE,” TRY AGAIN. QUESTION #4 WHAT IS YOUR “SEPARATOR?”
makes your customer service the best. For example, “[Your issue resolved] in 24 hours or less” or “Never get an answering machine instead of a person.” 2 EXPERIENCE IS NOT ENOUGH. Another common answer relies on length of time in the business. However, there are a lot of companies out there with long track records. Just having stayed in business 20 years is not enough. Adjust that statement to describe what you were doing over the past two decades. For example, you might say, “20 years of cash-flowing turnkey real estate” or “Delivering profitable, full-service turnkey investments since 1997.” Once you have identified that specific separator that sets you apart, make it your calling card. Advertise a unique aspect and own it. Stick with it through- out your campaign and, in return, it will stick with your audience. If there are 100 companies that offer services that appear on the surface to be similar to yours, what makes your company stand out from the other 99? By answering these four questions and incorporating the resulting conclu- sions into your advertising and mar- keting strategies, you create a layer of defense against professional stagnation. You also create a situation in which your advertising is so far beyond your competitors’ that you no longer even feel that you are operating on the same > Continued on :: PG 112
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Rodney Halford is the vice president of media sales at Think Realty. He has nearly two decades experience in mar- keting and advertising consulting. He
Not only is this the most common answer out there, but it does not tell me anything. Instead, tell me what
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may be reached at rhalford@thinkrealty.com.
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