5 Marketing Myths Debunked
Are you a victim of marketing myth?
We already know that a sure way to fail in business is to slash your marketing budget. We attacked that myth in this post here on AG so let’s tackle a few more and make sure you haven’t fallen victim to these 5 marketing myths.
MYTH: Invest lots of money. Good marketing does not necessarily come from spending lots of dollars. Any smart businessperson will tell you that you can’t solve all problems by throwing money at them. Cash is just one resource you have to invest. You also have time, energy, and imagination.
MYTH: The most exposure wins. Sure exposure is nice and necessary but it doesn’t always translate into what really matters. Neither does traffic counts, comments, gross sales or commission checks. At the end of the day the only true measure for success are profits – how much you get to keep.
MYTH: Always be closing. I know you’ve run into agents (or other sales folks) that keep pushing for the sale. The key ingredient of a sustainable business is not the individual sale, it’s the relationships built with prospects. Marketing that solely focuses on creating sales will ultimately tire out your prospects. Build relationships – it’s what people buy.
MYTH: Hit them hard. Frequency of repetition often trumps volume. Too often we’ve seen agents spend their entire budget on “the big thing” such as a radio or tv spot, or glossy high-profile ad. Actually, the most effective marketing doesn’t win because it’s high-profile but because it’s consistent.
MYTH: Master one method. While keeping your marketing frequent is important, it’s also important to make sure you’re using multiple channels to reach your market. Use blog posts, social media, direct mail, classifieds, pay-per-click, email and other channels to promote your listing. If you stick to just one method then it’s far easier for your market to ignore or not notice.
What are some other real estate marketing myths out there that need to be debunked?
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This article published on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 12:08 pm | Contact the editor
Topics: Marketing
About this Columnist (Full Profile)
Mark Eckenrode is a Certified Master of Guerrilla Marketing raised on comic books, punk rock, and Pepsi. He’s also the chief marketing trainer at HomeStomper where AgentGenius readers can learn unconventional methods for winning with social media.
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Benn Rosales
Conal Campbell
Elijah May
Lani Rosales
Tara Steele
Marti Trewe
Charlene Jimenez
I agree that consistency is more profitable in the long run. It’s too easy for too many people to miss that “one big ad” on the radio or elsewhere.
MYTH #6: Photographing your own listings will save you time and money.
–>Nothing could be further from the truth. Studies show that using a professional architectural photographer will increase the perceived value of a listing by over 6%. In this market buyers are expecting a bargain – so give it to them. Make your $500,000 home appear to be a $530,000 home. Here is a home presented two different ways. Here is how the real estate agent photographed it:
http://www.weichert.com/search/realestate/propertyimages.aspx?p=21230865
Here is the same house photographed by a pro:
http://www.onlinepropertyshowcase.com/showcase/10240/
Which presentation do you think will bring the buyers?
@jay: love the “before and after” shots. when it comes to creating a presentation that sells, more often than not, a professional can do more for you than a skilled amateur. excellent myth busting.
This is basic marketing 101 (ok, maybe 102). I love the fact that most agents don’t realize any of this – just keeps me ahead of the curve.
Thanks for the love.
Nice post! I agree completely. Marketing is about building relationships and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
John P. Kreiss
MorganSullivan, Inc.
For me, these are great things. I don’t like to do the hard sale/close. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on bad marketing or expensive glossy print ads. And I like to do a lot of things to market – keeps me interested and active.
Too bad I’ve done all of those things; good thing is I’m done doing those things.
Great stuff! My industrial arts teacher had a simple saying. KISS! (Keep it simple, stupid!)
Marketing is a lot easier than people like to make it.
I believe it’s also important be constantly reaching out to different parts of your market. Can you afford to specialize in just one thing? Develop multiple niches.