Ah, Social Media. Like fire, it’s great for heating things up, but it can also burn down your house. Or, in some cases, your client roster. While Twitter is a fantastic resource and, when used the right way by diligent brand stewards, can be a part of a healthy campaign, David Henderson shares the power of the tweet to potentially destroy relationships in his blog post How Not to Be a Key Online Influencer.
Tags: social media, twitterMonthly Archive for January, 2009
While direct mail has lost some of its ability to effectively connect with prospects who often see the mailing as simply “junk mail,” e-mail marketing has now become an incredibly effective and interactive method of helping prospects reach you.
E-mail marketing has an incredibly high return on investment because you’re only paying for your recipient list and the creative services used to create the art, copy, and e-mail itself, because there are no printing costs, and because those you are e-mailing have already opted to receive such mailings—these people actually want to hear from you and are far more likely to read what you have sent and make contact with you.
Many of you may have already begun to dip your toes into the e-mail marketing game, and have seen the incredible results. Others of you may have tried, but without attaining the response rate you’d hoped for. The keys to effective email marketing are consistency, a strategically developed message, and a website landing page that captures registrations.
Where most builders and developers fail with e-mail marketing is in applying consistency. Simply sending out one e-mail message and expecting hard returns is unlikely to accomplish anything. Think more in terms of a campaign—where a new e-mail goes out every two weeks, and possibly more often to promote community-specific events.
And, just as important as applying consistency, your message must be on-target and resonate with your audience. If you understand who the correct buyer is, you can create e-mails that are appropriate for their wants and needs. You also must provide the recipients with some incentive to make contact with you.
Typically, when NDG Communications creates an e-mail campaign, the e-mail provides a link to a “website landing page” that provides the e-mail recipient with a form to register to receive more information in exchange for some reward, possibly to enter for a drawing at an event, or the chance to win some prize. The recipient has an incentive, and you now have a registered (and most likely qualified) lead with full contact details.
Tags: e-mail, e-marketing, ndg communicationsThe Nationals is the nation’s largest competition for new home sales and marketing, and is presented by the National Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). This year, NDG received a Gold Award for our work for the Kaine Homes website, in the category Best Website for a Builder.
Prior to the new website’s launch, the previous Kaine Homes website received approximately 3,000 visits per quarter. The new website has been promoted via email, print, direct mail, corporate collateral, and even via social media sites such as Youtube. Site visits rose to approximately 6,000 in the first quarter after launching the new website, and recently measured approximately 12,000 discrete visits per quarter.
We’re happy to share this recognition with Kaine Homes and very proud of our achievement of the Nationals Gold Award.
Click here for a complete list of the 2009 Nationals Awards Gold Award Winners.
Tags: nationals awards, ndg communications, new home marketing, new home sales marketing, real estate marketingIn this post, we continue our discussion of how to properly reach out and engage Realtors in your sales process.
Remember, what the realtor wants more than anything is more REFERRALS. Even with cash incentives, the realtor may feel compelled to pass on some or all of this benefit to their client to get that coveted referral. So if you can structure a program that offers the realtor other incentives in addition to bonuses and good commissions—such as trips to a spa, or travel gifts—you’ll provide a spectrum of rewards that will help you attract more realtors.
And, if you can provide just as many rewards for the realtor’s clients such as upgrades or additional options, or help with costs or down payments, you will have given the realtor every reason to bring clients to your property.
Contact is also very important—It’s not enough to have just an introductory event and send out an occasional postcard. Create events that encourage realtors to bring their clients to experience what your community has to offer, and do them more often. Provide give-away gifts or drawings that reward both the realtor and client for attending.
Always remember: Providing incentives is the key to successful realtor outreach, and that without realtor participation, you’re missing possibly more than 50% of your potential sales.
Tags: ndg communications, new home marketing, new home sales marketing, real estate marketing, realtor outreachSo we changed our blog name. The reason? As we’ve been writing the blog, we’ve been finding our collective voice. Now that our blog has been up and on its feet for a little while, the character, topics, and tone of the material have become more consistent and our focus more defined.
“Noise to Signal” means cutting through the clutter to create real meaning, and real connections. If you’re not doing that, you’re wasting time and money. We believe in the power of new media to make connections. And while we don’t believe Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube are the ultimate killer channels, we must all acknowledge their power to reshape our communications, and the way we share information.
We’ll continue to relate our news and accomplishments, but we’re also now committed to providing real and meaningful content that can help you connect with the people who live your brand every day. And of course, the occasional industry goodies will be sprinkled here and there to keep you up to speed on e-marketing and advertising in general. Or if we see the work or ideas of others worthy enough to share, we’re even happy to share our spotlight—at least for a minute.
So, go ahead and bookmark us. We promise to continue to deliver. And, if you’re really ready to get real about your marketing and advertising in the 21st century, we’re ready to help you.
Tags: advertising, communications, e-marketing, marketing, medical marketing, ndg communications, noise to signal, real estate marketing, social mediaHere are some cold, hard facts about New Home Sales in the 21st Century: Nationwide, more than 50% of all new home sales have been through a realtor. In fact, some builders have seen his figure rise to as high as 90% over the past year. Why is this the case?
In our challenged marketplace, with the overwhelming negative press the economy and the housing market have received, prospective buyers are now simply afraid, and feel that they must have representation to help them buy a home, and protect them from what they perceive as predatory sales people. This perception, while not often based in reality, is not one that will go away any time soon.
So, to market new homes, we must have a complete and easy REALTOR OUTREACH PROGRAM that clearly tells the realtor two fundamental facts:
First: What’s in it for the realtor? Offer clear incentives—a co-op percentage, bonuses, and any other incentives like trips, etc—real motivators for the realtor to bring prospects to your property, and put them right up front in all of your outreach.
Second: What’s in it for the realtor’s client? What can you do to help with price reductions, closing costs, financing, etc? And can you offer more options or upgrades?
Tags: ndg communications, new home marketing, new home sales marketing, real estate marketing, realtor outreach, realtorsNeither recession nor air traffic delays can stop NDG’s Tom Nelson from accomplishing his appointed course with all speed, but tearing a ligament while playing basketball can definitely slow you down. So unfortunately, because of his injury, Tom will not be able to attend this year’s IBS in Las Vegas.
But the show must go on, and so Mike Lyon of www.DoYouConvert.com and Stephen Feltner, President of New Homes & Rentals Divisions at Move.com will be there to serve up the topic Attracting Today’s Buyers Online: Building Success with Connected Customers.
As much as Tom wants to be there, the doctor (and his wife) are keeping him on the sidelines for conditioning until he’s ready to hit those three-pointers again. If you would like to receive Tom’s presentation for the talk, just register on our website NDG Communications and we’ll be happy to share the wisdom with you.
Tags: IBS, ndg communicationsIs your company, service, product, or brand receiving attention? Is anybody talking about you? If not, you may need to ask yourself some hard questions. Seth Godin shares a particularly critical concern in his blog that everyone in business should be considering.
From time to time we like to share the work of other people and agencies that we really like. This series of ads encouraging public support of the arts from Leo Burnett for AmericansForTheArts.org is a rare example of PSAs that really capture attention and interest. And you should support the arts, too—the world truly needs more Pete Townshends, Aretha Franklins, Itzhak Perlmans, Elmore Leonards, and even Seth Rogens. Besides, we only have one Willie Nelson left.
Guten Taaaaag!
Tags: advertising, fun, ndg communications, support the arts, youtube
