by Rebecca Chandler

As the holidays approach, many of us will spend some time reflecting upon last year’s successes and failures and trying to learn some valuable lesions. Here are 5 questions to ask about marketing your business.

to determine what to repeat and expand and what to abandon.

1. What was the smartest thing you did to drive digital traffic, leads, and conversions? If you’ve done a good job of tracking, you can determine not only where the traffic came from, and which traffic converted best and which was the most cost-effective. Think specifically about these categories
   • Online sources such as SEO or SEM
   • Offline sources such as print or direct mail
   • Mobile tools such as text or QR codes

1. Did you use all the tools available to you? From a marketing perspective, consumers don’t search in a silo. They search everywhere – web, mobile, print, social, video, etc., etc., for information about real estate and real estate professionals. Did you limit your exposure to your website and your listing syndication only? Then, you may be drowning in a sea of online data. What about other media such as interactive print with text and QR codes? Or highly geographically and demographically targeted direct mail? Or display advertising? Social media? All of your advertising and marketing efforts should work in orchestration to amplify their effectiveness and you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.

    

2. How did you engage hyper local buyers and sellers in the real world? Did you wait for them to stumble upon your blog, your website, or your listings on an aggregate site? Considering that 69% of sellers pick up local real estate magazines, and 76% want to see their homes advertised in one and that over 87% of local editions of The Real Estate Book get picked up every 4 weeks*, this type of advertising reaches out to your hyper local prospect versus waiting for them to type in the right phrase in an online search. And, using direct mail in a highly targeted fashion allows you to narrow your message down to the areas and demographics of your target client.

    

3. Does your site provide a compelling experience for a mobile shopper? Your site should be responsive to the device on which it is viewed so the user doesn’t have to “pinch and stretch” the screen to read. This year, Americans will search the web on their mobile device more than their laptop device. If your site doesn’t display properly, you stand to lose a lot of hard-earned digital traffic.

    

4. Are your marketing efforts all about YOU or what you can do for YOUR CLIENT? Marketing yourself is important so you and your brand stand out, but equally important is how your market your listings. It’s the most important service sellers expect from their agent.* Your awards and designations may be impressive, but ultimately, they expect you to sell their home quickly and for the best price. Tell them how you do that via multiple media will give your listing presentation a competitive edge.

    

   If you answer these questions honestly and thoughtfully, reflecting on 2013 will help you devise an improved plan for 2014. Need help? Contact your local Real Estate Book representative. They are local and well-trained real estate marketing professionals.

   Looking for tracking tools? Download our “Income Based Approach to Real Estate Marketing” worksheets here.

   *2013 Home Seller Research (NPMG)