Let Human Nature be Your Guide

Why People Do What They Do

Effective marketing relies heavily on a thorough knowledge of human nature coupled with a technical knowledge of the medium. The medium might be newspaper advertising, TV advertising or the Internet. Today, lots of Web designers boast technical skills relating to page layout, design and graphics but marketing involves much more than technical details. Marketing is about the things that motivate people to behave in certain ways. Human nature and culture shape our behaviors. Go against these forces and your marketing will suffer.

REPETITION—A KEY TO LEARNING

Suppose you want to teach people in your community or your geographic farm that whenever they think real estate, they immediately think of you. Can this be done? You bet it can but it takes some knowledge of human learning and clever use of whatever medium you select. Folks who study the learning process claim that with an audience of average intelligence that is motivated to learn, it will take about 20 repetitions before your message sinks in.

WHAT ABOUT A NON-MOTIVATED AUDIENCE?

Notice that I said it takes 20 repetitions for a “Motivated” audience to learn your message. Sadly, most people in your community are probably not highly motivated to internalize your message. This simply means that it will take more than 20 repetitions before the average person starts to think your name in connection with real estate. All this really means is that marketing is NOT a quick-fix proposition and that most of us can use all the help from modern technology as we can get.

Repetitions Made Easy

Before we look at ways to repeat your message persistently and consistently, let me point out another fact about the learning process. Once your audience learns something, such as your message, it will fade away if that message isn’t reinforced or repeated. So, you see why it takes smart marketing to break into a new territory or to compete with an established agent in a geographic farm. Don’t lose heart. Just Get Smart with your Marketing.

INFORMATION YOU KNOW THEY WANT

Going back to the “Motivated Audience,” you can speed up the learning process if you give them information that they really want. Let’s say you have a template Website that has the same, non-compelling offers that all your competitors have on their Websites. It will take many, many, more than 20 repetitions before anyone even knows you are in the running. On the other hand, offer something that no one else offers and make it something your market really wants and you can slide right into their consciousness. Want a plan for standing out in your area? Visit me online at http://www.sellrealestate.net/FreeWebPlan.asp and I will help you make your marketing win every time.

FOCUS ON LONG TERM

Even with fantastic offers, even with past clients who at one time adored you…people forget. That is why from the very get-go you should focus on marketing strategies that stick around. Some ideas for this are: A custom Website with compelling information for homeowners, investors, buyers, etc; an automatic E-newsletter that reaches everyone in your database every 30 days; sales aids strategies that stick around such as telephone message pads or mouse pads.

Do What Works

Everybody knows that “If it ain’t broke, you don’t fix it,” but it seems that relatively few realize that “If it don’t work, figure out why and change it.” If your marketing (local or online) is not bringing you the results you want, you need to find out why it isn’t working and do something about it. Past surveys show that 50% of real estate agents do NOT evaluate their marketing/advertising efforts. The reason most given for failure to analyze their marketing was, “Don’t Know How.” You can start by evaluating how coordinated your marketing is by visiting http://www.sellrealestate.net
/coordinatemarketing.asp. This is free and painless and if you like you can request a FREE Market Plan Overview which will guide you on the path to doing what works.

REFUSE TO DO WHAT DOES NOT WORK

Sometimes people choose marketing strategies because they happen to come along or because they are inexpensive or because other agents do it or because change is hard. You worked hard to become the professional person that you are and you deserve the very best marketing support so you can get your message across to people who need your services. In my opinion, no marketing should be done, not one dime should be spent on marketing or advertising that is not part of coordinated marketing plan and effort. So, start with a marketing plan that you believe in. Stick with it. Modify things when necessary and you will be way ahead of the game.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP

From time to time an agent or a broker who reads this newsletter calls or sends me an Email asking if I can recommend someone who designs Websites. This tells me that I might need to do a better job of letting people know that our company specializes in Real Estate Web Design and Marketing. We work exclusively with real estate agents and brokers who want a custom Plan and Website to take their business to a higher level. As a full service marketing company we have been in business for a little over 27 years. As an exclusive Online company for about 10 years. We always start with a Plan and build the Website and any other marketing strategies around that plan. Please call me toll free at 888-814-5347 if you or someone you know needs top level Internet marketing and Web Design.