Jul
27
With over 86% of buyers starting their search for a new home online, it would be natural to assume that signage is a little old hat when it comes to marketing a property for sale. It may well be an old-fashioned tactic, but it’s one that still has legs, apparently. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that 40% of all new visits to businesses can be tracked to signage. And that, even with Yelp, Craig’s List, Realtor.com, etc.!
The SBA and the US Dept of Commerce both acknowledge signage as vital and effective forms of advertising. For those us marketing property, those signs can be at the property; directional signage leading to the property, outdoor signage using billboards, signage at local sports teams, signage at nearby schools, and signage using other venues around the neighborhoods surrounding your property. The more prominent, clearer, and simpler the signs are for your property the better.
Did you know that very often your local Department of Transportation will have traffic information for bigger roads, such that you can assess which corner is the better one for a sign. Similarly, the folks selling billboard advertising will have traffic counts for wherever their billboards are located.
Another point about signage is that while the coloring may speak to your company’s logo, the size of the sign and the material it’s printed on can illustrate a level of luxury or economy such that many inquiring phone calls can be avoided. Equally, a well-designed sign can set the tone for a building or neighborhood, adding one more arrow in your marketing quiver.
Jul
21
We know that most buyers want to “move in on Friday, unpack on Saturday, and go to work on Monday”. This is why new construction always trumps “pre-owned”.
I wrote an article a year ago about competing against new construction. You’re welcome to read the whole thing However, I believe the key points were -
- Mint Condition
- Updated Lighting (Recessed lighting, and halogen make such a difference to the feeling of a home)
- Warranty (so, try Certified Pre-owned, works for the car people)
- Layout designed for the Modern Lifestyle (Family Rooms off the kitchen, smaller Living rooms, bigger Master Bedrooms since the 2 people who are paying for the home have to share a room.)
- The Smell of New Construction (not bottled yet, but so tempting – cedar, oil, paint as opposed to dust,mold, perspiration, rotting food, odd recipes that were likely ill-advised at best! etc.)
- Special Spaces (an office, a den, a wrapping room – often new homes have quirky areas that are ideal for our more regimented, overly scheduled lives today.)
- The Green Card (energy saving appliances, windows, etc.)
Of all of these, lighting and smell rank the highest for me in terms of what can be done inexpensively for H-U-G-E impact! Smell or scent is so important in the selling of a property – home buying may look like it’s about numbers but when it comes right down to it, it’s the emotional pull that causes a particular property to be the one that’s chosen. When thinking about emotions – the 5 senses come into play. Smell being one of the more obvious ones at play.
There are lots of options to change the various aromas of your house: from cleaning the carpets, the curtains and upholstery to relocating the pets and plugging in an anti-allergen odor diffuser. I love the essential oils that are used in aromatherapy, and they do create a luxurious feel but one needs to be careful that it’s a universally appealing aroma as opposed to something pungent and distinctive. (My husband hates cinnamon for example, whereas my girlfriend, Karen, links orange with strong cleaning products and won’t tolerate it. So be careful!)
As to lighting ~ a brightly lit home feels so much more cheerful and alive than one with no overhead fixtures and a few hardworking dreary 60 watt bulbs on standard lamps on the corners. Gloomy = depressing. I can’t emphasize how important this is.
And do we have to go over the Mint Condition thing again? Want people to back bid during Inspections? Fix stuff so you can go to market with confidence and walk tall!
Technorati Tags: compete against new construction, home staging, home staging nj, lighting, mint condition, property marketing, Selling a Property
Jun
30
Learn the new rules of real estate marketing!
Dan Gooder Richard begins by explaining that the Internet is a tool to selling homes, not a method of selling homes. Its another tool for marketing, branding, communicating, growing your business and much more. Realtors need online marketing to not only brand themselves, but also can use it to put their listings in front of specific, highly targeted, likely buyers.
“So many Realtors get into the real estate business and fail to survive. In today’s fast paced, technology filled society, you need to understand the Internet and online marketing so you can effortlessly develop leads, capture those leads and follow up with folks until they’re loyal customers.”
Property Listings on the major sites like Realtor.com will get the main buyer pool. Listing a property for sale on the MLS will deliver awareness to all professional agents. But those specific buyers, like car collectors who might be interested in your Property for sale with 5 garage bays, are best found via social media – Facebook groups, Yelp, Ning, etc. – where you would seek out folks around the car collecting “niche” in your general area.
Another important aspect of Online Marketing is that while it feels like socializing and chatting with friends, what you are actually doing is creating authority backlinks and pingbacks. All of which raise you page ranking within the search engines. You want a higher rank in the search engines because the closer you are to #1 the more calls you will get from people wanting to do business with you.
“This book is 5 stars, a great read.”
Jun
24
Sincere thanks to my buddy, Joe Ferrara for bringing a new study from Michigan State University into the real estate space for the rest of us to gnaw on. It meshes with an article I wrote over a year ago on tailoring your workstyle to fit Gen and Y when trying to help them buy or sell a house. They – Gen X and Y are quite different from Boomers, and the next generation – the Millennials are different again! For now, let’s take a top-down look at consumers in general.
MSU researchers have identified the 4 most important desires of today’s consumer when making a buying decision.
“Consumers say they want a “total experience” - the totality involves these 4 factors, in this order of importance:
1. Benefit (what’s in it for me?)
2. Convenience (easy and readily available)
3. Price (both the dollar amount and cost in terms of time – time is money).
4. Environment (does the shopping environment – online or offline – stimulate, entertain, motivate a consumer to buy)”
Although the study was done on the hotel industry, there are obvious correlations for other businesses. As a researcher said “Consumers’ desire for the total experience does not change in a recession… although they may modify one or more of the factors”.
When preparing a property for sale sellers (and their realtors) need to keep these factors in mind.
Benefit: Does the home clearly illustrate the opportunity it presents? Does it look like it’s a great value?
Convenience: Can the buyers get in to see the home at a moment’s notice? Is the place easy to show? How much warning do the sellers have to have and what about that dog?
Price: Back to value – does the home look like it’s worth the money it’s asking?
Environment: What is the Walkscore of the property? How much fun is the house to explore? Are there cool things to look at and imagine how they’d fit for you as you walk around the place? How motivated are viewers — i.e. back to value – is it priced well, so well that it apears to be such a great value it won’t last….
Hmmm, back to value, again, do you notice?
Bottom line, today more than ever, is this notion of value. A property for sale must, must, MUST be priced and presented so that the value is OBVIOUS!
Technorati Tags: home value, houses for sale, properties, properties for sale
Great book for all agents!"