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Week #7 - Dominating Your Competition with Target Marketing PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ben Eckenroed   
Tuesday, February 10 2009 12:54
"We’ve all heard about how important identifying your target market is for your brand. It’s critical because your customers are the future success and growth of your business. But who are your customers and how can you find them? Or an even better question is who do you want them to be?" writes Randy Eagar for Broker Agent Social.

"United Airlines, as it struggled to find a way to differentiate itself...made a brilliant decision to focus on the core market of frequent business travelers. These folks made up only 9 percent of United's travelers, but they represented 46 percent of United's revenue."

"Their thought was that if they could appeal to the frequent business travelers, leisure travelers would follow. This philosophy is similar to the secret of finding the best roadside diner: find out where the truckers eat and eat there."

"Obviously what we are looking at here is good news for all of us. We don’t need to worry about the vast majority of prospects who can do business with us. We need to worry about just the best people with whom we can do business. For United, it was to find that small yet core group of clients that they could focus their energies."

"So Who Is Your Core Target Market?
Your target audience is made up of people who love your business and what it offers. They are not everyone who will come in contact with your business. Answer the following questions:"
  1. "Who can you refine right now in your target audience?"
  2. "Who are your best clients?"
  3. "Why do they like you and your service?"
  4. "What do all these people have in common?"
  5. "Now the important one. Can you find more people like them?"
UFSB Note: United airlines stumbled onto a gold mine for real estate agents. By focusing your business on a specific core and not just a general group of "anybody alive older than 18", you will have success. By reviewing who you like to work with and whom you don't, you can focus on the good, fun business. Working becomes more enjoyable, and as a result you market to that group even more. It's a snowball that keeps getting bigger.
 
Eager continues, "Recognizing what your customers have in common can help you craft a marketing strategy to draw in more of the same people, thus building your target audience into a successful business. Now let’s turn the table somewhat. How much do you know about those clients which you would like to do business?"
  1. "What is their typical age?"
  2. "What is their family makeup?"
  3. "What is their average level of education?"
  4. "Do they have special interests or hobbies?"
  5. "What do you suppose is their average household income?"
 
"The only way to develop marketing communications that resonate with your target audience is to become knowledgeable about their wants, needs, and motivations. So ask them. Set up a continuous feedback and communication loops between your customers and the company. Make two-way communications a part of your culture. This is where “social marketing” comes in so well. It is a communication tool. You might consider designing a short survey and sending it to your current and prospective customers and see what kinds of offerings, messages, and services your business should be providing."
 
UFSB Note: Communication is the key in any relationship, whether it be personal or professional. By knowing what your clients want, you can provide the best service. That seems basic, yet nobody ever asks their clients "What do you want?" This is where your social networking sites come in. You can ask people, make comments and more. End your email with questions to elicit a response. "Survey: What is the most important part of buying a home?" Simple questions that can get  you email responses with what your clients are looking for.
 
Eager finishes, "Let me make this real clear. You should only have one target audience that you market. You may sell to different types of people, but your marketing should be to a set target audience."

"The easiest marketing device to assist you with this is your website and blog site. Each of these is simply a tool that displays who you are. Many agents come to me for marketing assistance with their website. When I ask who their target audience is, I too frequently get “buyers and sellers”. Ouch! This is so general and random that you tend to compete with the masses. You are like a minnow in the ocean."

"Let’s try the question again. Who is your target audience? “30-40 year old couples with corporate upward mobility jobs who like to have disposable income for outdoor recreation and are also focused on investment for their future.” Bingo! Now let’s take a look at what you offer (or want to offer). You work with investment properties with 401(K)s for young couples and offer the top outdoor recreational activities in your area in a free brochure for the asking."

"What have I just done? I’ve said first of all, here is who I want to target. Then I built my website and/or blog site information around those people."

New Business

 New Listings

Under Contracts

  •   No New Under Contracts This Week

Closings

  •  No New Closings This Week

News

WFRMLS - Will be closed Monday, February 16, 2009 in observance of President's day.

Our Offices - Will also be closed Monday, February 16, 2009 in observance of President's day.

Client Contacts - Are very effective. I recently sent out an email to a large number of clients talking about the power of being able to print a document into a PDF for easy access to email or for security. It also included links to some free software that does this task for them. Many of my clients responded, some expressing how happy they were with the tip. However, a few of my clients response had nothing to do with the email, it reminded them I was in Real Estate and they asked me a question for themselves or referred a friend. Keep in touch with your clients, in the hectic world with this staggering economy it can be easy to forget you are there to help them.

Short Sales - 1,000 Utah Families - Jim Goostrey and Ben Eckenroed are starting 1,000 Utah Families. It is a marketing aimed at helping at least 1,000 Utah families avoid foreclosure. This will be accomplished by helping them sell their homes for less than is owed, while preserving their credit as best as possible. They are marketing themselves as a "Plan B" for loan officers when refinancing it not an option and the client can no longer afford the home (eventually resulting in default). They are also marketing to other agents as easy options to help their clients when agents don't have the time or patience for short sales. If you have anybody that needs help with a short sale or if you would like Jim or Ben to give you some pointers in a current transaction, contact them.

Salt Lake Board of REALTORS® - On Thursday February 12 at 7:45am is a CCIM event. If you are thinking of getting into commercial real estate, go to this roundtable discussion and learn from other CCIM members. Cost for CCIM member is $25. Cost of guests is $35.

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