Agents Seize Boom Market with Real Estate Door Hanger Printing
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- As the housing market in Los Angeles approaches mini bubble status, local real estate agents are scrambling to get their piece of the pie. LA isn't the only place where the market's heating up faster than thermometers this summer; San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. are booming while the Dallas, TX metro area broke records for home sales earlier this year. Still, the soaring profits mean stiffer competition for independent agents and small to medium sized firms. Many agents know they have to go into attack mode, but they need expert realtor marketing ideas to launch successful campaigns. Online advertising solutions, such as organic SEO and social media, take too long to produce results. For faster ROI, agents need to invest in door hangers and other physical outreach tools. According to new research from the Direct Marketing Association, consumers consider print marketing the most trustworthy advertising channel. Buyer trust plays a big role in closing sales, especially for major purchases, such as multi-million dollar homes and commercial properties.
Real estate door hangers are the cheapest, easiest way to get the word out about new listings, open house announcements, just sold homes, or offer alternatives to foreclosure. Simple designs perform better than cluttered graphics, so agents should focus on sending a single message per print campaign. Door hangers with rip cards cost a bit more, but pay off because the detachable portion makes the perfect place to put a coupon for a free property appraisal or an invitation for a private tour of luxury homes.
The only flaw in this advertising strategy is the connection factor or lack thereof. Canvassing neighborhoods for prospects brings in fresh leads, but elite clients prefer the personal touch of direct mail postcards. Real estate marketing specialist Ryan Stewman of HardcoreCloser.com explains: "If you know how to properly target the correct audience, direct mail can be a powerful medium that drives traffic to your site or even right to your phone." There's solid data to support Stewman's insights; the DMA discovered that direct mail generates 10% more traffic to a business' website than email campaigns, which demonstrates the value of cross media promotions. Stewman's point about targeting applies to recipients and the campaign graphics as well as the copy. The chances of finding qualified buyers increases when realtors use the EDDM tool to pinpoint high income areas by zip code.
Agents should also concentrate on delivering their messages to a wider audience in the midst of a bubble. About a week before an open house, put cheap flyers around town in public places for visibility. Realtors have to be strategic about where they place their flyers because competitors can easily sabotage this type of print advertising campaign. Parking lots are a safe place to mass distribute marketing flyers as long as the property owner gives permission. Be sure to have extra business cards on hand because some property owners will allow marketers to leave cards but not flyers.
The above tactics will bring in buyers, although many won't be ready to sign the dotted line right away. In general, 50% of qualified leads aren't prepared to make a purchase without several follow up dialogues with their realtors. Keep the conversations going with useful branded gifts, such as real estate notepads. Personally pass out these inexpensive promotional items along with business cards for lead nurturing purposes. The business cards might get misplaced, so include contact info in the custom stationary design. To save money on notepad printing, use 1 or 2 color designs to match a logo. Agents aiming for the upper echelon of home buyers can opt for dynamic full color pads instead. The best thing about corporate stationary is that prospects will probably hang on to the notepads at least until the bubble bursts.
Katherine Tattersfield, Printfirm, INC, http://printfirm.com, 866-668-5152, [email protected]
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