real estate marketing
In a digital world overflowing with information and data, it’s easy to reach for the low hanging fruit answers when facing a challenge or problem. Whether it’s researching how to boil eggs, how to lose weight, or how to solve a Rubix cube – the internet is full of answers, videos, and articles on how to accomplish pretty much anything, usually just a click away on the first page of Google or YouTube.
This online trove of information is an amazing and helpful resource for quickly resolving daily tasks, but is it really the best place to look for resolute answers and solutions to the most important and complex decisions?
Could we find ourselves mimicking and regurgitating the answers, solutions and thoughts of online “experts” in decisions we make without allowing our minds to ruminate about the unique situation or circumstances in front of us?
We ask ourselves this question regularly at reRVA so as to fight the tendency for complacency.
While we will be focusing on aspects of real estate specifically, I believe these ideas fundamentally apply to most areas of life and business in our high tech world.
Through this series of articles, we will discuss the application of critical thinking – which means making reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought out. It is a way of thinking in which you don’t simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are exposed to, but rather, having an open mind that questions these arguments and conclusions so as to consider as many potential solutions as possible.
counter argument – why reinvent the wheel?
A favorite saying of many, reinventing the wheel carries the idea of not trying to constantly change or alter things just for the sake of doing so. While it certainly makes sense to not unnecessarily waste time on mundane repeatable tasks, it is also true that continually reinventing the wheel is why and how we enjoy tubeless and run-flat tires today instead of wooden wagon wheels.
Within the context of real estate, re-inventing the wheel when it comes to marketing techniques, investment strategies, staging, design, architecture or development projects is not only the best and most successful approach – in some cases it is the only way to create opportunities in a tight market.
If everyone else has already done “thing x,” or they are currently doing “thing y,” the potential profit margin is a mere fraction of what can be achieved by the implementation of a genuine outside-the-box idea that has been formulated by intentional, thoughtful and deliberate deep thinking.
marketing property
The easiest answers when trying to decide how to market a property is to look around at recent sold or listed “comp properties” to see what everyone else did, or engage a brokers’ “rubber stamp gameplan” on your property. All that is necessary with these strategies is swapping out the address, photos and property specifics.
But by doing this, your property is marginalized and commoditized because no unique traits are highlighted and no raw emotional buyer connection is achieved. Stepping back and “starting from scratch” with a marketing plan specifically based on your property rather than taking a “plug and play” approach is the only way to really make your property stand out and distance yourself from the competition without being the “best deal” (ie. the cheapest) in the market.
While this requires more time, effort and mental exercise – we have continually found that the best success is achieved by approaching each property listing as a clean slate. Then we can flesh out a deliberate marketing strategy that is truly property specific. It all starts with thinking critically about the big questions of:
– who are the groups that are searching for this property?
– what is unique and different about this property?
– when is the ideal time to list and blast marketing campaigns?
– where are the opportunities to best reach potential buyers?
– why should someone want to buy this property?
– how can we create a sense of urgency and a deep emotional attraction to this property?
After answering these and dozens of more questions we use to evaluate a properties market position, we can deliver a powerfully motivating package that appeals to motivated buyers.
A few key components of a successful marketing strategy include:
– specific overall tone and theme
– feelings-based message and copy
– presentation and potential staging of property
– appropriate and thematic photography
– physical and digital collateral
– timing of launch and deployment
– active and passive advertising
While we can’t get in-depth on all facets of critical thought based real estate marketing in this blog post, we are always happy to share our experience with those interested. Feel free to reach out to us via email or phone to discuss further.
The next chapter of this series will discuss the guiding principles of successful real estate investment strategies.
