Offline Marketing….Still Works
Yup, offline marketing still works. Take a look at three items that came over the past week via the postal mail to my parents house on Lake Sammamish…
A physical flag for ski boats, and two mailings. One mailing is listings on the lake, and the other is about the upcoming 4th of July fireworks show. Karl Lindor is very much making a major run at Judy Layton in terms of Lake Sammamish market share (see this post for more background on Layton). This is the first year I can ever remember where Judy will not be the one sponsoring the fireworks show on Lake Sammamish. Webwise? Yup, Karl’s site (http://www.karllindor.com/) is better than Judy’s (http://www.lakesamm.com/).
Have you tried offline marketing recently?
PS: Karl, if you’re reading…you have some SEO improvements yet to make.
deidrew
Posted at 20:58h, 26 JuneOnline and offline have to work together. Neither one can get the job done alone in today’s world. The offline collateral has to be pretty compelling to get me to look at up the website and if the website appears dated then I think the agent doesn’t understand technology.
Sam DeBord
Posted at 08:18h, 27 JuneI’ve got to give kudos to Karl and John as well. They have come on really strong on Lake Samm. They do so much in-person, direct mail, and networking in the area that they’re taking over a big part of the market.
I don’t think they care a whole lot that their websites aren’t attracting a ton of business. Those recent solds/pendings are $15-25 million total. They’re doing just fine with their current marketing.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 09:45h, 27 JuneMy concern with offline is how do you measure the results?
If I spend X on ski boat flags, how do I know if anyone really found out about me via the flag. Postcards are probably easier to measure using special codes or special phone numbers to track results.
The one thing I like about online marketing is you really know what you are paying for. When you pay Google X for that click you at least know the client was looking for Real Estate in your area, liked what you had to say in your ad, and went to your Website. Then through their conversion tracking you know if they request a showing via your Website.
Their conversion tracking could be better as it expires many times before a lead turns into a client, as some people shop for years before making a purchase. However, at least you know they came to your Website to look for properties.
At that point I agree with Deidrew below that your Website then has to look good and capture that lead and turn them into a client.
One last thing I noticed a survey asking where people found out about their house purchase, and print advertising was very low at the bottom, where online was at the top.
Jeff
Posted at 09:53h, 30 JuneI completely agree with you. I have had more success with online marketing for my real estate agency and I know that for a fact, because the results are there for me to view. [removed]