Some email marketers see the rise of social media marketing and mobile communications as a threat to the dominance of email marketing. Not so! Each channel can integrate with your email marketing program to expand its reach and ROI.
But, which channel should you choose? You could opt to spread your messages via social media marketing- Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks. Or, should you first add mobile marketing and optimize your email messages for viewing on mobile devices?
The answer, as it is with so many aspects of marketing, is “It depends.” There’s no single solution that meets all market needs. Each one can help you build your brand, acquire and retain more customers and deepen engagement.
In the end, base your decision on the type of people you market to, (customers, subscribers, users or prospects) and what you hope to accomplish with your campaigns.
Knowing and understanding your target audience – who they are, their wants and needs, where they hang out (virtually speaking) – is your first step when creating an effective marketing initiative.
Adding Mobile to Email Marketing
Integrating mobile marketing with email marketing means your subscribers will likely see your messages faster, whether they access their inboxes from a mobile browser or respond to a well-crafted text message.
Your mobile messages can also tout the benefits of your email marketing program and help you build a bigger mailing list.
Mobile marketing is also more heavily regulated and requires opt-in, which takes care of the permission angle that’s less strict in email, at least for U.S. marketers. And consumers are becoming more receptive to it. A 2009 Juniper Research report predicted mobile coupon redemption could reach $6 billion by 2014. Redemption rates also can be higher than those for either paper or email coupons.
An example: Suppose you market to a younger and female consumer audience: teenagers and young adults who rely on texting on a continuous basis.
With this group, integrating an email marketing campaign with a strong short-code messaging system (SMS) makes sense. These consumers aren’t always near a desktop or laptop computer to read and send email, but their phones are always in their pockets.
One campaign sought to build the company brand on mobile devices, targeting it to younger office workers. Mobile users who entered a sweepstakes saw a screen that invited them to opt in for offers and newsletters by texting “yes” to a custom short-code number that spelled out part of the company name.
For more detailed information about integrating mobile and email marketing, read our new guide: SMS + Email Marketing How-to Guide.
Adding Social Media to Email Marketing
Social media marketing can extend the reach, authority and shelf life of your email marketing program. When your subscribers post your email messages to their social networks, they broaden your exposure to new viewers and indirectly endorse your message. Your messages also live longer as they spread through your subscribers’ networks.
An example: When your market skews toward professionals in a tight market vertical who coalesce around a social networking community, using social media to extend your reach to prospects makes sense.
Customers and prospects in this market niche are likely to be on their computers more often than their phones. These professionals, who often are experts or aspiring to advance in their fields, use social networking to get and give advice, share experiences and connect with their peers in highly focused groups such as LinkedIn or trade-specific forums.
Here, you can consider a strategy that calls for your company to participate in online groups, contributing valuable information rather than self-seeking promotion. (Recommended On Demand Webcast: Enhance Your Email With Social Media Marketing)
The Best Solution: “Tri-Messaging” (Email + Mobile + Social Media)
Email marketing as a channel has tremendous flexibility. That’s one of its great virtues and one of the reasons it continues to reign over all other marketing channels for ROI ($43.62 returned per dollar spent in 2009 according to the Direct Marketing Association).
However, the digital messaging world has changed in the last few years. You can miss out on lucrative opportunities if you limit your marketing program to email marketing alone, or complement it with just one channel.
Many of your email-using customers access their social networks on their mobile phones, so they’re already tri-messaging. You need to remain ahead of the game to provide the best user experience.
With tri-messaging, you can tap into the lucrative synergy that happens when you create a core email marketing program with social and mobile components.
Tri-messaging in Action: Airline Marketing
Email Marketing: An airline sends, via its regular email newsletter, an offer for a vacation package to Hawaii. The newsletter also includes prominent links inviting subscribers to become fans on its Facebook fan page and to follow the company on Twitter.
Social Media Marketing: Its Facebook fan page posts the vacation package offer, tourist information and photos of Hawaii. The Twitter account posts the offer, links to additional information and uses a hashtag and keyword (#HawaiiGetaway, for example) to extend the offer’s reach.
Mobile Marketing: The airline sends an SMS alert to subscribers letting them know the package offer is either almost sold out or has only 24 hours left.
Managing the Costs of Social Media and Mobile Marketing Integration
Both social media and mobile marketing cost time (and, in some cases, money) to set up, maintain and monitor.
By taking a tri-messaging approach, marketers can gain the maximum synergies from their online marketing efforts.
A frequent mistake that businesses make is hiring an internet marketing company too quickly — primarily based on price. Your website is a visual representation of your business and a poorly designed site can frustrate visitors, misrepresent your products and even lose sales. Before you hire an internet marketing firm, research the answers to these questions:
1. How Much Experience Does The Internet Marketing Company Have? Do They Have Any Special Qualifications Or Specialties?
Longevity in the industry is a good indicator of stability and skill. Online marketing firms that have been in the business for a while and built admirable reputations are usually known for sound design work and customer service. Choosing an internet marketing company that has been around longer means they will be more likely to be around in the future for ongoing maintenance and updates to your website.
The answer to this question will give you a general idea about the skill set at the web company. Having a tertiary education is good. Having a lot of experience is better, and combining experience with a tertiary education is best.
2. How Many Staff Members Do They Have And What Are Their Roles?
Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to effective web e-marketing. Companies on average have one designer, a couple of web developers, analysts, and a few sales and support people. Some companies use Just-in-Time staffing, adding or removing staff as needed. This helps keep overhead low and skills fresh.
3. In Addition To Internet Marketing, What Other Services Does The Agency Offer?
Many prominent internet marketing firms are branching out and offering other services, including web development and design. SEO, Search Engine Marketing, Web Content Writing, Social Media Marketing, Blog promotion, and Google AdWords Management are services offered by many experienced online marketing companies. The key is finding a company that offers the services that you are looking for.
4. Does The Internet Marketing Firm Spend Time With You To Gather Business Knowledge And Give You A Formal Proposal?
It is good to select a web marketing company that will take the time to offer a custom solution for your website. Oftentimes, the online marketing firm will provide you with a questionnaire to fill out so that they can get a better feel for your goals, competition and overall website needs. Your website will play a large part in your overall brand marketing. Therefore, it is important that your internet marketing firm have a clear picture of your overall marketing goals.
5. What Are the Internet Marketing Company’s Payment Terms?
For anything from a small non-profit site to full corporate branding, most internet marketing companies will charge an upfront deposit and stage payments based on agreed milestones and deliverables. Be wary of any internet marketing firm that asks for payment in full before starting the project.
6. What Is The Internet Marketing Company’s Policy On Non-Disclosure And Privacy Of Information?
In order to create the perfect marketing plan for you, your internet marketing firm needs access to important information about your company — information you wouldn’t want your competition, or anyone else, to know.
This is particularly true if you are starting a new company. You don’t want others to steal your concept before you’ve had a chance to monetize it. Therefore, a solid non-disclosure and privacy policy will protect your information.
7. What Are The Average Timelines For Completing Your Web Design Project Including Ecommerce, Logo Design, And Corporate Branding?
If the company does both web development and internet marketing, ask what the firm considers a typical turn-around time for projects similar in size to your own. This should give you a fairly clear idea if the website designer/developer has time tracking and project management systems in place. If you have a hard deadline that you need to meet, be sure you tell the design company up front so that they can plan accordingly.
8. Who Will Be Your Central Point Of Contact For Your Internet Marketing Project?
It is important to have a single point of contact for your project to ensure nothing gets lost in translation. A Project Manager should be assigned to all web projects. If you are working with a small web company, however, the Project Manager may also be the web designer and/or web developer himself.
9. Does The Company Outsource Any Project Components To Third Parties Or To Countries Like India? If So, Which Components?
While outsourcing may be a valid business decision to save costs and keep overhead low, you’ll want to be cautious with any internet marketing company that takes your project and out-sources large components to another country. If you have concerns about low quality, cheap labor, and remote project management issues when jobs are outsourced to India, be sure to bring them up before your project begins.
10. Can The Internet Marketing Company Help With Website Content Copy Writing?
SEO copywriting can make or break your website. Your website design may draw the reader in and focus their attention where it needs to be, but the words themselves do the selling. And if the content is optimized correctly, your website can be showing up on the front pages of the search engines for your chosen search terms.
Be sure the internet marketing firm you choose offers copywriting and ask to see samples — particularly samples of sites within your same industry. This will give you a good foundation on which to base your decision.
11. What Programming Languages And Operating Systems Does The Internet Marketing and/or Web Development Company Work With?
Ideally, your web development company should offer both the open source PHP/MySQL and ASP.NET programming languages. They should make a technical recommendation on which platform would best meet your needs and budget.
12. Do The Internet Marketing And Web Development Experts Build Websites To Web Standards?
Standards compliance, such as W3C and Web Standards Group are highly recommended industry practices. The main reason is consistency in how your visitors view your website on different platforms and future proofing.
13. What Is Covered In The Firm’s Website Testing/Quality Checking Phase? Are You Able To See The Website While It Is Still In Development?
Basic testing requirements should be browser testing, checking for broken links and general usability tests to ensure the website is easy for website visitors to use and interact with.
By seeing a development staging version, you will be able to check the website before the launch date and make any necessary adjustments.
14. Does The Internet Marketing Firm Allow Clients To Host Their Websites With Any Host?
Sometimes, for the sake of functionality or other good reasons, a web company may ask that you host your website with them, but this is not always the case. You may have existing commercial relationships with an ISP or web hosting company that you would prefer to use. It is important to know before hiring an internet marketing firm if they will require you to move hosting to them.
15. Do They Provide Any Training Once The Website Is Launched?
If your website project includes customized systems or software, it can be extremely helpful if your internet marketing company provides you with training documents for future reference. If your system is very detailed, it might even be optimal to arrange for a training program or ongoing customer support. However, this is really only necessary if you plan on hosting the website yourself or you have your own people to support it after development.
16. Is The Internet Marketing Firm Knowledgeable in Web 2.0? Is This Included In Your Quote, Or Are There Extra Charges?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a science in itself; an experienced Internet marketing company should be able to offer you a variety of options including organic, PPC and social media marketing as well as online advertising. Depending on your business requirements, you should consider hiring an internet marketing company that can create a custom online campaign to help you achieve maximum results.
Usually there is an extra charge for single items like developing videos, commercials and ads, photo shoots, copywriting and so on. Ask about these if they are part of your marketing plan.
17. What Is The Charge For Website Updates After The Initial Website Is Completed?
While marketing is an ongoing process, the website is often considered a one-time effort. But there is always extra work to be done: changes and updates, new content and so on.
Be aware of the charging structure for updates to your website. Consider how often you will require updates and ask the internet marketing firm how they handle future updates and maintenance.
If you have frequent or large updates to your website, you could consider a Content Management System. A CMS is only really useful in the event of regular changes and if a staff member has good training in it. If neither are the case, it may just be cheaper to have the supplier to manage small updates.
18. What If You Find A Problem Or Code Bug After The Site Is Finished? Does The Graphic Design Company Have Any Kind Of Code Warranty Or Guarantee?
Often web companies will make the change if it is small for no additional costs. However, be aware that if it is a change and not a bug fix, you may be required to pay extra. Typically, internet marketing companies will give you several designs to approve initially and then involve you every step of the way. Each approved section of the project is considered finished. Going back and making changes — even if they seem simple — can be costly.
19. Is The Copyright For The Website Transferred To You When The Project Is Complete? What About Images in The Website? Logo Design?
Copyright law is a specialized legal field. You should ask to own the copyright on all of the work designed and developed after you have paid in full for the project.
20. Will The Website Development Company Comment Your Source Code?
Commenting code is part of good website development. If code is commented well, you won’t spend a lot of time if the unthinkable happens and you’re forced to find another website supplier either part way through the project or its maintenance.
Finding the answers to these questions may seem time consuming and quite involved, but it is an important part of the interview process. After you have interviewed several companies and had your questions and concerns addressed, you should be able to select a talented internet marketing and web development company that is knowledgeable and easy to work with. The firm you choose also needs to have the ability to produce a web design and website that represents and enhances your overall corporate branding.
Of course, you could choose to not follow our suggestions and just hire the least expensive firm available — or a friend of a friend who does graphic design and internet marketing. But then you could end up with a real mess. Your internet business depends on how good you look. You wouldn’t ask a friend to install a new set of teeth for you, would you?
What do you imagine if you hear the marketing phrase, referral letter marketing? I’ll bet you $100 you’re guessing that I’m talking about testimonials and recommendations from past clients.
That’s not a shabby marketing approach for Realtors either. Although, what I’m getting at is collecting a stream of client referrals from other professionals such as mortgage brokers, landscapers, attorneys and contractors. And the only thing you’ll need to do is write a nice little letter, written by the greatest real estate agent (you!).
What referral letter marketing really boils down to for Realtors is this: locate a list of professionals with clients likely to purchase or sell a house. Then you just write down a personal letter that truthfully shows off who you are and send it to this list in the regular mail (no email).
Be sure you get unique and use an envelope that stands out from every other white, standard envelope in the mail. Follow up with each professional by telephone, if possible, and go on to mail/contact them once per month.
You’d be surprised how numerous successful Realtors use this marketing technique for their entire careers, very nearly eliminating marketing expenses to acquire clients. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with copying what the “big boys” practice.
1st, let’s get a list of professionals that really have the clients you possibly could work with…
- CPA’s
- Lenders (apparent, right?)
- Financial Planners and Advisors
- Real Estate Lawyers
- General Contractors
- Appraisers
- Residential Electricians
- Residential Plumbers
- Residential Landscapers
- Roofing Contractors
- Tree Cutting Professionals
- Residential Handymen
- Get the concept?…
That list should get you off and running but there’s many more you can add in the future.
So how can you get a full list of all the professionals you’ll wish to work with? Wonderful question, glad you asked. You have a duo of options, depending on how much cash you retain in your marketing budget.
One choice is to explore the yellow pages on-line. As a Realtor, you already have a region you operate in so stay within that geographical region, in general. If you don’t mind the manual labor, this can be a perfect choice for you.
You’ll sift through to get the entire name, phone number and mailing address of each professional. This alternative is totally free of charge but certainly more time consuming than a number of Realtors might like.
A separate option for compiling your list of respected professionals is to just buy a list. In the same way you’re probably on one or more Realtor or agent lists being sold out there, just about every profession has their own list for sale too.
Relax, these types of lists aren’t dishonest or unethical. Several people don’t know but these types of lists are compiled and available for sale when professionals, like us real estate agents, join an association or give their info to a publication that they subscribe to.
There are quite a few list companies out there to pick from. Attempt to pick a list company that has all the professions you’re searching for, rather than going to separate list companies for each profession. Buying your list will cost you a few marketing dollars but you’ll save yourself a pant load of agony and working hours.
Once you’ve obtained your marketing list (whichever way you decide to get it), it’s time to start writing this personal letter to send to your list. I don’t have space here to tell you about copywriting, unfortunately. That’s a topic all by itself.
All you need to realize right now is that this letter can’t be “salesy” like a letter you’d mail to your farm list of homeowners.
You can replicate and re-use your letter for each professional but the referral letter itself needs to make each professional who gets it, to feel like they’re the sole one in the world that you sent it to.
The point is that you ought to write this referral marketing letter as if you were talking to them face-to-face. Don’t apply the same flavorless language that your bank does when they mail you a boring letter in the mail. Speak to them like a real person and catch their curiosity.
This is off subject but this form of “real person” marketing goes for all your marketing pieces: classified ads, emails, postcards, etc.
The “meat and potatoes” of the letter needs to explain that you would like to create a professional relationship with them where you can refer business to one another. Your goal is to be their “pocket Realtor” who gets all their referrals, for free! You want to emphasize how they’ll profit from this relationship without doing any selling, got it?
You could happen to know something about the company one of these professionals work for so feel free to drop that in your letter to make it more personal. Maybe you personally know of a client who’s used that professional, toss that in the letter also. Unless you blab about their mom, for some reason, it’s almost impossible for you to get too personal in your letter.
My suggestion would be to definitely jot down this referral marketing letter in your own words. But if you just detest penning this style of marketing material, you can rent an economical self-employed writer to do it for you.
Perform a Google search for “self-employed writers” and you’ll understand a number of companies to choose from. With a few of the sites you’ll find, you can choose freelance writers from all over the world, which is somewhat handy. The excellent thing is several of these companies let you check reviews on each writer, how much they charge and even contact them with “consultation questions”. You might go as far as posting the project you want accomplished and waiting for writers to apply. It’s wonderful.
Okay, so far you have your marketing list of professionals and your marketing letter completed, now it’s time to send it and get some clientele. Just please don’t just mail it in a plain white envelope similar to everyone else… please, please, please!
Get another unusual mailing package or envelope with some color or size to it. The idea is that you need your mailing piece to stand out amongst every other letter that professional is receiving that day. Also, a good way to personalize your letter and have it opened, is to have the mailing and return addresses hand-written.
When you collect your mail, which pieces do you open straight away and which ones do you discard without a second look? Exactly, letters that have hand-scripted addresses constantly have priority!
In addition to the referral letter you wrote, the next thing you’ll want is to throw in a distinctive marketing piece. One marketing thought would be to put together a video with Animoto, burn it on a DVD and mail it with your letter.
A buddy of mine used poker chips as his marketing object when he sent out a mailing for his life insurance business. The slogan he printed on the poker chips was “Don’t even think about gambling with your life”.
Isn’t that brilliant? That’s an example of what I’m talking about when it comes to getting creative with your marketing, precisely like the top real estate agents do.
With this referral letter, make sure you specify for these professionals to not only call your telephone, if they want, but also to check out your blog or site. It’s crucial to give them the choice of how to contact you. You simply don’t know which professionals prefer the phone or to suss you out on your site first.
The final step we’ll address is absolutely critical. The mother of all marketing principles is “repetition”. If you look at marketing stats in general, it’s been shown that consumers and prospects need to hear or view the same marketing message more than 6-7 times before they feel comfortable enough to answer back.
Following up with this marketing list of professionals is crucial to getting the highest reply rate that you can. Following up with these professionals with another letter or a phone call every 4 weeks or so would be my suggestion. If you have it, using a professional’s e-mail address would be a fine follow up also.
But please be careful about not suffocating them, however you decide to follow-up. Be courteous and give them space but at the same time, don’t let them forget which Realtor or agent they have to be sending clients to.
A little time saving tip: if there’s money in your marketing budget, try hiring a college student or high school teenager to stuff your mailers for you. I’d still tell you to create your referral letter yourself but feel free to pay somebody else to address the envelopes and stick the letters inside.
This sort of hired-hand will be about as cheap as you can get and you’ll salvage so much time that you won’t understand what to do with yourself.
Bottom line, I just think this is one of the better marketing ideas for Realtors or agents out there. As long as you are consistent about building these relationships, you can garner yourself a career-long stream of free customer referrals.
What do you think whenever you hear the marketing phrase, referral letter marketing? I’ll bet you $100 you’re guessing that I’m talking about testimonials and recommendations from past clients.
That’s a fantastic plan for marketing as well. But, I’m talking about receiving a never-ending stream of client referrals from professionals like CPA’s, mortgage brokers, financial planners, attorneys and contractors. And the only thing you’ll need to do is write a nice little letter, written by the greatest real estate agent (you!).
This is how I’d sum up referral letter marketing for real estate agents: Grab a list of respected professionals in your neighbourhood that may have the same type of clients you do. Then you just write a personal letter that thoroughly shows off who you are and mail it to this list in the regular mail (no email).
Make an effort to be creative in terms of the mailing package or envelope you utilize as well as including a unique marketing piece with your letter. Follow up with each professional by telephone, if doable, and go on to mail/contact them once per month.
A lot of Sharp Realtors and agents borrow this single marketing approach to fuel their real estate businesses for their entire careers! Don’t worry, there’s nothing illegal with copying what the “big boys” practice.
The initial step in this process is making a list of these respected professionals that you wish to build relationships with…
- Certified Public Accountants
- Lenders (obvious, right?)
- Certified Financial Planners
- Real Estate Lawyers/Attorneys
- Remodeling Contractors/Handymen
- Home Stagers
- Certified Appraisers
- Residential Electricians
- Plumbers
- Residential Landscapers
- Roofing Contractors
- Tree Trimming Professionals
- Handymen
- Makes sense?
Many other professionals can be added but that will get you off and running.
Are you questioning how to get the information for these professionals so you can mail them your letter? Terrific question, glad you asked. You’ve got a pair of options but they depend on your marketing budget.
The on-line yellow pages is definitely an option for you. You should already have a geographic area you stick to so you’ll want to remain within that region, for the most part. With the yellow pages alternative, the downside is that it can be time consuming.
You need to compile each professional’s phone number, name and mailing address. Like I said, this could demand a bit of time but it’s free of charge.
Another alternative for building this marketing list of professionals is to merely purchase a list. In the indentical way you’re probably on one or more Realtor or agent lists being sold out there, just about every profession has their own list for sale also.
Relax, these types of lists aren’t dishonest or unethical. These types of professional lists are out there since professionals (like us Realtors or agents) deliberately sign up for countless publications, organizations, events, etc.
A bit surprising, huh? See why all that Realtor junk mail and email somehow gets sent to you?
There are quite a few list companies out there to pick from. Whichever list company you choose, ideally, they should provide you with each profession you’ll need for your list, rather than going to a different company for each profession. I tell you, it’ll cost you a few dollars for this list but it’s going to save you hours of valued time!
Once you’ve obtained your marketing list (whichever way you decide to acquire it), it’s time to start penning this personal letter to send to your list. Sorry to say, copywriting is a topic of its own and we just can’t get into it right now, or else you’ll be reading a novel today. That’s surely a topic all on it’s own.
All you need to be aware of right now is that this letter can’t be “salesy” like a letter you’d mail to your farm list of homeowners.
Even though you might replicate some or most of your referral marketing letter and mail it to other professionals on your list, when these professionals get your letter, they ought to feel like they’re the only one who received it.
Ponder about how you’d talk to these professionals face-to-face and jot down your letter in that way, that’s the big idea here. Don’t use a bunch of “salsey” cliches’ and standard “professional lingo” that you read in the letters you receive from your bank. Seize their interest and write to them as you’d write to a personal acquaintance.
As a side note, personalizing your marketing goes for all your Realtor marketing material, like postcards, emails, articles, ads, etc.
The “jist” of this referral marketing letter needs to express that you’re interested in building a “mutually advantageous” relationship where you can both refer business to each another. Your intention is to be their “pocket Realtor” who gets all their referrals, for free! Stress how they’ll profit without trying to “sell” them on it, you know?
One approach to personalize your letter is to drop in something you know about their company, if you happen to know an interesting tid bit. If you know of a client who’s worked with them, drop that in there too. Unless you gossip about their mom, for some reason, it’s almost inconceivable for you to get excessively personal in your letter.
I’d strongly recommend that you create your referral letter yourself, rather than hire someone else to do it. But, if you’re the type who can’t stand writing any sort of letter to anyone, you can simply look for a solid free-lance writer who can pen it for you.
Merely type in “free-lance writers” on Google and you’ll see a lot of folks to pick from. With several companies, they even permit you to screen through their writers from across the globe. You can see reviews on most of the writers, determine their hourly rates, send them “interview” questions, etc. You might go as far as posting the project you want completed and waiting for writers to apply. really slick.
Alright, so far you have your marketing list of professionals and your marketing letter completed, now it’s time to send it and get some business. Only whatever you do, please do not send your letter in a simple white envelope like we see everyday of our lives… please, please, please!
Get another unique mailing package or envelope with a little color or size to it. Your aim is to stick out similar to a sore thumb, in a great way, from all the mail your list will be receiving. I’d also urge you to pen the mailing and return addresses by hand so that you increase the “personal” look of your letter.
Stop and think about which pieces of mail you open 1st. Exactly, letters that have hand-written addresses constantly get priority!
The next thing you want to do is enclose a special marketing piece, apart from your referral letter. A fun marketing piece to enclose possibly could be a video you create with Animoto and copy onto a DVD (easier than it sounds).
One of my friends, a life insurance salesman, sent out a similar mailing and included poker chips with his contact info on them. His slogan on the poker chips was “Don’t Gamble on Your Life”.
Brilliance! If you want to be a top producing Realtor like the “big boys”, that’s the sort of thought you need to come up with, or at least know where to get them!
Getting back to this referral letter, I’d advise that you aim them not only to your telephone number but also your site or blog. Make sure you offer them both options. You can never tell who hates talking on the phone and who hates looking at websites.
Your last step is unquestionably the most essential of them all. The number one rule in marketing is “repetition”. If you look at marketing statistics in general, it’s been shown that consumers and prospects need to hear or view the same marketing message more than 6-7 times before they feel comfortable enough to reply.
So the clear “take-away” is that you have to continue to market to these professionals on your list, more than once. After your first mailing, I’d tell you to follow up with them by telephone or another letter about 1 time a month. If you have it, using a professional’s e-mail address would be a good follow up too.
As it is with dating, you want to be careful to not smother and irritate them or else you can count on never receiving referrals from them, ever. Without being the irritating girlfriend or boyfriend, you have to give them space and time but yet let them know you need to be the Realtor they should send clients to.
A little time saving tip: if there’s money in your marketing budget, try hiring a college student or high school teenager to stuff your mailers for you. Your college kid or teen can stuff all the envelopes and address them but I’d still suggest for you to compose the referral letter yourself.
It’s inexpensive labor, just like US companies do when they hire overseas workers for their customer service call centers (did I just drop in a cheap shot?).
Bottom line, I just think this is one of the better marketing ideas for Realtors or agents out there. In the long-run, you can see yourself with a lasting flood of customer referrals from these professionals, as long as you devote yourself to forming these relationships.
Focus on helping them as much as you want them to help you and the funds will flow in!
What’s the primary idea that pops in your head when someone talks to you about a referral letter marketing method for Realtors? You probably suppose I’m talking about getting testimonials from your past clients to utilize in your marketing, correct?
That can also be an outstanding marketing method for Realtors. But, I’m referring to you getting a career-long stream of clients from other respected professionals in your region. And you’ll only have to write a short little letter telling them how fantastic of a Realtor you are.
This is how I’d sum up referral letter marketing for real estate agents: Grab a list of respected professionals in your neighbourhood that may have the same type of clients you do. Then you need to compose a individualized letter about yourself and send it, by regular mail, to your list of professionals.
Try to be creative in terms of the mailing package or envelope you use as well as including a distinctive marketing piece with your letter. Be consistent about following up with each professional by telephone, regular mail or e-mail at least 1 occasion each month.
It’s okay to copy what the top producing agents are doing, simply put your own style into it.
1st, let’s start a list of professionals that in fact have the clients you can work with…
- CPAs
- Loan Officers (likely goes without saying, correct?)
- Financial Planners (certified)
- Attorneys
- Building Contractors
- Appraisers (residential or commercial)
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- Landscaping Companies
- Roofers
- Tree Service Companies
- Handymen (residential)
- Get the concept?…
You’re probably wondering how to get all these professional’s info to advertise to, correct? No worries, it’s straight forward. You have a duo of options, depending on how much cash you hold in your marketing budget.
One choice is to search the yellow pages online. You should already have a geographic area you stick to so you’ll want to remain within that region, for the most part. The manual labor is the time consuming aspect about this alternative.
You have to move through each person listed and get their name, phone number and mailing address. It may take you a while but if you have more time than marketing dollars, this is the route to go.
A separate alternative for compiling your list of well-thought-of professionals is to easily purchase a list. Exactly like you’re probably on a Realtor list for sale to people, just about every other profession has their own list for sale as well.
This isn’t some kind of “black market” or unethical list, don’t be concerned. Some individuals don’t know but these types of lists are compiled and available for sale whenever professionals, like us real estate agents, join an association or offer their info to a publication that they subscribe to.
Surprised?
There are quite a few list companies out there to pick from. Rather than going to one list company for a list of attorneys and another company for financial planners, you should choose a company that provides all the professions you want in one place. Purchasing your list will cost you some marketing dollars but you’ll salvage yourself a pant load of agony and working hours.
So once you have this marketing list of professionals (however you choose to generate it), it’s time to pen your very personalized “referral letter”. I’m not going to get into how to write sales copy here though. That’s certainly a topic all on it’s own.
Just grasp for now that you don’t want your referral letter to be a “sales letter”.
When one of these professionals gets this referral marketing letter, they ought to feel like they’re the only one who got it, even though you possibly could replicate most of it and mail it to other professionals.
The trick is writing your letter as if you were speaking to each professional in-person. Don’t apply the same bland language that your bank does when they send you a lifeless letter in the mail. Catch the reader’s attention, write to them like a sincere human being and not like an institution.
What the heart of this letter needs to tell them is that you want to refer business back and forth, not merely take and take and take from them. The big idea is for you to become these professionals “Realtor on-demand”, so to speak, and get all their client referrals for the rest of your career. Don’t tick off these professionals by “selling” them, but alternatively, show them however they’re going to gain, okay?
If you know something personal about their company or the area they work in, throw it in the letter. If you know of a client who’s worked with them, drop that in there also. Unless you gossip about their momma, for some reason, it’s almost unimaginable for you to get excessively personal in your letter.
My suggestion would be to definitely create this referral marketing letter in your own words. But, if you absolutely hate penning this sort of marketing letter, your other choice is to get hold of a good freelance writer to do it.
To find various self-employed writers, you can Google “self-employed writers for hire” and check out several of your options there for companies to utilize. With some companies, they even permit you to sort through their writers from across the globe. You can check reviews on most of the writers, determine their hourly rates, send them “interview” questions, etc. You can even post the job you’re looking to fulfill and get writers to come to you. really slick.
O.K., so now that you have your marketing list and referral letter scripted, it’s time to mail it out. But please, no matter what you do, do not send your letter in an ordinary, plain envelope similar to every other “schmo” does that sends mail to these professionals… please!
Instead, grab a unique looking envelope that has a little unique size or color to it. You want that letter to stand out from all the other mail this gentleman or gal is getting that day. I would also hand-write the address and return address, as it’ll come across more personalized to the recipient.
Simply think how you opened your mail today. Exactly, letters that have hand-written addresses always get priority!
Next, you want to enclose a marketing piece, other than just your letter. A creative marketing suggestion possibly could be a DVD that you create through Animoto, showcasing yourself (not as daunting as it sounds).
One of my friends, a life insurance salesman, sent out a similar mailing and included poker chips with his contact info on them. The slogan he printed on the poker chips was “Don’t even think about gambling with your life”.
Sheer genius. If you want to be a top producing Realtor like the “big boys”, that’s the kind of thought you need to come up with, or at least be aware of where to get them!
Getting back to this referral letter, I’d recommend that you point them not only to your telephone number but also your website or blog. Make sure you offer them both options. Certain Folks would rather call you and others would preferably look over your website first.
The final step we’ll cover is absolutely critical. Repetition is crucial with any marketing idea you select, especially when mailing letters, as we’re talking about. Statistics from the marketing industry prove that a potential customer needs to be exposed to your message at least 7 times, on average, before they are comfortable enough to respond.
So it’s obviously important to keep following-up with these professionals on your list. I’d say shoot for once per month, either by telephone or another letter, after you make the initial follow up telephone call after your first mailing. If you were able to find or buy their email address, feel free to begin emailing them too.
As it is with dating, you want to be careful to not smother and annoy them or else you can count on never receiving referrals from them, ever. It’s a fine line but you need to tell them why you should be their “go-to” Realtor without coming across in a rude or irritating manner.
A small time saving tip: if there’s cash in your marketing budget, try hiring a college student or high school teen to stuff your mailers for you. write the letters yourself but have your hired-assistant stuff the envelopes with your letters and marketing pieces.
This sort of hired-hand will be about as inexpensive as you can get and you’ll save so much time that you won’t know what to do with yourself.
Seriously, this is just one of the best, long-term and short-term marketing ideas for Realtors. In the long-run, you can find yourself with a substantial flood of customer referrals from these professionals, as long as you devote yourself to forming these relationships.