Post Tagged with Cotton & Company
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Real Estate on April 29th, 2013
It’s been a long road back for the real estate development industry. When the down slope for residential real estate began in 2006, the world was a very different place. It’s hard to believe that Facebook only existed on college campuses, and the first generation of the iPhone wasn’t introduced until 2007. But it was the iPad introduction in 2010 that really changed the world for real estate developers, bringing the wealthy discretionary buyer into the digital realm. Today, as many developers begin to reenter the market, they are recognizing new marketing challenges as a result of changing technology. Top 10 Changes: 1. Website infrastructure and design must prioritize tablet interaction. This means a more focused navigation plan that emphasizes…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Media & Real Estate on March 13th, 2013
Cotton & Company’s 5th annual consumer survey is underway. The annual online report surveys prospective homebuyers throughout the US to gain insight into the current buyer’s psychology. With more than 700 respondents providing insight on the factors that affect their purchase decision, the data has become an industry standard for forecasting residential real estate trends. As the data continues to be analyzed for the final report, early indications show liquidity has returned to the market. When asked about their reason for not purchasing to date, the consumer response “Can’t sell my existing home” dropped significantly from the 2011 market data. As additional support to this position, consumer interest in “Waiting for Better Pricing” has dropped to 8%, from the highpoint…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Public Relations & Real Estate & Social Media & Uncategorized on January 21st, 2013
Video content is new terminology in the digital marketing age. In years past, creating a video meant a one-time production to acquire and edit a short film to tell the story of your community vision. In today’s content-rich environment, new marketing channels provide outlets where video becomes a constantly evolving tool. Creating compelling video content should rise to the top of your priority list for a variety of reasons: 1. As consumers, we live in a visual world and technology has opened the door to online learning, on-demand movies, and independent entertainment delivered through alternative channels. We look to YouTube for “how to” videos, recipes and research. Why would buying real estate be any different? 2. Making a new home purchase…
By Angelene
Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Public Relations & Real Estate & Social Media & Uncategorized on January 14th, 2013
If you’ve been keeping up then you know that the final choice in the homebuyer’s decision-making process is most highly influenced by emotions. And for this reason, as real estate marketers, we must focus on lifestyle selling. Once you understand how important the lifestyle sell is to real estate, it then becomes increasingly clear why social marketing fits the bill. Here’s how: People love sharing exciting news about their lives on Facebook. This is the most natural place for buyers to showcase their new home purchase to their friends. The simple nature of sharing online and connecting with your closest friends and family falls perfectly in line with referral marketing. Never before was there such an easy way to reach…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Public Relations & Real Estate & Social Media & Uncategorized & Web on December 4th, 2012
As we all know, two-way communication is required to have a meaningful conversation. During the new home buying process, beginning the conversation sooner rather than later should be a primary focus of your website marketing initiatives. Of course, increased website visits are a positive indication of your marketing outreach, but it’s only the first step in the sales funnel that requires bringing the prospect through many steps prior to reaching a closed sale. Website interaction represents a golden opportunity to open a dialog with the prospective homebuyer. Consumers are busy people, and they are often researching their options late in the evening, long after your sales center is closed. They aren’t looking for direct person-to-person contact, but they are doing their homework to…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Real Estate on November 6th, 2012
It seems every planning seminar and conference for the last two decades has been about the impact of the baby boomer on discretionary real estate spending. Now, following a historical down cycle and its tremendous impact on personal savings and investment, many new questions emerge for real estate developers. Although the market segment as a whole makes for promising demographic studies based on shear volume, it takes a closer look to unveil the psychographic profile that will most likely represent the next wave of real estate purchasers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a baby boomer is a person who was born during the post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964. Over 75 million strong, the market segment includes two generations…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Real Estate on October 31st, 2012
It’s been quite the summer in Warsaw, Poland. We’ve enjoyed getting to know this country of proud people and its rich history that includes a period of Soviet Communist dominance from 1945 to 1989. Considering Cotton & Company opened for business in 1983, in some ways we had a five-year head start on an entire nation who only became capitalist following the Soviet fall. In contrast, we were humbled to learn that Poland’s Constitution is only second in age to the US Constitution, even though the establishment of a Polish state is identified with the adoption of Christianity in 966, far beyond the American Revolution in 1776. So what brings Cotton to the eastern bloc — JW Construction, the largest developer…
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Real Estate on October 23rd, 2012
A spirit of optimism is on the horizon for builders and residential developers as new home inventory continues to be absorbed and pricing begins to climb in many major US markets. As existing homeowners have the ability to sell their home, builders and developers will feel the effect of liquidity in the marketplace. Yet as buyers across the country return to new home sales centers, real estate professionals are wondering how have their priorities shifted? How has their perception of value been impacted by the lengthy downturn?Has the election cycle delayed their decision? As builders and developers strive to enhance 4thquarter sales results, it is crucial for them to recognize the shift in the market and thoroughly understand the changing buyer psychology….
By Laurie Andrews
Posted in - Real Estate on September 25th, 2012
Going the extra mile is nothing new to Stephann Cotton. Try 5,288 miles–that’s where you’ll find him firmly entrenched in the Warsaw real estate market. While European markets continue to struggle, Poland remains a bright spot for foreign investment and increased competition is now impacting long-term residential developers. Warsaw has become a global city, an international tourist destination and an important economic hub in Central Europe. Yet a mere 22 years ago, Poland was a communist state and consumer-driven marketing expertise is still in its infancy. For JW Construction, one of Poland’s leading residential developers, heavy competition presented new challenges and a critical need for effective marketing and sales management. The solution was clear–go to America, find the best, and bring them to Poland. Enter…
By Alexis
Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Social Media & Uncategorized on May 8th, 2012
Increasing brand affinity has always been about building relationships with people. Today brands everywhere can achieve this through social marketing. Social marketing is taking a strategic and digital approach to using social media to reach and engage consumers while encouraging word of mouth sharing and brand loyalty. Cotton & Company offers social marketing as a key service line and welcome the opportunity to grow your brand using this new marketing medium.
