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Establish Marketing Priorities and Analyze Every Step of the Way

By Laurie Andrews Posted in - Media & Networking & Public Relations & Social Media & Uncategorized & Web on August 21st, 2013

All across the country, real estate continues to see positive news for the industry. The good news on sales success is being driven by investment buyers seeking appreciation or rental income.  As the cycle continues and the economy continues to strengthen, end-user buyers will continue to increase. As builders and developers are putting their strategic marketing plan in place, questions often arise on how much they should budget and what the top priorities should be. As a leader in real estate marketing for more than four decades, Cotton & Company is assisting its clients by establishing priorities throughout their strategic plan. Focusing on direct consumer sales most often results in a higher ROI by lessening the commission expense.  Today, most…

How to Drive Outside Broker Sales in 2013

By Laurie Andrews Posted in - Real Estate on February 12th, 2013

In regional marketplaces across the country, real estate brokers are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Although the downturn has been prolonged, brokers stand ready to drive success as the market rebounds. With the national media promoting the rebound of the housing market, brokers are anxious to earn those illusive commissions. And that’s the name of the game – making money. As the developer or owner of a new residential community, brokers can provide a quick burst of momentum for your program. Here are some things you do to capture their attention and their clients: 1. Communicate and educate. A strong broker partner is a resource for his clients. He/she knows what is happening in the market…

What is More Important – Lead Generation or Conversion?

By Laurie Andrews Posted in - Real Estate on January 28th, 2013

“Lead generation” is all the channels used to create potential buyers. It used to be that print media generated early interest, then the lead came into the sales office and the buyers were then sold on the community and product. Oh, how things have changed! Today’s lead generation channels still include many traditional resources like brokers, signage, direct mail, events, television, public relations and many others.  But today the biggest change is online- where your website acts as your virtual sales office. Ever wonder when real estate sites receive the highest traffic? 10 PM. That’s right!  Laptops go to the bedroom and buyers begin their search. They explore, watch videos, visit Facebook pages and compare communities to decide which are worth touring. It makes…

6 Reasons Video Should be a High Priority When Selling Real Estate

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…

Why Social Media Marketing Works for Real Estate

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…

Mexico’s Comeback Captures the World’s Attention

By Laurie Andrews Posted in - Real Estate on December 18th, 2012

The rebounding Mexican economy is providing plenty of headlines for today’s final reporters. It’s hard to believe that not long ago, Mexico was in the news daily for the swine flu outbreak and endless drug violence. Today, words like “record-breaking” and “booming” are now being used to describe a thriving economy. It seems while the US was focusing on the 2012 election, Mexico quietly overcame many of its challenges. Although there remains much to be resolved, the country is now the world’s leading exporter of flat screen TVs and has also become a major force in the automobile industry. Surprisingly, one in 10 cars sold last year in the U.S. was made in Mexico. According to the Wall Street Journal, “next…

Data Capture Essential to Build Sales Pipeline

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…

Which “Baby Boomer” Will Be Purchasing Real Estate Next?

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…

What is the ROI of Social Media?

By Angelene Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Public Relations & Real Estate & Social Media & Uncategorized & Web on October 31st, 2012

It’s a question we’ve frequently received. And the issue with answering it, is that it doesn’t totally make sense. ROI is a financial measurement. Marketing channels can be measured in goals and benchmarks, but ROI? Not really. You see, how can you possibly measure the ROI of having email versus not having email? Or the ROI of having a phone line? What about the ROI of the customer service representative actually answering that phone line? Can you measure the satisfaction of your prospect after that well-received customer service phone call? What about the ROI of that satisfied customer telling her friends about her positive experience? The answer is no. Which is why social marketing cannot be measured in ROI. However,…

The “Data” Onslaught – Cutting Through the Numbers

By Laurie Andrews Posted in - Advertising & Media & Networking & Public Relations & Real Estate & Social Media on October 16th, 2012

Analytics. Algorithms. Metrics. The new “buzz” words in marketing have hit a hot button with developers who have been seeking accountability in a field previously managed by gut reactions or feedback from the sales office. In today’s world, art is driven by science, providing clearer insight into buyer psychology.