The Power Of Direct Marketing

DIRECT MARKETING

The traditional way of generating leads is direct marketing. It is a time-honored activity and most smart real estate investors make it part of their daily marketing output.

Let’s begin with robocalls. Think for a minute about the number of robocalls you get every day. They may be annoying, but they work! It’s a multi-billion dollar business in America for a reason. They produce revenue. Most real estate investors aren’t big enough to hire a robocall center, but pro-active ones hire cold call VAs. These virtual assistants use AI (Artificial Intelligence) lead sourcing software that target the most likely people to sell a home in the next 90 days. They focus on pre-foreclosures, divorcing couples, non-occupied rental homes, free and clear houses and several other types to laser-target the most likely parties to sell their home in the coming weeks. The VAs use highly effective scripts that ask provocative questions to lead people to a successful close. The scripts you use should always be based in integrity and honesty. If you want people to like you, your company and your brand, make sure everything you project to the public is done with the Golden Rule in mind.

Investors with integrity only use honest means to work with potential homeowners. Your company’s reputation is based on the brand that you project to the public every day. Don’t be a slick con artist when it comes to calling potential clients. Be honest, do what’s right and always lead with integrity. This applies to you and all of your staff, in-house or VA. The world doesn’t need any more cons.

Direct Marketing – A Quick Review
There are four primary types of direct marketing.

• Direct mail
• Telemarketing
• Email marketing
• Text marketing

Direct marketing is still highly effective despite some criticisms. It’s not a good idea to abandon it, but you should fine tune your methods to get the best results. Here are some tactics that are being suggested to optimize direct marketing attempts.

Direct Mail is Making a Comeback

There’s been an increase in consumer fatigue regarding digital advertising. This newer toy of the marketing world has been overused and consumers are tired of their online experience being interrupted (YouTube has been so inundated by ads that it is offering ad-free service for a fee.). It’s no surprise in the face of this ennui that direct mail has escalated 34% since 2020. It will be a challenge to keep such figures from dropping, and marketing professionals that are on top of their game are always looking at trends and taking advantage of the new ones.

• Making Direct Mail a Personal Experience. This strategy takes it cue from social media. A personal experience is what consumers are looking for in any outreach. Pixel-to-postal technology and variable printing data (VDP) can create that marketing piece that is relevant and engaging at the same time.
• Audience Targeting. It helps when direct mail efforts are focused on a select group of consumers. Folks are protecting themselves from unwanted digital advertisements and spam folders on the Internet are bulging. Efficient use of offline and online data will help you send the right message, to the right person, at exactly the right time. You can’t beat that!
• Optimize the Experience. You’ve probably noticed that online concepts are creeping into marketing tactics. It is called ‘phygital marketing’ and you can successfully coordinate your direct mail and digital campaigns. If you haven’t heard of phygital marketing, it’s a trending experience that involves merging physical and digital experiences. Take a look at the USPS Informed delivery Program and how they’re making this happen.

Telemarketing is Moving with the Times

Few people have the time or patience to do telemarketing themselves. They do delegate this activity out to call centers and individual VAs. Fast-talking, used-car-like script based contacts drive consumers crazy. America is much smarter than they were twenty years ago. What’s trending in this marketing niche is empathic scripting that gets the target audience more emotionally involved. Some telemarketers use heavy pressure tactics which produces pissed-off consumers and a high hang up rate. Old school telemarketers are not good at solving problems. They make it all about the numbers and not the quality. When you merge the two, magic can happen. When you incorporate the newer telemarketing trends in this old marketing system, consumer experience soars and so do your profits. The focus has changed from WIIFM
– ‘What’s in it for me’, to WIIFT, ‘What’s In It For Them’.

Like it or hate it, telemarketing remains a critical part of direct marketing. That’s why its still a multi-billion dollar industry. Here are some reasons why.

• Telemarketing gives you direct contact with your target market. You can connect immediately with a potential lead. The call permits you to have a better and clearer understanding of what the other party wants and needs. The call also lets you know how to address the person. The information will help you personalize future contacts.
• Better Data Can be Compiled for Future Use. Direct contact permits you to have a better idea if your direct marketing campaign is hitting all the right notes. Not everybody bothers to check their email and many times they end up in a spam folder.
• Telemarketing Can Generate Quality Leads. You or your virtual assistant speak directly with the lead. You can get a better assessment of what the lead needs and an excellent understanding of the lead’s personal attributes. You have a chance to create a personalized experience with leads and display the empathy they would like to be given.

Telemarketing should not be a dial tone nightmare. This won’t happen if you or your VAs are prepared and work with empathic scripts. A complete understanding of your services permits you to rely less on a script and sound more natural on the telephone. Jargon should be used as little as possible, if at all. Too often closing pitches depend on very basic information. The more you discover about the called party, the better the final result will be. Like the old saying from the always charming Zig Ziglar,  “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.“

Omnichannel marketing is becoming more common in telemarketing. This is an integrationof different channels used to contact prospects. How does it work? As an example, a text message is left behind if the call does not go through. Email or social media messaging also permits the lead to get information if a call connection fails.

You may decide to use a telemarketing platform such as Call Cowboy for your telemarketing efforts. If that’s the case, make sure you understand what services are provided, pricing and cancellation policies. Any recorded message you use needs to have a friendly and engaging tone. Using a script is fine but you must rehearse the delivery numerous times to produce a quality and effective message.

Your business may be large enough to use the services of a call center. Ask the Center how the telemarketing representatives are trained, how many calls per day does a representative make or receive, and how quality is measured and assured? Listen very carefully to the responses to your questions and ask follow-up questions if you don’t fully understand.

Email Marketing is still HOT!

Email marketing is a sales strategy that can produce fantastic results. Unlike social media and other avenues, you own the list. It can’t suddenly change its algorithm and void all your years of building the platform.

It takes some planning and an ability to persuade a stranger to consider working with you, but that can be done if you commit to the effort and always bring great value. Here are some challenges you should watch out for.

• Parties that you initially reach out to do not know who you are. The chances of ignoring your message are higher so be sure to start with a powerful Subject Line.
• Since you’re a stranger in the beginning, watch out because they could spam youalso. The spam folder is the bane of any email marketing campaign.
• Don’t expect anyone who you just started emailing, to accept your services duringthe first several contacts. Your goal is to always provide some sort of great value. Everyone hates junk mail spammers. They don’t provide value, they just go for the sale without providing any type of beneficial service to the consumer. In the beginning, your single goal is to make a good connection with the consumer and consistently provide them beneficial value so they KiLT (Know, Like & Trust) you. Once you accomplish the KiLT, you’ll have good solid customers that actually look forward to your emails.

Email is a communication method of choice for many consumers. You ought to use it to full advantage and there are ways to create an efficient email marketing list and use it effectively. When it comes to email marketing, keep these points in mind.

1 – ALWAYS provide value.

2 – Make sure your message is always targeted to the right consumer. If you’re selling pet products and your list consists of consumers that don’t have pets, you’re creating the wrong Message-To-Market. Make sure your email list wants what you’re selling.

3 – Subject Line – There are numerous books that cover this topic. Your email subject line is like a highway billboard that you’re racing by at 70 MPH. You only have a split second to grab someone’s attention. In the case of email, everyone plays the game of G&D – glance and delete. Make your Subject Lines EYE POPPING, controversial, emotional and provocative. To get my FREE article on powerful Email Subject Lines, click here now and I’ll send it to your email ASAP.

4 – Be consistent! Most people fail with email marketing simply because they aren’t consistent. Email marketing is a branding tool. You have to repeatably send your email list valuable content so they ‘brand’ it into their brains.

5 – Be concise. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, do not leave emails that go on and on. We live in a hyper-active, microwave, immediate gratification society. Be succinct. Be brief. Make it quick. As Mark Twain once wrote, “I was going to write you a short letter, but I didn’t have time, so I wrote a long one.” Think about it.

Use Social Media to Generate the List

Social media is a marketing multi-tasker. I mentioned in the Social Media chapter how Meta Ads can help create a strong email list and omnichannel efforts can help build up the email account numbers. Twitter is a fantastic way to bring in some email leads if that social media is used properly.

Concentrate on the Email Content from start to finish.

A.   Subject Lines. Use them to create interest in the body of your email. Current news headlines grab attention from the get-go and the same is true for emojis and bold fonts.

B.   Give The Reader Usable Content. You need to do more than promote your services. Provide news the reader can use as part of your pitch.

C.   Concentrate on Design. Use plain fonts that are easy to read, concise wording that highlights useful information and a simple template design is all you need. The email is not meant to be a Madison Avenue production but an introduction to you and your services.

D.  Do Not Forget a Call to Action (CTA). A good CTA will persuade the reader to move forward and follow through with your information request. To get a FREE copy of mypopular article on CTA’s, click here now and I’ll email it to you asap.

E.  Personal Touch. You should use your email marketing to create a relationship whenever possible. People want to KiLT (Know Like & Trust) you. Be authentic. Be honest. Be uniquely you and they’ll grow to love you and enjoy your emails.

Email Management Matters

You will have to administer your email marketing. Identify your target market before you set out down the road (take a peek at Meta ads and Direct Mail marketing for some ideas). Once that group is identified, email automation will turbo-power the delivery. Bulk emails can be sent to certain people at certain times, making your outreach more effective. This is where your CRM (Customer Relations Manager) software program saves your ass. Every time a client gets a certain email, make sure it’s noted in their file on your CRM. You can write one general email and then change it up slightly through some quick editing to segment it to the right email recipients.

Almost half of all marketers think email marketing is the best way to create leads online. ‘Lead scoring’ will allow you to prioritize your leads and optimize your chances of getting the best prospects. If you don’t know about ‘lead scoring’, People Data Labs defined it this way – “Lead scoring is the process of assigning a “score” to each one of your contacts that reflects their conversion potential and level of interest in your business. This score can be used to qualify leads for marketing messages or sales outreach.“

Text Marketing – The New Gorilla In The Room

Emails can be easily deleted or end up in spam folders. As for text marketing, recent research shows that over 90% of people read their texts within a couple minutes. Nowhere else can you get this kind of open rate.

SMS Marketing is the foundation of text marketing. Text messages (SMS) bring your consumersupdates and time-sensitive offers and when you bring them good value, they’ll love you for it. Consider a text about a short-term, 15 minute window flash sale for your VIP crowd to buy a popular product at 50% off. You just saved them $500. They’ll love you for it!

Remember, people receiving the message have consented earlier to be contacted by you. That’s important because folks are more willing to read messages they’ve allowed, but also KiLT.

Text messaging was practically created for smartphones and mobile devices. Research shows that 91.3% of SMS messages are read within 3 or so minutes. They are best used for:

• Urgent updates
• Limited time promotions
• Appointment reminders
• General information.

This type of direct marketing is excellent for cash-strapped entrepreneurs who are trying to get their foot in the marketplace. Lead generation is essential, and text messaging is fast and effective. In fact, text marketing favorably compliments your other attempts at outreach. Here are some great ideas that are wonderfully easy to use.

1.   Encourage Texting on Your Website. This has mobile website viewers in mind. A Click-To-Text can be placed on your website with a simple invitation to have the viewer text you. SMS Chat is a way to start a productive conversation that goes to the cell phone of the other party.

2.  Text Your Email Subscribers. You have created an email list using Meta Ads. Okay, let’s take the information you gleaned from those folks and use it to text them. You improve your chances of a successful texting if you offer something free to those who respond. Remember that ‘value’ thing I keep mentioning. Everyone like people that bring them good value!

3.   Optimize Instagram. You can include a request to text you for vital information from your Instagram business profile. All you need is an attention getting prompt.

4.   Remember to include a CTA. You don’t have much space on a text message. A simple “Contact Us for More!” CTA is really all you need.

5.  The Language Matters. Texting is all about words. Keywords in the CTA will encourage responders to engage more. You economize on the length of your text by using short codes to decrease the size of any telephone number. Bitly.com can be used to shorten the Internet address of your website. If you don’t know https://bitly.com/ , check it out. This wonderful tool shortens long URLs into short ones thus saving you space on text and email messages.

6.   Do Not Forget the Auto Reply. It is the response text message a person gets after texting you.

7.   Schedule Future Messages. Text sent a week or so later is a great relationship developer. Your text messaging becomes more useful the more often you text a lead.

8.   As always, be consistent. People KiLT you faster if you’re consistent with your text messaging.

Segmentation and Automation can be employed as your texting audience grows. Those messages should not be epistles but quick notes that are easily read. KISS (Keep It Short &Simple) is the rule of thumb.

Direct Marketing can be used to optimize your use of social media platforms. The best idea is to first plan your overall marketing objectives and include some figures for benchmark analysis. Always try to be flexible in execution. Circumstances are going to change, and innovative ideas are going to pop up simultaneously. Do not hesitate to implement a good direct marketing idea.

You need to make Direct Marketing a routine activity. Contacting your list several times a month will help build a population of committed leads. As part of your weekly and monthly marketing plan, Time Block each direct marketing ploy. The easiest way to do this is to hire a great VA – personal assistant that handles all this for you. Don’t let things fall between the cracks because you get too busy. Putting aside a time and day for direct marketing activity is a great idea. As Nike’s ad used to say, Just Do It!

Marketing Makes Millionaires. ™
© 2021 Chasen Chess – REI Marketing Success