Home Gain just released a survey of REALTORS. The goal was to determine the top marketing choices. The results are surprisingly offline.
As with all surveys or polling I see anymore I take meaning from it with a very cynical eye. Poor scientific methods and cooked books seem to be so common they are hardly noticed. Recently Global warming scientists and Big Pharma have been busted for cooking their so called science. While online folks can say whatever they want to say. I have seen real estate vendors running press releases of "survey results" while in actuality it was nothing more than an online poll on the front page of their website.
I am not implying any wrong doing from good ole Home Gain. I am just being skeptical of their methodology. For example they mention at the top of their press release that:
HomeGain Survey Identifies Real Estate Agents’ Top 10 Marketing Preferences
Recent HomeGain survey reveals the top marketing choices of real estate professionals in 2010; Referrals ranked number one; MySpace ranked last; Realtors show continued interest in using postcards/mailings
Preference does not mean efficacy, it merely is an implication. Therefore, is this list below truly a list of what is working in today's marketplace? That goes unanswered until you get to the list which says 10 "effective marketing strategies". So we get the words choice, preference and effective.
Which leads me to believe perhaps the study is flawed, or maybe the PR writer got lost in the words. Nevertheless here is their finding:
Top 10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Realtors (Cumulative Average Scores, 1 = Least Effective / 10 = Most Effective):
* Referrals (8.7)
* Featured Listings (4.8)
* Email Campaigns (4.7)
* Postcards/Mailers (4.6)
* Blogging (4.1)
* Online Lead Generation Services (4.0)
* Facebook (4.0)
* LinkedIn (3.6)
* Outdoor Ads (3.6)
* Print Ads (3.6)
Top 10 Marketing Objectives for Realtors in 2010 (Cumulative Average Scores, 1 = Least Likely to Use / 10 = Most Likely to Use):
* Referrals (8.9)
* Email Campaigns (5.7)
* Postcards/Mailers (5.4)
* Featured Listings (5.2)
* Facebook (4.9)
* Print Ads (4.3)
* Blogging (4.2)
* LinkedIn (4.1)
* Online Lead Generation Services (4.0)
* YouTube (3.5)
Now, I let me interpret this. I have been saying for years that a terrific marketing strategy is to go where everyone else ain't. Direct Mail works. It should be part of anyones sequential marketing campaign. Notice I say sequential, not send to the world without a purpose.
Any marketing be it Facebook, email, or snail mail should have a step two, three and beyond.
Top takeaways:
- Careful on what is written as fact.
- Realtors still prefer plug n play solutions for their marketing.
- Referrals are still and always will be the number one lead source.
Great stuff Tim, very informative!
Posted by: Rick Stalker | March 11, 2010 at 02:04 PM
Rick -
Thanks. If you have any questions about any of this stuff let me know.
~Tim
Posted by: Coach Tim SEO | March 11, 2010 at 02:09 PM