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5 Tips To Help Kickstart Your Business Marketing

Nothing can help propel your business to new heights faster than marketing. It is not a stretch to say that marketing and lead generation are the backbone of your business. Without new leads coming in, you will be stuck in neutral and nothing else will make a difference. Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to market yourself and your business based on your personality, budget and goals. Over time you will find a few go-to methods that work best for you, but you need to do something. Even a seemingly small campaign can have a big impact if you continue to do it every month. You don’t need to be a marketing wizard to find ways to get your name out to the masses. Here are five tips to help kickstart your business marketing.

• Goals. Blindly throwing money at marketing will leave you frustrated and disappointed in your results. Before you do anything, you need to take a minute and consider your goals. A part time investor only looking to close a deal or two a year will have different marketing goals than a 10-year veteran. On a broad level you need to think about what you want to accomplish with your marketing. It sounds like a loaded question, but each campaign is a little different. Do you want to direct mail to homeowners looking to sell in the next thirty days? Are you looking to build local networking contacts with real estate agents, attorneys and mortgage brokers? Are you looking to increase your business profile and get your name out to your friends, family and contacts? Whatever you are looking to accomplish there is a marketing plan available. Your actions should always be aligned with your goals.

• Target. As we stated, every campaign is different. Once you have thought about your long- and short-term goals you need to move on to phase two. Who are you looking to reach? If you are looking for a quick pop, you are probably looking to reach out to distressed homeowners. There can be quite a few ways of doing this. For years, the most popular method of real estate marketing was direct mail. Through postcards or traditional envelopes, a mailing was sent to homeowners usually late on their mortgage or even in foreclosure. The letter would prompt a phone call, which would hopefully lead to a meeting that would hopefully turn into a deal. While this can still be a great method, technology has changed the way we find deals. Email and robocalls often work better than any kind of print advertising. However you plan on marketing you need to have a clear vision of who you want to market to and what you want from them. Everything else trickles down from there. Without goals and a target audience your marketing will be too scattered and ultimately unproductive.

• Budget. One of the great things about marketing in 2018 is that you don’t need to break the bank to be successful. Direct mail can still be effective but with the list, supplies, stamps and execution it adds up quickly. Instead of pricey mailing campaigns there are other cost-effective alternatives. It is important to know exactly how much you are willing to spend before getting started. This will directly influence where you market, how you market and the frequency in which you will do so. It is always much better to focus on one form of marketing for a 90-day period than trying to do a little bit of everything. By sticking with one item in just a short period of time people will get to see quickly recognize your name and brand and be more likely to reach out to you. You will have to spend some money to market, but you don’t need to empty your bank account to do so.

• Channels/interaction. With social media alone, there are a handful of viable options. Facebook, Instagram & twitter can all be effective at getting your name and brand out. Additionally, there are print, radio and even TV options. Finding what works best for you often comes down to how much interaction you desire. It doesn’t do you any good spending money on marketing if you are not available to respond. Before you send or post anything you need to make sure you can execute the follow up. This means giving your undivided attention to your texts, emails or calls. The people that reach out to you want to feel like they are the most important thing going on in your business. Where you market should compliment this. If you are working on a rehab project you probably can’t drop what you are doing and respond. Make sure your marketing options fit your business.

• Evaluation/tweaks. At the end of your 90-day trial you need to evaluate he the results. 90 days does not give you a definitive answer, but it does give you some information to make changes or tweaks in your approach. Is there a problem with the presentation, the layout, the response or the follow through? These can all the fixed. However, if there is little to no response from your marketing it may be time to go a different route. Your first option should always be to make tweaks first, but at some point, you need to cut bait and try something else. Whatever you do, always take a minute to evaluate your results after the first 90 days.

Regardless of your current success you should always look to market your business. Eventually deals fall through or close and you need new ones to replace them. Use these five tips to help kickstart your marketing.

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