10/3

In our quest to lead and advocate for our customers, partners and community, our teams actively engage at every level of our industry. We’re active members in associations and groups. Our company leaders attend multiple conventions to make sure we’re always on the cutting edge for you.

In fact, one of our own, Jenny Martin, Sr. Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer with Futura, will be a featured panelist at the upcoming ALTA ONE convention put on by the American Land Title Association. This session will focus on female leadership, and we know Martin will shine.

But this blog is to share the marketing insight of another popular speaker on the convention circuit this year. Sam Trimble is a Vice President with MyHome and an expert in marketing and innovation. Here are just a few of his insights when it comes to standing out from the crowd.      

Find your marketing voice and be creative with it. We’ve all heard about the importance of building a brand, but how exactly is that done? Trimble defines your brand as “simply the gut feeling clients and customers have about you and your company.”

“Branding is a really interesting thing because it’s not a logo, or colors, or your copy, or your core values or your mission statement,” he said. “We can throw signals out on social media and our websites or at public events, but at the end of the day, it’s our clients who create that branding for us. That’s just the way it is.”

Many times, companies of all kinds want their public personas to be something they’re not in real life, but customers will be able to see right through that. In a relationship business like real estate, it’s important to be authentic in your marketing. Plus, trying new things in your marketing is OK as long as it fits your brand.

Focus on the customer. Today’s customers value the service and convenience they receive over many other things. Think about what happens when you order something online; you get multiple notifications keeping you up to date on the process. That’s what consumers expect. Real estate professionals of all kinds need to figure out how to focus on service and innovation to make sure they’re delivering a memorable experience.

“The No. 1 complaint from homebuyers and sellers is they don’t know what’s going on. We’re getting better at that, but sometimes we inundate them with communication, and they ignore it. I don’t think automation is necessarily the key, but if I can create something people can digest in 30 seconds or less, it’s going to be very impactful.”

Respond to all reviews, especially the bad ones. We’ve talked about the importance of getting reviews many times in this space, but what happens when a customer says something that’s less than five stars? Of course, that happens occasionally, but it’s not the end of the world. Trimble reminds us that bad reviews usually stem from miscommunications.

“The client just wants to be heard,” said Trimble, who added he always comments publicly to the review, apologizes for the less than stellar experience and makes sure the unhappy customer can directly communicate with him to resolve the issue. Doing this helps build trust and shows a commitment to transparency for anyone else who reads the review.

Our teams know we work with some of the best real estate professionals in any of our markets, and we want your potential clients to see that as well. Put these tips to use, and you’ll be sure to differentiate yourself from your competition. Reach out whenever you need us.