Sellers Getting More Money Through Target Marketing
Today, we reveal another real estate secret to help you, the seller, net more money in your pocket. Using older methods of listing properties on the MLS isn't enough anymore. Sellers need massive exposure from a target marketing strategy to get more profits from every sale.
What is Target Marketing?
Target marketing includes a strategy of targeting the right type of buyers for the seller's property. Instead of just putting the property on the market, on the MLS, and in a large number of spots and hoping for a buyer to come along, a target marketing strategies maximize the right marketing strategies for the specific property.
When an agent uses a target marketing strategy, they start by looking at a property and deciding who is the best type of buyer for that property. For example, a condo is best suited for an investor looking to live in the condo once a year or never even see it. This is a different type of buyer compared to someone planning to live in the area for six months out of the year or for the entire year.
Another example is a residential home in a gated community with a large number of amenities and a higher HOA. This type of property is going to be a different audience of buyers compared to a home in the same price range in a different neighborhood.
Matching the Right Buyer to the Property
Target marketing is a bit like a dating service for real estate. The goal is to match the right type of buyer to each property and market that property specifically to those types of buyers. In order to do this, an agent has to know the market very well.
When an agent doesn't know the market very well, they tend to use general marketing strategies instead of target marketing strategies. This tends to limit the amount of exposure the property will get with the right type of buyers.
Identifying the Right Type of Buyer
There are several ways to go about identifying the right type of buyers. First, your agent needs to have a large database of qualified buyers looking for specific types of properties. Usually, the largest database is a product of time in the business and previous sales experience within the community.
Agents have to have these buyer leads as there isn't some magic box of leads out there every agent can tap into. You have to have the database of people to pull from. The leads should be tags so that the agent knows what they are looking for and can easily search the database for the right type of buyers for your property.
Second, an agent should also be able to look at similar properties they have sold and the people that looked at that property without buying it. They can also see all of the agents that have shown the property in the past six or nine months. A good agent will market your property to all of these potential buyers and agents to gain not only more exposure but also targeted exposure.
Finally, an agent must invest in the right technology to gain buyer leads and be able to sort them and contact them. Without this investment, it's not really possible to use a highly targeted strategy of marketing with the agent's database. However, when an agent invests in the right technology, they can easily target the right buyers for your property and gain the right exposure to get it sold for you.
This is the true definition of target marketing in the real estate business. Just getting the property on the MLS isn't enough as it may gain some exposure, but the exposure won't be targeted to the right type of buyers for your specific property.
It's no longer effective to simply say your marketing strategy is going to be to use the internet. Everybody uses the internet and every property is on the MLS, so there's no advantage here. Instead, you need a real, target marketing strategy to truly get your property in front of the right buyers.