Well it has been about one month since I set out on my chocolate house marketing adventure so I thought I would tell you how it went. Allthgether I visited 15 real estate offices in Rockland County in one week period. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I met the nicest people in my travels. Realtors and office managers loved the chocolates and invited me in to meet the Realtors and discuss homes staging.
I went to each office in Rockland from Piermont to Pomona and everywhere in between. I had a specific purpose in mind for each visit.
I definitely found that there was a learning curve and that I got much better at it as I went along. So the million dollar question is:
Was the promotion a success?
Absolutely and unequivocally yes. In the last month I have given presentations at 7 Rockland County Real Estate offices. I have spoken at Prudential Rand , Cetury21grand, Weichert, and some smaller independent offices. I am still working with Keller Williams which recently opened their first office in Rockland in New City NY.
I received many phone calls from Realtors that had received my business card attached to a chocolate house. They were very interested in how Rockland Home Staging could help them with their listings. (They also all wanted the name of the chocolatier - it really is the best chocolate.)
So far I have been hired for two jobs as a direct result of the Chocolate campaign. With those two jobs alone I have more than paid for the initial investment in the promotion.
My advice to anyone who is considering a large scale promotion to promote their business is JUST DO IT.
The company that made the Chocolate Houses ships anywhere in the US. I think they make great give aways, promotions and thank you gifts for anyone in the Real Estate Industry. There are also larger houses available. They make the most amazing chocolates. If you do order from them make sure to add a few dark chocolate dipped marshmallows to your order. OMG they are too good.
Lucille Skroce, Owner
Matisse Chocolatier
(201)56/-2288
http://www.getfreshchocolate.com/
skroce@aol.com
We work with home owners and Realtors® in Rockland County NY and Bergen County NJ to accomplish a faster, more profitable sale. Call us to take the guesswork out of getting your home ready for sale.
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Maureen,
Fabulous idea! The houses look great. . .congratulations on a successful promotion! In my area, staging is rarely being used and many agents think that a vase of flowers on the counter and towels in the bathroom is staging! Chocolate is a great way to break the ice and get their attention. Thanks for sharing!
Lori - I am in the same boat here. The realtors have heard of staging but almost none have had their listings professionally staged so I am trying to get the word out.
Maureen, you know how i feel about you! You Rock!
Marci - Right back at you.
Maureen, I was just discussing with my partner, the same type of idea and wondering if we could get the realtors attention( in our area)by promoting our business, with more than just business cards and a packet of information...You have inspired me..... Staging is in its infancy here...Central Florida
Maureen, when you put the word CHOCOLATE in a blog title, you know I'm going to read it!!
Sweet marketing plan ;>) Almost time to bring out the chocolate bunnies!
Hi Maureen - Chocolate-YUMMY!!!!!! Sounds like you made a lot of "sweet deals". I live on long island, I was wondering where orangeburg is. Are you by New City?
Maureen Graziano
Maureen, I KNEW you'd get call backs and great feedback with your HouseO'Chocos - I'm so happy for you - little investments of time and money do pay off. Thanks for sharing.
Maureen - I live about 10 min from New Ccity. Actually 3 of the real estate offices I went to are in New City.
Darlene - I think you should go for it.
Sue - I had a lot of fun with it!
Karen - I think if you are in a creative industry you need to be creative with your marketing also. I'm glad I took a chance.
Wow, you could sell me almost anything if it was coated in chocolate! As I first started reading you post, I though "Oh my, how will I ever figure out how to whip THAT up!!! I was so relieved to see the link --- The company ought send you a years supply, I bet you will sell bunches here for them, I am going to get some ordered pronto!!! Thanks Maureen!
Julianna - You will love Lucille, she is a professional and a pleasure to work with.
Hey Maureen
Great that all your hard work payed off...Hmmm, SWEET SUCCESS
Phyllis Paafumi
What a great idea! Congrats on your successful chocolate campaign. It's pretty hard to go wrong with chocolate...
Phyllis - Success never tasted so sweet.
Penny - Thanks for stopping by.
As requested I've updated the blog to include the name and address of the Chocolatier. She is really wonderful to work with. She also ships - but you have to act pretty quickly because she will not ship during the summer months - for obvious reasons.
If you do order from her please tell her you I sent you. I don't get a kickback of any sort but maybe she will throw a few extra chocolate covered marshmallows in my bag. ;)
Great to hear your efforts paid off for you! I love those chocolate houses...very cute!
Maureen, So glad this was successful for you! I think I will be ordering chocolate houses also. Just for everyone's info you can get the boxes shaped like houses from usbox.com They are in the gabled box section.
I ordered some to put gift certificates in for networking parties, etc. Looks a little more interesting than a plain envelope. I think I'll be throwing some chocolate houses in also--sweet deal!
Deb
Maureen, What a wonderful idea! I've desparately been trying to get myself out to the real estate offices but wasn't sure what to do to make a lasting, intial presentation...I've been freaking myself out about it because marketing myself is all new to me and totally stepping out of my comfort zone. AHHH, chocolate to the rescue! What a way to break the ice! Thank you so much for sharing this! :)
Maureen, Thanks so much for sharing your tastie marketing idea. I went to a womens busniess meeting the other night and the sponsor for the night was a constructon company and they had wrapped chocolate tools with their business card tied onto it. Everybody thought it was so cute. So I put it aside as my to do idea! I guess this is the confirmation I was looking for. We will go for it! Sue
Maureen, your chocolate idea is fabulous. I bought some nice spring looking containers and will order some of the chocolates, if the chocolatier you recommended ever gets back to me. Otherwise I'll use Ghiradelli chocolates! Its a sweet way to get your foot in the door. Thanks for sharing.
Terry Haugen
Newbie
What a fabulous idea! Now, I ask myself, why didn't I think of that! And anything to do with chocolate is a big hit with me anyway!
Hey Maureen,
I saw this blog months ago, now that it is starting to cool down here in hot Florida my partner and I are looking for new campaign. We have had a few others but I think chocolates are great and who doesn't love a chocolate house?! LOL.
Out of interest, how much did each choc. house cost you? Did you wrap them up in the cellophane or did the company do that for you? I know you tied a business card on which is why I ask.
Thanks again for your great idea!!
Karla Davis
The company did everything for me. They put them in the bags, and tied my business cards to them. They wrapped them up with cellophane. They were either $1 or 1.50 for each one. I put 20 in each box - when you compare it to the cost of a tiny ad in the local paper it was much cheaper and it is targeting the people directly. I am still getting business from this promo - as a result of it I gave office presentations to 13 different offices.