When Marketing Fails!

When Marketing Fails is because two incidents in recent days made me think about how marketing can actually have a very negative effect and the "marketer" may never know or realize why.

In my market area we have a service available called Listingbook, it is a service that allows Rel Estate Agents to give customers/clients the ability to "Search like a Realtor", through a search portal to individuals who wish to provide their contact information. I am not sure if Listingbook is available nationwide or in specific markets only. Listingbook has a free service for Realtors and they also, like many other Real Estate oriented companies have a paid upgraded version. I personally do not use the paid version, as I can provide the same ability through an MLS search portal to individuals who contact me. Listingbook does have its good points and I am not writing to criticize, just to point out a big booboo with their marketing.

Yesterday I received an email from them, one of several I receive each week and which are automatically sent to a specific folder in my email files. I can read them at my leisure and they do not fill up my in box. This particular email was soliciting me to upgrade my account to their "paid" version to allow me the opportunity to market my recent listing, It stated and I quote:

"Congratulation on your new listing! I want to personally notify you of a special offer Listingbook has for Agents with newly listed properties. For a one-time fee of....XXXXX....this property, "address deleted" ...can become a Featured Listing until it sells! You know that the more exposure your listing has, the more buyers will view it, and the more likely it will sell."

Great line, except....the address of the property was for a home I was the Buyer Agent for just over three years ago and is not a "new" listing, it is not listed and will not be listed unless I am the listing agent. I am still in contact with the owners and although they are slightly upside down on the property at the moment, they have no desire to list their home for sell at the present time.

So why the email and how did Listingbook select this particular property to solicit me...Dunno, just a case of "When Marketing Fails.

The second case of "When Marketing Fails" arrived in my mailbox today. A post card from "not to be named" mortgage company, offering to assist in refinancing my home with today's lower interest rates. Good timing, bad case of "When Marketing Fails".

The post card was addressed to " Heinrich and Kathleen Meyer", who have been divorced since 1993 when Kathleen Meyer retained the house in the divorce and Heinrich moved on to unknown locals. This mortgage company actually bought a mailing list that contains names of individuals that are at least 18 years old. Surprisingly, Kathleen still lives at our address (and is my better half, Thank you Heinrich)and retained her same name because of her professional presence as a licensed Veterinarian in three states and is incorporated within several entities. But, my name isn't Heinrich and this is a case of "When Marketing Fails.

Both Listingbook and the "not to be named" mortgage company will never know of these "faux pas" because I will never contact them to point out their errors. How many contacts are you making daily in your marketing that are going to dead end situations of "When Marketing Fails"?