Anne Marie Malfi, Real Estate Marketing Consultant/Virtual Asst, Bucks County,PA

As soon as anyone says 9-11 you automatically hear someone recount where they were and what they felt when they heard and watched the devastating news about the attacks in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

I live in Yardley (Lower Makefield), Bucks County PA in which 18 people who worked in the World Trade Center lost their lives.

The Garden of Reflection (just 1.5 miles from my home) is the official Pennsylvania Memorial to the Victims of Sepetember 11, 2011 terrorist attacks created to remember and honor loved ones and all 2,973 killed with a walking journey that symbolizes “After Darkness…Light.” 

It truly is a place of beauty and hope that people throughout Bucks County and those visiting our area love to come and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives and simply remember not just on the anniversary of September 11th but often.  Drive by any day of the week and you will find people sitting, walking and remembering. 

One section of the memorial has all 2,973 names of those that died and another area of the garden is dedicated to the 18 Bucks County residents who lost their lives.

Just some of the names of victims etched into glass.

Here’s the video courtesy of Action News 6 capturing last night’s events. My neighbor, who lost her husband describes her feelings 10 years later.

I invite you to take a virtual tour of the garden and see some of the pictures I took last night at the Candlelight Vigil in which Bucks County residents held lighted candles, said prayers, honored victims and families and simply remembered.

Steel Fragments from the World Trade Center

2,973 hearts surrounded the entire entrance and all around the memorial

Photos Capturing the Candlelight Vigil

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families. We will always remember…and never forget.

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Take a look at this photo. Notice anything?

The motto of this business is "Its all about the bread"

Yet the message on the window says "Sorry out of bread"

Hmmm…Just a fluke for that particular day? Actually no. I see this sign up often and think to myself:

• Poor planning on their part (someone is not very good with ordering the necessary product to deliver to consumers)
• Consumers are left with a poor image of this business
• Consumers going elsewhere to another establishment that can deliver (I bet the other businesses in this shopping center love it!)

This business is looking at Loss of: Revenue, Reputation and Consumer Confidence – key ingredients for a business to exist and grow.

I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around why a business would allow this to happen once never mind a lot. This is especially mind boggling to me at a time when businesses are struggling to survive in this economy and great service is paramount.

Think about your business. Things happen that are out of your control even when we have a plan in place – deals fall apart, clients change their minds, situations change, and so on…Our ability to handle those challenges and be a solution oriented business is part of the overall experience and service we offer our clients, isn’t it?

I think there are a few things this business could be doing to ensure they are meeting their customers needs:

Plan Ahead – look at demand of your product and adjust the bread/product order. If necessary work with another vendor if their schedule doesn’t work for your business.

Have a Plan & A Backup Plan - If something happens where you run out of product – have solutions and resources to tap into.

If necessary and after all avenues have been explored you might just have to:

Adjust your motto so it more accurately reflects what you truly have to offer and you can continue operating your business vs. shutting the doors and giving consumers a bad taste in their mouth about you and your business.

Think of your website, your blog, profiles and social media sites as your storefront.

Are you offering services that you can actually deliver on? Are you able to meet the consumer’s needs in a way that creates confidence in you and your services?

Will you have people talking about your business in a way that helps you grow your business? (referrals and testimonials)

or

will someone be posting a blog or leaving a comment somewhere on the internet about how you can’t deliver what you promise?

Put messages and content out there that truly reflects you, your company, your services and ones that you can be proud of!

Ask yourself – Am I inviting consumers in or turning them away?

What are your thoughts about portraying the right image for your business?

(Note: This blog post is not intended to pick on or make fun of a particular business but as an illustration (to learn from) on how to portray the right image for your business.)

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Remember when you were in school and you received extra credit for showing your work?

Same holds true for business. Almost every day I receive an email from a client in which their client is requesting something or checking on why they’re listing appears in a particular neighborhood when they’re right on the border, and so on.

The point I’m trying to make – they’re checking on all that you promised in that listing appointment.

So, instead of getting those emails or forgetting what marketing has been done for your listings, be ahead of the inquiries and do the one simple task to get you a high grade from your client: share your efforts with them.

Here are some of the things to remember to share and send to your clients (ideally before they ask):

• Just Listed Cards – make sure one goes to their address
• Open House Materials – whether it's a book all about the home, Open House Flyers and promotion of the Open House, Brokers Open, etc.
• Advertising – if you’re still advertising in newspapers and real estate magazines – scan and pdf the ad and send or use the cool advertising tool I recently mentioned
• Marketing Reports – this is essential in my eyes to be accountable for all the things you promised the client initially. This should have all the sites you are currently marketing their listing (hyperlinked) with an explanation of the site and it’s capabilities/reach for their listing. This should be updated monthly with new sites, links to blog posts and any new resources you have added to your marketing toolkit. If you don't have the ability to make these updates on a monthly basis, at the very least provide a 1 pager of all the sites you have their listing (hyperlinked) and update if you add any new marketing tools/sites.
• Emailflyers – Often we send them to the agents in our area hoping they will have qualified buyers but sellers like them too – copy or pdf the flyer and send.
• Showing reports - feedback is important especially if a price change talk needs to happen based on feedback. Sharing this means they're not as surprised when you approach the topic.
  
• Social Media Sites – Facebook and Twitter – this can serve 2 purposes: clients are seeing your mentions of their listings whether it’s a blog link, postlets, realbird, trulia or zillow, etc. You can also share a link to the listings and add the @customername so that it also feeds to their facebook profile. Now you’re advertising on 2 pages and the client again sees you’re working for them to market their home.

Do you have any other places you would mention/copy your client to show them your work?

When it comes down to all the marketing activities you’re doing for your listings the sellers want 1 important thing: Qualified Buyers.

It’s your job to make sure you’re doing all you can to provide those opportunities for their listing. Look again at your presentation and marketing plan – has everything been done? Anything missing? Have you started working with a new marketing tool? Is there more you can be doing?

Even in today’s tough market, by showing sellers your work you’re at least assuring them that you’re a person of your word and someone that deserves their trust and their business. Don’t leave them wondering did I hire the right person? If they see your work, they will at least know you were the right person for the job even if the outcome is not exactly what they hoped for.

How do you involve your clients in the marketing process?

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Don’t we all love finding that magical tool – you know the one tool that makes all the difference to your organization and staying on track? The tool that makes everything work. I almost love this tool as much as I love the Magic Eraser!

If you’re like me, you’re

reading a lot all over the internet

you’re keeping track of projects and “to do” items

organizing thoughts and ideas for future blogs

or just investigating tools and resources to tap into now and in the future

How do you keep track of everything for that rainy Saturday that you designate to tackle some of the projects and tasks you need to get accomplished? Printing articles, searching through your bookmarks, looking through a notebook can be a very tedious task not to mention not a very effective use of your time.

If you’re anything like Suzanne McLaughlin who recently posted a blog about her next big project of clearing out her bookmarks and what she’ll be tackling next – I thought it was a good idea to share my favorite tool that I know will help Suzanne and all of my AR friends.

I have found that Evernote is a tool that can help you do all that and more.

I’ve been using this tool for awhile now and it seems like almost weekly I’m finding a new use for it, so I thought I’d share some of the great uses with a specific highlight on how it can benefit you in the “work” aspect of your life.

Some Key Highlights of the Tool:

One Account – Connect from Anywhere - another computer (Windows &; Mac) or mobile device (iphone, ipod touch, ipad, android, blackberry, palm, and more)

Desktop – download the desktop version – has some great features that are not necessarily available via mobile devices. (anything you do in Evernote does synch up so that if you need to access via your mobile while on the go – it’s in there!)

WebClipper – while you’re scouring the web – save the page to your Evernote and be sure to categorize it and tag so that when you search for the topic it comes up. This could be a cool new tool you found that you need to read more about before you start using it or maybe a new site that you still need to determine if it will fit into your business plan – it’s endless really.

Connect &; Share – Connect your Evernote with social media sites (FB, Twitter, Google) and email. Start sharing a note or notebook with your connections.

Free & Paid Account Options – The free account is what I have been using so far and it’s working out great. For only $5/mo or $45/yr for a premium account, if you need more functionality and space – this is so affordable. Check out the details/comparisons for free vs. premimum

What can you organize in Evernote?

• Ideas (marketing, newsletter topics)
• Notes (from a seminar or webinar you attended, conversation you had with a client)
• Business and Marketing Plans
  
• Photos (organize blog photos, or take a photo with your mobile device and send it to Evernote – it’s there when you need it)
• Blogs (Organize blog topics/ideas, gather up research on a particular topic)
• Tools (ever come across a tool whether on the web, a social media site or blog and think – I need to know more before I decide if that will work for me – now you can save the page to Evernote as a “marketing tool” topic and come back and research it more.
• Research
• SEO Tips
• Scan Business Cards to keep them organized in 1 file
• Keep track of expenses or receipts

There are tons more but I think I captured the major ones as it applies to “work” life. There is really no end to the usefulness and ease of this tool. One of my particularly favorite things to do is create “to do” lists. You can easily create them (with check boxes) and categorize them by client, day, week, month or task type. No matter what you name your list you will easily be able to use the search feature in Evernote to find the task/list.

Gather your thoughts, ideas, things you need to remember whether for work or fun and free up the time you would spend trying to organize these items or searching for them when you need them.

I’ve only provided you with a brief highlight of functions and uses for business. Just imagine having all the other aspects of your life organized in this handy tool that you can access at any time from anywhere.

More things to capture:

• Shopping Lists
• Gift Giving Ideas
• Recipes
• Trip Planning
• Talk about Work/Life Balance!
• Do you see this as a tool you would incorporate into your life?
• Capture inspirational quotes (don’t we all share them on social sites?)
• Searching for a Job – keep track of where you sent resumes
• Organize deals and offers – promo codes, etc that you come across on twitter, facebook, in magazines, when you’re out and about.

All I know is that after just using this tool for a short time I’ve said:

Goodbye: HELLO:

What’s your opinion of this tool? Is this a “must have” tool for you and something you would incorporate into your arsenal of tools to keep your work/personal life in order?

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Hi, it’s me again…I know I’ve regrettably been missing from this great network and if you like I can provide a list of my clients that you can talk to! Truthfully I've been busier than I ever imagined I could be (a great problem to have!) and so grateful for all the opportunities since so much of my business success has come from the Reach of Activerain. (Take note: blogging on AR works!) All kidding aside, I wanted to bring your attention to a new tool I’ve been using that has so many great uses and it’s easy to use.

Allow me to share some of the cool things that can be done with this online tool GoGoPin:

• Create countless ads for printing or web posting (here’s a sample page I did for real estate or you can view below)
  • Note: With the Basic (free account) Ads stay active for 3 days unless you decide to upgrade for $8/mo then it will remain active for 30 days. The basic account seems ideal for Open Houses or advertising upcoming events that you post a day or two before the event.
    

• So easy to use just drag and drop.
• Upload images from your computer, Flickr, or Picasa.
• Save as HTML, PNG, and PDF (great to embed into your blog)
  

Here’s a sample of how it looks in your blog

Note: when you create your ad and get ready to save it, you can add a link to your ad - ideally this would be your website to drive traffic to a particular lisiting or area. Where I said "Your Logo Here" you can have a picture of the property and add "click here for more details and photos" which is a call to action to get more information on the listing or you can simply add the link to the ad and the entire page becomes a clickable link to your website, et.

• Post to Craigslist, eBay, Twitter, and Facebook (extending your reach)
• After your ad has been created you are ready to export and here's the screen that comes up to give you publishing options:

• From your online ad via Go you can also Share it with countless social networks (341+) (I love this feature)
  

• Get a dedicated landing page for each of your ads.
• Use QR Codes to make your ad mobile-friendly (especially helpful for the ads you print.)

I see these ads being a way to bring true focus to your business. Just think you can have ads and dedicated pages for:

• New Construction
• Luxury Homes
• Developments, Areas or Neighborhoods
• Price Points
• Rentals
• Open Houses
• Need I go on?

You can also use GoGoPin to create your very own facebook page.

Facebook Business Page Options include:

• Pictures & Text
• Video & Slideshows
• Gallery
• Audio
• Maps
• Social Plugins
• Property Showcase

I know for a fact that clients are checking on their agents to ensure they are marketing their listings as promised. This is just another way to show them your efforts and it certainly could be appealing to your prospects looking for an agent who employs creative and innovative marketing strategies.

I challenge you today to approach your marketing efforts with creativity. Find new ways to either create or spice up your marketing efforts that leave your prospects and clients with a very satisfied feeling and the feeling of wanting more not to mention the great benefits of extending your reach both online and offline.

Is this a tool that you would find useful in your business?

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