Doug Stucky

We have all been somewhere that the customer service was bad and what did we do? We told 10 people how bad the experience was.

Great customer service leads to a great experience. Poor customer service leads to... well you know.

Set yourself apart with great customer service and attention to detail and your customers will tell 10 people what a great experience it was working with you.

That's the best advertising you can get.

There are three key elements to getting the most out of your advertising dollars: The right audience, the right message and the right environment.

If you have the right message paired with perfect audience, but you deliver it in a place or at a time when they are not open to it, your message will be lost or ignored. You probably have received a phone call just as you sit down to a nice dinner with the family only to realize it is someone trying to sell you a new credit card, upgrade your cable or some other product. You may already have relationship with that company, maybe you have some interest in the product, but not at dinner time. (right message, right audience, wrong environment)

Now say you buy time on a local radio station to market a new homes development you represent. The station shows you their reach demographics and hits your market of age 35 to 55 perfectly. They are the number one station in that age group and the household income means this audience can afford the homes you are selling. Best of all the radio station offers you a "sweet" package deal. You will get 40 spots per week for the same price as 30, but as you look closer, half the spots are between 8 pm and 6 am. Radio listeners drop off significantly during that time. So, what you are really getting is 20 spots for the price of 30. You would be better off just buying the 20 spots outright for a lower total cost. The other option is the radio station will also put your ad on their sister station who has good numbers in the 25 to 40 range, which is actually heavily skewed to the 25 age side, in prime driving time, but the station is heavy metal. They tell it is like getting these ads for free and you figure it can't hurt. But, actually it can, because reaching the wrong audience not only wastes your money it confuses your consumer if the happen to be flipping through the channels and hear your ad aimed at 35 to 55 year olds on a heavy metal station. Now they are sure if the development is for them or not, it may be too loud. (right message, wrong audience, right environment)

Another issue is that we all get hit up for sponsorship advertising. Let me rephrase that, we are guilted into sponsorship advertising for one cause or another. You want to be a good community steward, but your market is starter homes for young couples, sponsoring a high school theater production probably does you little to no good. But sponsoring a child seat safety check, probably hits right in your market with the message you care about families at a time and place where families are interested in advice from businesses who care.

Advertising homes in a real estate guide makes perfect sense. The consumer who picks that up and reads it has some interest in homes and is receptive to the message. Before you spend your advertising budget ask is this going to my market, do you have the right message, and will this be received in the environment. If you can answer yes to all three, it is a good spend. Two out of three might as well be zero out of three as it will not connect and therefore it is a waste of money.

For a more in-depth analysis of this concept visit http://www.stuckydesign.com/StuckyDesignapproach.html

In football it is the offense’s job is to move the ball forward. Scoring is the result of successfully moving it forward and winning means you are consistently moving it forward. Successfully marketing yourself or your company is all about moving the ball forward. Sometimes you will make big gains and other times you will have set backs (we are in one of those economically now), the key is to have a plan of attack. Are you going rush out there with a big burst of energy and meet as many people as you can, spend lots of money on advertising and go for the quick score or are you going to be more steady in your approach. Make contacts, follow up, join organizations, network, send out letters, postcards, phone calls and keep a steady drive going.

In football not every play works every time so you change directions, pass instead of run, try a reverse, run a screen play, the same is true in marketing. The point is you have a plan and you keep trying things within the plan, if nothing works you go into the locker room and adjust your plan or change it completely.

The other option is sitting on the sideline waiting for something to happen and we all know that never produces the results you want. You have to take the ball and push it and keep pushing it.

Here are three things to try.

1. Contact your past clients who you did business with 4 years ago or more. The average family moves every 7 years so start by seeing if they thinking of it now or with the next year or two. Always keep an ample list of short term and long term contacts going.
2. Take a good hard look at your sign. Put it in the ground and look at from 25, 50,100, 200 feet away. Then drive by it at 10 mph, 20 and even 30 mph. If it doesn’t catch your eye or is not easy to read, you need to work on it. The sign is your best advertising.
3. Look at the community organizations you are involved in. Are new people coming into the organization all the time so you are constantly introducing yourself to new people or are you still talking with same people you were 3 years ago? Maybe it is time to add or find a new organization to share your talents with and meet some more people.

Lets say a restaurant has 80 customers at a time during lunch. If you go in there by yourself what are the odds you will know someone? Now I realize that a lot depends on where you are, is it two doors down from your office and you eat there everyday or is it across town never been there before sort of thing. Maybe you know one to two on average. Now ask that same question when you take some else along with you, will your table be more likely to know someone else in the restaurant. Sure you will, if you take someone to lunch it is twice as likely that someone at your table will know someone else in the restaurant. Take two people and it is three times as likely.

Use the people you are dining with to meet new people, to get introductions, to network.

If you see someone you know at another table go say hello, chances are they are with someone you don’t know and they will be obliged to introduce you. Most of the time when people introduce someone they tell how they know them. Meet Suzy she’s my realtor, this is Bob we used to work together, and so on.

Also, most restaurants turn their tables two or three times during lunch. If you go sort of in the middle you will see twice as many people go through the restaurant as the tables turn increasing your chances of seeing someone you know and meeting someone new. The same principals apply for breakfast or dinner as well.

Who are you taking to lunch with today?

To be recognized, to establish a visual connection, to become familiar, so client will know who they are talking to when the call, and a bunch of other good answers.

Yet many realtors who work a handful of neighborhoods or areas don’t shop and dine in those market areas. Instead they go home to their neck of the woods to buy groceries, shop for new shoes or meet friends for dinner. Just ask yourself, will being seen close to your home support your marketing or will being seen in the area you specialize in, have spent all your marketing dollars in, have put your picture all over be more beneficial.

If you want to become familiar shop, dine and support the businesses where you farm.