After more than ten years of ignoring the growing marketing potential of the Internet companies representing an impressive range of industries are finally moving resources, innovation and creativity into Internet marketing initiatives. By way of example, consider the fact that General Motors, the country’s third largest advertising, will be shifting half of its three billion dollar ad budget into “on line” or “one to one” programs within the next 30 months. Companies like Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola are right behind GM.
Much of this activity is being driven by the fact that the business community is finally beginning to understand what the average 14 year old has know for the past five years. The Web is not about selling, it is about buying. Jakob Nielsen a top web marketing consultant pointed out a number of years ago that “the Web is not a selling medium, it is a buying medium. It is user controlled, so the user controls, the user experiences.”
In plain English today’s consumer goes to the Internet to accomplish a specific task (e.g. searching for a home) and they don’t want to be interrupted along the way even that interruption has some distant relationship to the task at hand (an advertiser offering products or services relating to the transaction). This simple concept is one of the basic rules of “consumer centricity” a concept that is now working its way across all aspects the North American business model.
The real estate industry is also beginning to align with this very important distinction. A number of new real estate related Web sites have been brought on line lately that more than adequately demonstrate the concept that if your marketing is not moving the consumer directly and efficiently towards the completion of their task then get out of the way.
Worth noting are the newly engineered Houston Association of REALTORS® consumer facing Web site (www.har.com) and the recently introduced V-4 platform Web sites for Century 21 Canada (www.century21.ca) and Coldwell Banker Schmidt Real Estate (www.cbgreatlakes.com). These sites, imaginative products of the minds of industry visionaries Bob Hale, Don Lawby and Ken Schmidt, precisely demonstrate the points of consumer centricity. All three sites offer advanced functionality that allows the consumer to move through entire searches without leaving the initial screen and with an absolute minimum of clicks.
All are designed to deliver a very simple marketing message, “if we can make the search process this effortless, imagine what we can do with the rest of the transaction.”
As more and more real estate firms increase their level of web engagement management is encountering a number of basic questions. One such question is how to allocate web-marketing budgets. Mark Renshaw an executive with the Leo Burnet/ARC Worldwide marketing firm and a recognized expert in Web marketing suggests using the 70/20/10 rule. He advocates dividing the firm’s Internet marketing budget into three accounts.
• 70% of your budget should be expended in the basics including Web site development and search engine optimization techniques such as Google Ad Words.
• 20% of your Internet budget should be expended in areas and techniques that represent the “leading edge” (not bleeding edge) of your Web marketing experience. This approach is critical because in a medium that is growing and expanding as fast as the Web a company must be sure that its efforts do not become old hat or stale.
• The final 10% of the budget should be invested into what Renshaw calls “real time marketing opportunities.” These are emerging digital areas that even consumers aren’t aware of yet. Use this fund to “take a flyer.” The past few years have established that (1) Web marketing is not for the faint at heart and (2) that with a little research coupled with creative and innovative thinking it is very possible to hit a Web “home run.”
Another complication that is common among real estate companies that are making their way into Web marketing is the relative lack of Internet marketing experience on their in-house marketing staffs and often even with their limited “agency” relationships. Actually this was a problem in the print and electronic media age as well. Many firms in our industry have entrusted their marketing investments to a former receptionist or agent who might have taken a few marketing classes or who have even earned a marketing degree at the local junior college. This decision was manageable in an era in which most firms simply mirrored the competition. This approach is much more difficult in the more sophisticated Web environment.
In order to meet this challenge Rex Briggs from the consulting firm Marketing Evolution has developed what he calls the “Five Platinum Rules For Effective Digital Ads.”
1. Know the purpose of or campaign and the psychological concept or mechanism you are seeking to engage with your ad.
2. Maintain brand discipline throughout the campaign.
3. Use a simple, easy to picture message and make sure the image and copy work together.
4. Focus on the format. Keyword buys can work for consumers actively seeking information such as a home search. Page skins are an effective way to raise brand awareness. Over the page formats are effective for presenting more complex, animated stories.
5. The best result will come from the creative content of your ad. The more creative, the more effect. Remember that you are not interrupting the consumer anymore; you are adding to the pleasure of their task or journey.
Finally, continue to educate your management team about the demographics and benefits of Web marketing. Web marketing is a fast moving subject. Spend the time necessary to learn the new concepts and track the pioneers. Believe it or not there are still good people out there who believe that the evening newspaper and television are the best mediums out there. Stay calm, stay focused and make your point every day in every way.
