Why You Need A Marketing Plan to Fuel Your Real Estate Business
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Have you ever created a marketing plan for your business? If not, you're not alone! While many agents have completed "business planning," few agents and even brokerages have a true marketing plan in place.
And that's a missed opportunity because your marketing plan directly supports your business goals. Whether you want to hit a certain production goal next year or break into a new market, your marketing plan is there to support you. So, let's dive into exactly why you need a marketing plan to fuel your real estate business.
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If you've ever struggled with consistency and results from marketing, the root of your problem often lies with the plan to begin with. If you don't have a plan, you don't know exactly what to do to reach your goals. So, it makes perfect sense that many agents and brokerages spend time in the fall doing business planning. I've been part of these sessions for many years and find them incredibly valuable for clarity and direction.
However, what they are lacking is that business planning is not the same as marketing planning. In your business planning, you might evaluate your competition, look for opportunities, set goals, and figure out a direction moving forward. Rarely does business planning give you an exact roadmap of everything you need to do with your marketing. So, while you might have decided you want to better engage your sphere or be more proactive on social media, you're often missing the finer details of how you will accomplish just that.
Marketing planning for real estate gives you a framework of what you will be doing with your marketing to support your overall business goals. It's an incredibly essential piece of planning for success because it will give you the action items of what you need to be doing.
In your marketing planning, you should be looking at a variety of factors (internal and external) to make decisions on what you will be doing with your marketing. I don't want you to say, I want to up my online presence to get more business. Instead what I want you to be thinking is, "I want to launch my website by X date to attract more buyer leads in XYZ area. I'll promote it weekly by doing these 3 marketing tasks on social, email, and through $X in paid ads." Thinking more granularly is just one part of a marketing plan.
Creating your marketing plan is a strategic piece of your business.
When you take the time to objectively analyze your business and future opportunities along with realistically creating a marketing plan you can follow, you'll see results. I talk to agents all the time who say, "I know that I would get more business if I could figure out my marketing." If that's something you've ever thought, then you need to look at seriously working on your marketing plan. It's essential to know not only what and when you're marketing but also why.
I never do any marketing for the sake of "doing marketing." Whether you're simply posting on social or creating an entire campaign, that marketing effort should have a clear purpose. Your marketing should be a piece of the overall puzzle that is your business game plan. This is how you will be consistent and get the results you're looking for when it comes to your business.
When you have a marketing plan, you know exactly what you need to be doing. You also have a framework that you can adjust along the way. So, when the market shifts, some of your marketing might change, but your marketing continues. You have the power to look at your business and goals and leverage marketing in a way that will work for you no matter what. If you just have a general plan, it's not as easy to pivot. When you have a marketing plan, you have more control over your business.
Whether it's a new year or six months into your business, it's challenging to be successful with your marketing if you don't have a plan to follow. Life and business are going to get in the way, and you won't know what you should be doing. That's why I recommend setting an achievable marketing plan in addition to a strategic one. Unlike business planning where you might set hard-to-reach goals to push yourself, your marketing plan should be something you can realistically complete and take action on. Then, once you get systems in place and in the groove, you can always add to it and expand your marketing.
Imagine if you consistently were marketing to the right people at the right time to reach your goals? Imagine if your marketing wasn't something that was a stressful part of your business. Imagine how different your business could look if you knew exactly where to focus your time, energy, and money when it came to your business. There'd be a whole lot less second-guessing and marketing that just doesn't work.
Your marketing plan will truly fuel your real estate business because it was designed to. So, I encourage you, to get into marketing planning! Now, I know you might be thinking, I'd love to but I have no idea where to start!
Well, you're in luck because I have created and executed real estate marketing plans for years in my career. I've figured out what to look at and how to get it into a system that will work for you. That's why I'd like to officially invite you to my 2023 Real Estate Marketing Planning!
This will be a live workshop where we're getting into it all. I'll be covering:
What you should be focusing on in 2023
Marketing and market trends you need to plan for
Where you should be spending your time and money
Where there are opportunities in your marketing
How to be more consistent with a plan that works for you
How to evaluate your marketing & biz for greater success
How to put together your unique plan
& more actionable tips!
To join me, you can tune in live on November 15th or catch the replay. I'll be covering all of this information step-by-step and I'll be providing a complete workbook that you can fill out for your own business. That way, you can walk away from the training feeling confident for the new year with a system in place you can follow. Now, this training is exclusive to the Marketing Suite and free for members to attend. However, I really want to see you there as well and give you the opportunity to benefit from this exercise. So click here to join and be sure to use the discount code TRAINING50 for half off your first month.
I have quite the training schedule lined up to close out this year and launch the new year filled with momentum. So, your plan won't just stop with this training. You'll also have daily social media content, monthly email marketing, and more innovative strategies to take action on.
I hope to see you there and if you have any questions, send me a DM on Instagram - I'd love to hear from you.
And whether you attend my training or not, I hope that today's episode inspired you to take time to complete a formal marketing plan. There's opportunity out there for you and as the market changes, your marketing might be even more important that ever. Use it as a way to grow your business, stand out as an agent, and have some fun with it along the way. Hope to see you on November 15ht, remember to head to Ideasforrealestate.com/suite to join, and be sure to use the discount code TRAINING50 for half off your first month.
Want to level up your Real Estate Marketing?
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Each month, get a complete social media marketing strategy including everything from content (including videos!), templates & captions.
Plus, get live training and coaching sessions, email marketing templates, tutorials, professional support & more -
So join me in this month’s Marketing Planning Workshop -
& use code TRAINING50 for 50% off your first month of the membership
Looking for more? Don't miss these top related episodes:
How to Thrive in a Shifting Market with a Three-Part Marketing Plan
The Best Investments I've Made In My Real Estate Marketing Business
7 Ways to Keep the Momentum Going for Your Realtor Marketing Plan
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I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”
If you like what you read here today, I’d encourage you to take a listen to the episodes. :
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