Why your marketing isn't working...

In real estate, you know that everything hinges on marketing.

It's what attracts potential buyers, showcases properties, and helps you stand out in a competitive market.

Without a solid marketing strategy, you risk wasting resources, time, and effort.

A system can help you streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and focus on high-leverage activities.

Plenty of people in the real estate industry (me included) teach what I would call marketing tactics—little gold nuggets or silver bullets of tips and tricks that work.

Examples include things like:

• How to engage people on Instagram

• How to write a 9-word email

• How to send a greeting card

• How to write a video script

• How to use AI to answer calls

And the list goes on.

But I’m here to tell you that as great as a bunch of tactics are, without a strategy, it’s kind of like throwing, you-know-what (💩) at a wall and hoping something sticks.

The problem with relying on individual tactics is that they can be inconsistent and unpredictable.

What works one month may not work the next; you might decide to try one thing, not give it enough of a go and then switch (and then you’ll never know whether that other tactic would have worked or not!)  

That's why I believe it's essential to have a marketing system - or strategy that provides a consistent flow of leads and conversions, regardless of the market conditions.

So today, in this rather long post, I will talk about why you should consider a more systematised approach to your marketing and how generative (AI) can make each step easier and more creative.

By the end, you'll understand the advantages of a marketing system, and I’m going to scatter throughout this post a few AI-powered links so that you can explore tactics from each stage of the strategy on your own. (Or you could take the fast lane and join me in a workshop!)

So, without further ado, let's dive in 🤿

Why Is a Marketing System Important?

A marketing system is a roadmap to consistent success.

It ensures that you are not just trying tactic after tactic but following a proven path to attract, nurture, engage, and convert clients, irrespective of market conditions or even intense competition.

With a system, you'd have a clear plan for each stage of the process – from introducing yourself to the neighbourhood to following up with interested homeowners to converting them to listings or management.

A good marketing system also saves you time and money.

Instead of reinventing the wheel for each campaign, you have a blueprint to follow - and this consistency helps you build a solid case to track what's working and what's not.

And you have a constant flow of leads into your database.

But, Sam, I’m too busy for an extensive marketing plan…

100 per cent—we all get busy, and parts of the system can slip from time to time, depending on how many listings you might have on the go or what else might be going on in your life.

Even me - I’ve let bits of my marketing system slip when I haven’t had time to “do it all.”

But in the current version of the AI-powered Agents Course, what I am really excited about, is that for the first time we are teaching how the “cool AI tactics” come together in a cohesive system.

So, while it's understandable to feel overwhelmed by the idea of creating a marketing system, the good news is that AI-powered tools can help make the process much more manageable.

How To Build a Marketing System with AI

The system I’ve grown up with and find easy to work with is the Digital Marketer (Ryan Deiss) Customer Value Journey (CVJ) system.

The CVJ has eight stages of customer engagement:

1. Awareness: The customer becomes aware of your brand or services.

2. Engagement: The customer engages with your brand through content or other interactions.

3. Subscribe: The customer subscribes or opts in to receive more information, often by providing an email address.

4. Convert: The customer makes a small purchase or commitment or takes a step towards becoming a paying customer.

5. Excite: The customer experiences the value of the small commitment and becomes excited about it.

6. Ascend: The customer makes additional, more valuable purchases (eg listing with you)

7. Advocate: The customer becomes an advocate for the brand, sharing positive experiences with friends and family.

8. Promote: The customer actively promotes the brand, referring new customers.

Applying the Customer Value Journey (CVJ) to real estate involves tailoring each stage to the specific needs and behaviours of property buyers, sellers, or investors.

You can get ChatGPT’s help for that, too.

Prompt:

Are you familiar with Ryan Deiss CVJ? ChatGPT (or another LLM) will hopefully reply that they are and give you some kind of response as per the above.

Then ask: 

If I’m a [real estate agent], can you create an example CVJ that will help me attract home buyers and sellers in [my local area]?

And you’ll get an answer like the one below.

Note - You could get more specific by replacing the square brackets with more detailed information about you.

1. Awareness

• Objective: Potential clients become aware of your real estate services or specific properties.

• Tactics: To reach a wide audience, use targeted advertising (online ads, social media campaigns), SEO, blog posts, current listings, and community events. High-quality photography and virtual tours can also attract attention. Understand deeply who your ideal customers are and what they want from you.

2. Engagement

• Objective: Engage potential clients by providing valuable content and information.

• Tactics: Offer content about market trends, tips on buying or selling property, or updates on local real estate developments. Interactive tools like mortgage calculators or quizzes about home preferences can also engage users.

3. Subscribe

• Objective: Encourage potential clients to subscribe to your communications for more personalised information.

• Tactics: Provide incentives for signing up, such as a lead magnet, regular market updates, or early access to new listings. Capture contact details through landing pages on your website.

4. Convert

• Objective: Turn subscribers into leads by getting them to take the next step.

• Tactics: Offer an appraisal, a consultation, or an invitation to a private viewing or open house. This step could also involve scheduling a meeting to discuss their property needs, or drafting a marketing plan (use this to help you win the listing!)

5. Excite

• Objective: Deliver value to leads, making them excited about working with you.

• Tactics: Provide personalised property recommendations, a detailed marketing plan, or a well-curated list of homes that meet their criteria. For sellers, offer staging tips or a professional photo shoot to enhance their listing.

6. Ascend

• Objective: Encourage clients to commit to a more significant engagement or investment.

• Tactics: For buyers, this could be helping them secure financing, guiding them through the negotiation process, or assisting with closing the deal. For sellers, it might involve upgrading their listing to a premium service with additional marketing efforts. It might just include solving their struggles.

7. Advocate

• Objective: Turn satisfied clients into advocates who share their positive experiences.

• Tactics: Request testimonials, reviews, or video interviews after successful transactions. Provide an easy way for clients to refer friends or family members.

8. Promote

• Objective: Encourage advocates to actively promote your services to others.

• Tactics: Offer a referral program where clients receive a reward for each referral that leads to a transaction. Engage with past clients on social media, encouraging them to share your posts or their own positive experiences.

Wrapping Up

A marketing system isn't just nice to have – it's essential for real estate success in today's competitive market.

By implementing a system like the CVJ and enhancing it with AI, you can attract more leads, convert them more efficiently, and provide better service to your clients (and get off the lead generation rollercoaster).

What I would do now?

Write those eight steps on a piece of paper.

Then, write next to them what you do at each step.

Where is your weakest link?

That’s where you should start… (Or, like I said before - you could take the fast lane and join me in a workshop!)

Happy Hunting 🚀

PS… If you’re enjoying AI Powered Agents, will you take 6 seconds and refer this edition to a friend? It goes a long way in helping us grow the newsletter (and bring more and more real estate resources into the world). Every time you get a friend to sign up with the link below, you are 1-step closer to earning sweet rewards.