Back to the Future

To escape the overcrowded digital space, some agents use traditional marketing techniques for stronger brand recognition and client relationships

By Regina Ludes

Erin Daum, a CRS with RE/MAX Palm in Port Charlotte, Florida, is always willing to try new marketing techniques for her real estate business. Just don’t ask her to give up her handwritten notes to clients. “I call them my ‘labor of love.’ They are time-consuming to write, but they leave a lasting impression,” Daum says.

She prefers mailing calendars, postcards and handwritten notes because they are more personable than digital tools. “Digital marketing may not be warm and fuzzy for some people. Traditional marketing allows me to develop trusting relationships with clients,” Daum says.

Digital marketing may dominate the real estate marketplace, but agents like Daum still believe the personal approach of traditional marketing does a better job of building client trust. As the online space becomes more crowded with Facebook ads, podcasts and video content, many agents have returned to their traditional roots. They’re quickly rediscovering that traditional tools like direct mail, newsletters and personal visits can be a smart investment of time and money to build trusting client relationships for the long term.

The Comeback Kid

“Traditional marketing is coming back,” says Kelly Bosetti, founder and owner of CEA Marketing in Clearwater, Florida. “As more companies spend money on digital marketing, traditional ads are getting noticed more because there’s less competition,” she says.

Traditional marketing is especially effective for creating brand awareness, Bosetti adds. Postcard mailings and billboards can do a better job of promoting a novice agent’s business or a new real estate development. Agents don’t share advertising space in traditional media with as many other agents. It’s easier to get noticed by buyers when you have an entire billboard to yourself. Plus many traditional channels are less expensive than they used to be so they are more accessible for businesses with limited budgets.

Critics argue that traditional marketing is more costly, time-consuming and difficult to measure ROI while digital offers an immediate delivery of a message and is capable of more accurately measuring results. But agents like Daum say successful real estate businesses that are built on referrals and strong relationships take time. Money isn’t a big issue either. Though print can be pricey, Daum keeps costs down by purchasing printing in bulk and when it’s on sale. She says her annual print and digital costs are roughly the same.

Simple and Authentic

“Old-school marketing is from a time when people kept things simple, personal and authentic,” says Sarah Lauren Kattos, CRS, an associate broker with Van Valkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc., in Huntsville, Alabama. Developing strong client relationships is the hallmark of old-school marketing, adds Kattos, who still relies on direct mail to send clients sales and listing data with homeownership anniversary notices. “They remain relevant in maintaining relationships we’ve already built up personally.”

She supplements traditional direct mail with email marketing and social media, which are customized with the assistance of a CRM provider so her clients get her message and not one the provider generates for her. “Authenticity is the key, no matter what technology you use,” Kattos says.

“It always surprises me when people tell me they read my newsletter,” says Kay Hunt, CRS, managing broker with Imagine Home Realty in Vancouver, Washington, who sends the monthly newsletter by mail. “Sometimes I think that my clients feel the newsletter is outdated. But when I considered sending a digital version by email, they told me not to. They were more likely to read it if it was sent by mail.”

Hunt visits clients twice a year, with each visit lasting a few minutes to an hour. The social calls give her a chance to find out what’s happening in her clients’ lives. “Since my business is built on relationships, I try to nurture them as best I can,” she says.

Not every tactic in isolation has worked successfully for Hunt. After experiencing fewer responses than anticipated with direct mail, she followed up with a drop-by visit six months later. Now she gets better results. “When I walk door to door, people ask questions about the market or about selling their home. It gets a conversation started. But you can’t do one thing by itself,” Hunt says.

Mixed Media

Combining traditional and digital techniques creates a more impactful marketing message, Bosetti says. Billboard ads located in high traffic areas are viewed by hundreds of people every day. When combined with a geotargeted ad on a buyer’s smartphone, the billboards can boost brand recognition exponentially. She recommends agents split their marketing budget equally between digital and traditional, then choose different techniques that work best for their targeted buyer.

Both Hunt and Daum have added digital twists to their traditional marketing. Hunt combines email, video and Facebook for a monthly trivia contest. Every person who answers the emailed trivia question is entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card, which is recorded on video and posted on the company’s Facebook page. Daum hosts a traditional year-end client appreciation event where clients receive their Christmas cards and a fresh-baked pie. She uses the digital platform Evite to invite clients to the event and sets up an event page on Facebook.

Real estate will always be a relationship-based business. Traditional marketing can position CRS-designated agents to stand out from the digital crowd and establish long-term connections with clients.

Regina Ludes is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

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