It's almost the end of the year and hopefully you've already begun to plan for 2020 and begun your marketing plan. If not, here are 10 key components you need for your marketing plan with some questions to get you going.
1 - Market Analysis - What's happening in your MSA or sub-market? Are sales up or down year over year? Are people moving to your area? Has a new competitor moved into your market?
2 - Customer Profile & Needs - Who is your ideal buyer? What's most important to them in a home or community? You will need basic demographic information but you need to dig deeper and make sure you know why buyers choose to buyer from you vs. a competitor. Hint: the answer shouldn't be the location.
3 - Competitive Analysis - What product is your competitor offering? What types of included features or amenities? How are you priced vs your competition (and don't forget to graph against resale!)
4 - Product Review - Any tweaks you need to make in your product? Do you need a new product for a target buyer?
5 - SWOT Analysis - What are your strengths and weakness vs. the rest of the market? What opportunities and threats do you need to consider as you develop you business and marketing plan for the next year?
6 - Marketing Strategies - Where will you focus your efforts? Will you rely heavily on consumer focused media and/or events, Broker or a mixture.
7 - Branding & Positioning - What benefits do you offer your customers that your competitors don't? Can you prove it? Are you consistent with your brand and do you deliver on your promise?
8 - Marketing/Media Tactics - Where will you spend most of your dollars? Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook? Keep in mind your goal, your customer and your budget. If you have a limited budget, Facebook isn't the best place to spend your money, but Zillow is.
9 - Timeline & Budget - Look at each month, your product delivery window, major events etc. Plan out your creative, media and event strategies for each month/quarter.
10 - Monitoring & Evaluation - How will you know if your marketing plan was successful? Of course you'll measure sales but each media and marketing tactic should be measured as well. If you're spending time and money on it, it should be driving sales.
Answer these questions and build your plan to ensure that you hit your goals for 2020. If we can be of help, please reach out to us here!
