The most effective marketing depends on the right messaging at the right time. So how do you ensure that your marketing is resonating with and reaching your prospective clients? Without an intentional marketing strategy, it can sometimes feel like you’re throwing the proverbial spaghetti against the wall, hoping for something to stick. Thankfully, there’s an easier, more efficient way to formulate strategic marketing messages: Start by considering the prospect’s current life stage and the characteristics of their generation.
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach; clients’ preferences, expectations and needs are as varied as the houses available for sale. However, by understanding the attributes that generally define a generation, you can develop a marketing strategy that appeals directly to them at their current stage of life. Here are two resources that can help you gain insight into these generational characteristics:
- Buyers By Generation: Success in Every Segment – A recently updated REBAC elective course that provides an overview of the four largest home-buying groups and generalized insights into their motivations, behaviors and preferences. More info on the course can be found at learning.realtor.
- 2021 Generational Trends Report – A yearly National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) report using data from the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers to track differences and similarities across generations of buyers and sellers. Learn more at nar.realtor.
The knowledge gained from these resources can serve as a lens to evaluate your marketing activities. To start, consider the following areas of your business:
- Marketing messaging. Consumers at different life stages have different motivations for buying or selling a home. What might be motivating them to make a move? Some are taking the first step from renting to owning; others need more space for a growing family or are moving because of a job change. Still others are moving for health reasons or to be closer to family. Use these primary motivations to inform your messaging.
- Advertising. Where do you advertise your business and your listings? Will Facebook ads or billboards be more effective in reaching first-time homebuyers in your area? How about retirees?
- PR and events. Brainstorm types of PR activities that will put you in front of consumers who are likely to move soon. What types of events will appeal to millennials vs. boomers?
- Relationship building. Which generations are represented in your sphere of influence, and how are you staying in touch with them? Consider adding or augmenting a type of outreach if it helps you connect more easily with a group of your clients (i.e., increasing your time spent connecting on social media or doing more pop-bys).
Analyzing your business in this way allows you to craft targeted marketing messages that are more likely to reach your prospective clients and win you new business.
Jennifer Rzeszewski is the vice president of Member Development and the executive director of the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD), NAR’s home for exceptional education. Learn more about CRD at crd.realtor.
