RISMEDIA, Oct. 28, 2008-QuantumDigital (www.quantumdigital.com), an online service provider for direct mail, on-demand digital printing and eMarketing solutions, has announced the results of a commissioned survey of 10,000 real estate professionals comprised of a variety of real estate professionals and brokers. The purpose of the survey, titled “Real Estate Marketing Survey,” was to understand how real estate professionals are currently spending their marketing dollars; how much they are spending; how their marketing mix is structured; and what online and offline channels they are using to communicate with prospective clients, existing clients and other professionals in the business.
“Given the current real estate market conditions, it’s vital for agents to truly understand how direct marketing can help generate business and increase name recognition with buyers. That means knowing what tools are out there, how often to use them and what medium is most effective for their particular markets,” explained Eric Cosway, EVP and CMO of QuantumDigital. “This survey not only helped us gain new insights for our real estate product road map, but it also provides us with timely and meaningful education and best practices that we can share with our clients and prospects.”
The top 10 core themes of the findings include:
– Direct mail, newsprint, email and online marketing are the defacto marketing channels for real estate professionals.
– On average, agents and brokers typically spend 10 percent of their gross commissionable income (GCI) a year on marketing – 4 percent of which is allocated to direct mail and six percent to online/web/email channels.
– Sphere of influence is still the number one way to get new business.
– E-mail is used for customer retention and follow-up while direct mail and online marketing are used for customer acquisition.
– Sixty-seven percent of real estate professionals are now part of an online social network.
– LinkedIn and Facebook are the top two networking/social platforms.
– ActiveRain.com and RealTown.com are the top two cited real estate blogs.
– Realtor.com, Craigslist and corporate/brokerage Web sites are the three most popular listing sites.
– Whether mailing or emailing, real estate professionals typically hit 200-400 local contacts.
– Real estate professionals need to touch their market at least 18 times per year to forge solid memory of their names and faces.
During the survey, real estate professionals were also asked to provide specific feedback regarding what they feel is important in conducting direct mail campaigns and how this can best be used. Results included the following:
“Email marketing is becoming a more critical component because of its cost effectiveness.”
“I primarily use direct mail to increase my name recognition or stay top of mind. It is all about repetition.”
“I think that direct mail marketing keeps me top of mind with the general public. I don’t think direct mail is something that you can measure on a short-term basis, rather it becomes successful over time with consistent effort.”
“The data gathered from the survey is invaluable. We plan to use the information to develop marketing best practice whitepapers and education sessions as a way for real estate professionals to further fine-tune their marketing plans moving into 2009,” said Cosway.
For more information about the survey results, stay tuned to www.quantumdigital.com for news on registering for an upcoming webinar on “Managing the Marketing Mix” that will include many key takeaways from the survey. The webinar is scheduled for the week of December 8, and registration will begin the week of November 17 at www.QuantumDigital.com.
For additional information on QuantumDigital, please visit www.QuantumDigital.com.
