INTERNET EMPOWERED CONSUMERS (IEC's) - the hidden leads uncovered
80% of home buyers used the internet as a source.
74% of buyers who searched online drove by or looked at a home they first saw online.
Source: The 2006 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
It seems that when Builders and Developers talk about driving traffic to their website, the immediate default focus is on two methods - Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While these both work and are needed to serve the Internet Empowered Consumer (IEC’s), they are only two of multiple ways to drive people to your website.
The problem with relaying Search Traffic like Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimization, you rely on people seeking you out. Your sales staff waits around for someone to type the exact keyword that is going to show your website and hope that the user clicks on your link. To me, this seems like a pretty passive way to get traffic. Why not take a more active approach? Instead of waiting for the traffic to come to you, why not go to them? Think of it as Virtual Door Knocking or Virtual Active Networking. Sam Guillen & Associates thinks Out-of the-Box.!
Imagine this, what if all of your sales associates spoke to every person they came in contact with throughout their daily life and in conversation they happen to ask each person, “Have you thought about buying a New Home”? I would venture to say that this practice would create greater opportunity for sales. Don’t you Agree? With the power of the internet you can do just that, talk to hundreds of people everyday. Now factor in the ability to focus your efforts on groups of people that share common interest. Can you see the power of this Virtual Networking?
Did you know that there are currently over 18,000 groups (groups not people) centered on Real Estate in Yahoo Groups. And this doesn’t even include Google Groups, MSN Groups, etc. LinkedIn is another place to network with your target audience. Even if your target audience is the luxury market. In fact, LinkedIn states that “Every one of the Fortune 500 Companies has at least one executive on the LinkedIn network.”
I know what some people may be thinking. “YouTube, Facebook and My Space are only for teens!” Right? Not really. Actually over 40 percent of luxury consumers visited a social networking site, such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc. in the past three months. And since we are talking about the luxury market, there are even Social Networks for specifically for those jetsetters.
The key is to get creative, think out-of-the-box and use the power of the internet and social networks to catch your target audience early on. Sam Guillen & Associates has mastered this untapped resource and can help implement this New Active Way of attracting Homebuyers.
This program is not meant to replace your tried and true traditional marketing efforts. Newspaper, Cable TV, local home magazines and Direct Mail Campaigns are still necessary. An active internet campaign will in fact help increase the effectiveness of traditional marketing through point of reference continuity. “As seen in our Sunday Ad in San Diego Union Tribune”, is a type of reference that gives you instant creditability in a world of anonymity.
So much power and opportunity, it must be expensive to implement?
You'd think so, but the truth is most of the resources I’ve talked about are either free or available for a nominal fee that doesn't break the bank. Why not empower your sales staff and teach them how to actively create buyers rather that sitting for hours waiting for that one buyer to walk through the door. It’s not only effective but FUN!
The only thing constant about the internet is that it’s always changing and with so much information available, people will continue to use their peers and social networks to hunt for trusted information. Will you actively pursue this gold mind of new business or continue to wait around for people to find you?