Why Getting Your Name Out Is A Poor Marketing Strategy

I’ve talked to a number of new Realtors, and it seems their #1 focus is “getting my name out.” How do they best accomplish it?

This is probably the worst marketing strategy you can take. Why? Because it’s all about you. As much as you want to tell people how you’ll do a wonderful job for them, the reality is that people won’t listen. They don’t care about you. They only care about themselves and their problems. The number one rule of marketing is to remember that with every communication, your prospect only cares “What’s in it for me?”

When you send out postcards or take out advertisements that focus on “getting your name out” (some people mistakenly call this branding), you are pretty much throwing dollars down the drain. Why is this so?

People Are Overwhelmed With Information

People are exposed to thousands of marketing messages each day. And because of this, they are mentally overwhelmed. They can’t possibly process everything they take in. So they filter out only that which is relevant to them. And as much as hope your name might stick, it won’t.

Think about it - can you remember every tv commercial you watched last night? People are bombarded with information. Every five years, the total amount of printed knowledge is estimated to double. There are over 120,000 new books published every year. And a report by 3M found that the average adult is exposed to 3,000 advertisements a day!

Make Your Marketing Message Relevant

To stand out in people’s minds, you have to make your marketing message relevant. This starts by understanding who your ideal clients are and what motivates them to buy. That doesn’t mean focusing on “buyers” or “sellers” - those categories are far too generic. Instead, you must hone in on a very specific target (see Will narrowing my focus really make my marketing successful? for more about this.)

Once you understand who your target audience is, you must focus on making your message relevant. What information do they need in order to choose you? How can you provide that information?

Marketing is about targeting a specific group of people and anticipating their needs. It’s about creating a system to reach prospects and follow up with them. I encourage you to read my previous post, 5 Steps to a Marketing Plan, to get started.