This post is one of admiration.

For years I’ve admired the real estate industry and their marketing systems.

I think other businesses can learn from it and in this post I’ve listed what I think are the 7 most important lessons small business owners can learn from real estate marketing.

1.  To sell something, you need to market it.

Imagine if you went to an agent and they said to you – “we will list your property but we won’t do any marketing.  We won’t create a promotional flyer, we won’t take any photos and we certainly won’t promote it in our shop front”.  You would walk out the door. So why do other businesses believe they can sell products and services without any marketing?

What real estate agents do well is they include marketing as a cost of sale.  To sell the product, the investment in marketing needs to be made. A good lesson and process for any business.

2.    Good copy sells

Agents use good copy and often use professional copywriters come up with the words to sell their properties.  They highlight unique selling points and develop headlines that capture buyers attention.   It makes you wonder why so many small business websites begin with the words – “Welcome to Company X”.  You don’t see too many “Welcome to my house” lines in real estate property ads do you?

3. Good photography sells more houses.

Real Estate Agents use good photography to showcase every property, and a property that is poorly photographed stands out for all the wrong reasons.  This is an important lesson when creating marketing materials for your products and services.  Invest in good photography, invest in good design and show your products in the best light.  It will help customers to choose you over your competition.

4. First impressions are everything

In real estate, first impressions are everything.  A buyer forms an opinion as soon as they drive up to a house and agents know it.  The same principle applies with any business.  Your first impression in most cases it will be the deciding factor if someone will do business with you.  It pays to get this right every time.

5. You need to know your target market

When presenting a property for sale, agents know it needs to appeal to the local target market.  They know the demographics of an area and how to make it appealing to the right buyers. This is fundamental to the successful marketing of any business.  Know who you’re targeting and market your product to them.

6. Measure your success, track and follow-up your leads.

It might be annoying at times, but have you noticed when you view a property the agent always asks for your details? By walking into a property you have become a sales lead and by taking down this information the agent can put hard figures on how successful their lead generation activity has been.

They also have some figures to share with the property owner when they ask how many people viewed the property.  Imagine if the agent said to the owner “I’m not sure exactly how many people came through, it seemed like a lot”. You would be shopping for another agent.  By tracking leads the agent can then follow them up to help sell the property.

7. Marketing is a system

Now I’ve saved the most important marketing lesson to last. The Real Estate Industry see marketing as a system.  When a new property is listed, agents systematically go about implementing that system to attract the right buyers for that property.   This system includes:

1. Marketing Strategy – Identification of unique selling points and key messages.

2. Marketing Collateral – Posting “For Sale” signs, designing flyers with good photography and good copy using a consistent brand identity and format.

3. Lead Generation – Website promotion, advertising, direct selling to buyer databases and open house inspections.

4. Lead Conversion – Providing contracts of sale, contacting interested parties and taking properties to auction.

5. Measurement – Tracking sales leads, managing offers and determining the numbers of interested parties.

So what sort of marketing system does your business have to attract and convert leads to customers?.  If you don’t have one, then you are probably getting left behind.

So there you have it.  What do you think?  Can any of these lessons help to market your business?

If you get only one message, let it be that you need a marketing system for your business.  Get systematic about your marketing and watch your business grow.