To start off the new year, we’re beginning a newsletter series that addresses some of the most important marketing pieces real estate developers need. It’s important that these pieces are viewed as valuable investments toward the success of your development, and in the issues to come we’ll highlight how you can ensure your money is spent wisely and your goals are achieved with each element.

You’ve heard us address in previous issues the economic slump that is plaguing the real estate industry so heavily, and this month’s newsletter is no different. Given the budget woes most of you are feeling, it’s important to point out that this newsletter and the ones following are written with these circumstances in mind. There are ways to spend less without sabotaging your property’s image and the investment you’ve already made in your marketing efforts. Our goal is to help you identify how to best spend the dollars you do have.

Before we get into the details of individual marketing pieces, you need to consider the umbrella under which all these things fall – your brand. At the outset of any new project we take on, we always evaluate where our client’s brand stands.

• Have they invested in it?

• Has it been developed?

• Is it recognizable?

• Are previous marketing efforts cohesive?

• Does it reflect the image they’re trying to convey?

These are all questions that still must be asked, even when you’re trying to cut costs. And, perhaps it’s even more important to ask these questions when the money is tight. If you don’t have an established blueprint (brand identity) to work from, nothing that is built thereafter will be cohesive or as successful as it could be. When times are good and the cash is flowing, you might have some extra cushion to make mistakes with your marketing efforts. But, when the budget is small, you must ensure that every dollar spent is one spent toward achieving your marketing goals and building your brand; the money simply isn’t there to waste.

Second to a clearly defined brand, you need to have a concise marketing plan in place. Just as your brand provides the blueprint for the image you want to convey, a marketing plan is the roadmap for how to get there. As said above, when times are tough, it’s even more important that every marketing effort made is one that moves your brand in the desired direction. If you haven’t even defined what that direction is, how will you know if you’re getting there?

Over the next three months we’ll be addressing some very specific areas of marketing and how you can make the most of each. We’ll address print collateral – stationery, sales kits, property maps, brochures, etc. We’ll address web development. And, we’ll address outreach and advertising efforts – direct response campaigns, print and online advertisements, media and PR plans, etc.

As some of you get these upcoming newsletters, you might find yourself asking “What do I need?” “Do I have to start over with everything.” The answers to those questions are “I don’t know yet,” and “Probably not.” We’re in no way recommending anyone throw the baby out with the bathwater. But, for most of you, there are areas that have been neglected and/or there are specific needs you need to address that fall into one of the areas we’ll be discussing. Everyone’s situation has a different set of circumstances, so as you read our advice, keep in mind that the priority list will be different for each of you. Our goal is to show you that there are ways to continue to invest in your marketing materials so that you’re not left in the starting blocks (or behind your competition) when we pull out of this downturn.

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