The Ugly Word: Marketing

Let’s face it. Many people have a negative perception of the word marketing. Oftentimes the connotation is that in marketing, people are subjected to advertising or promotions that are unappealing or not geared toward them. This is particularly the case with mortgage marketing where the implication is often that the content is disingenuous or even impersonal. Yet marketing can be beneficial if it’s done correctly–namely, if it’s personal and geared toward the right audience.

The first issue—creating personal marketing—is something that can be easily done with a little forethought as you design your marketing materials. Obviously, you want to personalize your message. This means that you want to avoid those, “Dear Valued Client,” mailings. Instead, use your client’s first name. Additionally, consider using photos in your marketing materials not only to make them more appealing but also to add a personal touch. And if you have time, include a handwritten note on your direct mailings. For example, “Hope the new house is working out great!” Making a genuine effort to be warm and engaging in your promotional materials will pay dividends when it comes to generating new business.  Promotional marketing can include: direct mail pieces,marketing postcards, social media and branding.

As for gearing your marketing approach toward the right audience, think in terms of market segmentation. For instance, the type of marketing materials that you would send to a potential homeowner would differ from those you might want to send to a past client who you helped to buy a home 2-3 years ago. In the latter case, you might decide to send out a promotional piece mentioning great rates on Home Equity Lines of Credit. This approach is more likely to yield benefits to not only yourself, but also to those who could really use your services.

The important thing to remember as a mortgage marketer is that how you choose to market yourself determines whether the word is “ugly” or not. By focusing on providing personalized, segmented marketing, you can do your part to remove the negative connotations from the word and have people appreciate your promotional efforts.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

6 Ways to Ensure Your Mobile Email Campaign Fails

Obviously, you want your email campaign to be a hit with your market. And with 40% of emails now being opened on mobile devices, you want to make sure that it’s equally as successful with mobile devices as it is on users’ laptops.

Below are some common pitfalls of mobile email campaigns and ways to overcome them.

An Integrated Strategy Is Missing.

If clients follow a link in an email to a website that isn’t optimized for mobile, 80% will move on to another site. That’s a huge number and unfortunately, the vast majority of them won’t return to your email later. To avoid this, make sure that your website is optimized for mobile devices.

Scale Is Disregarded.

If your emails aren’t optimized for mobile, chances are they’ll appear illegible or the images will be too small. To optimize for smart phone viewing, select images that are standard smart phone width—between 360 and 480 pixels.

Email Is Sent at Inopportune Times.

There are good times to send emails and bad times.Saturday at midnight? Only if you want your email to be deleted on Monday morning. Instead, the best times to send emails are between 10AM and noon and then again, between 4PM and 6PM.

Demographics Are Ignored.

Segmenting by demographics is considered the most effective marketing method. For instance, are you targeting millennial s? A whopping 80% of them will open your email with a smart phone. And women, for example, are more likely to click the links in your email. Learn how your target demographic uses mobile prior to implementing your campaign.

Only Focusing on One Mobile Platform.

Less than half of your users will be viewing your email on an iPhone. The majority of them will be using either an Android phone or an iPad. To keep your content optimized for multiple devices, test versions for readability across devices, remove JavaScript and Flash, and keep content readable for every screen width.
Burying the Call-to-Action. If your call-to-action isn’t readily apparent, 61% of users will leave your website rather than hunting it down. Instead, make sure that your call-to-action doesn’t require scrolling and is easily visible.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

The Value of Consistency: Direct Mail Marketing

With any marketing initiative, there is value in being consistent—meaning not only trying to drum up business when times are tough, but also remaining in touch with your business contacts and potential leads during times of economic upswings. A consistent approach—one that is dedicated, focused, and determined—will serve your marketing efforts well. Additionally, once you’ve found an effective marketing message, you want to consistently promote that message across all of your media channels.

Marketing definitely portrays similarities to exercising. As with exercise, marketing needs to be done on a regular basis, shouldn’t be abandoned once you’ve started to see results, and isn’t a quick fix. In both endeavors, consistency is key.
Strong branding—that is repeated over time—is highly effective with consumers. To achieve the goal of direct mail marketing consistency, try these tips:

Don’t vary from your main brand message. After determining the message that you will use to appeal to your market, continue to use it in all of your promotional materials.

Use consistent color schemes and fonts in all of your marketing pieces.

Establish a voice and keep with it. Once you’ve written your marketing materials in a certain tone, continue to use it in all of your communications.
Communicate with your contacts on a regular basis. Whether you use a monthly newsletter or an email campaign, it’s important to maintain ongoing contact.
If you use a monthly newsletter—which is a great way of reaching potential leads—make sure that it is professional and distributed at the same time each month.
Keep with it. It isn’t enough to make a big marketing push just once and then rest on your laurels. Instead, strive to engage in continuous marketing efforts throughout the year.

Consistent experiences lead to a more positive interaction for your potential clients. Furthermore, consistency builds trusts, often resulting in new and repeat business.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

The Three Foundations of Mortgage Marketing: Part 3: Media

In parts 1 and 2 of our 3-part series, we identified the first two foundations of mortgage marketing identifying your market and creating an effective advertising message. Now we’ll focus on the third essential, media. By media, we mean the method you’ll choose to get your message to market. Generally, there are 3 basic categories: Radio/Television (or Mass Media), the Internet, and Direct Marketing. Let’s examine each in greater depth.

Radio/Television (Mass Media)

Unfortunately, although radio and television do reach a broad swath of people, they are expensive and take a scatter shot approach—you might receive some new clientele, but you’ll also waste your advertising dollars by primarily reaching people who aren’t in the market for your services. As such, this is not the best proposition for those in a referral- driven industry like real estate.

Internet

The Internet includes things such as email marketing and social media marketing. Unfortunately, mortgage marketing doesn’t lend itself well to social media marketing; most people don’t go to Facebook or Twitter to scout out refinance options. Email marketing, on the other hand, can be more valuable. If you have permission get in touch with your market via email, this is an easy and inexpensive approach that can keep you in the forefront of your contacts’ minds.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing to past clients is an excellent way to generate more business. In fact, direct mortgage marketing outperforms other mediums—such as Mass Media and the Internet—in a referral-driven business like real estate. One oft-recommended tool is a newsletter. The benefit of a monthly newsletter is that you can stay connected with past clients, keeping you—and your services—in the forefront of your target audience’s minds. You’re regularly reaching your client base and offering them useful information in the form of a helpful newsletter. And these individuals—many of whom are past clients and already familiar with your services—will be more inclined to think of you when a friend is seeking refinancing assistance, for example. Additionally, newsletters have the benefit of being relatively inexpensive to produce.

Paying attention to the 3 foundations of mortgage marketing—market, message, and media—is important for generating new business. As you hone your marketing with these principles in mind, you can expect to experience greater results and increased revenue.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

The Three Foundations of Mortgage Marketing: Part 2: Message

In part 1 of our 3-part series, we identified the first important foundation of mortgage marketing, your market—the people in your sphere of influence who are likely to use your services. Here, we discuss the message. Essentially, your message answers the question of why someone should do business with you of all the mortgage brokers out there.

Being able to answer this question—concisely and directly—is the pillar of your mortgage marketing strategy. This is your primary means of conveying your attributes to your potential clients. And remember, if your market doesn’t receive your message, you’ll fail to influence those you most want to reach.

That said, it’s important to define your message. Identify what it is that makes you unique in the marketplace. Do you offer X years of experience? Are you available 24/7 to your clients? Are you particularly skilled at brokering mortgages for borrowers in difficult circumstances?
Whatever your message is, make sure that it is concise and sale-able. This is the main point that you will be using to convey your skill set to potential clients. Once you’ve identified it, you’ll want to use it in all of your marketing materials, such as newsletters, websites, post cards, and other direct mail pieces.

If you’re struggling to decide between various messages, you might want to test them out first. Consider creating two direct mail pieces—each with a different message—and sending the first piece to half of your potential contacts, and the second piece to the other half. Then, evaluate which message is more effective by tracking the responses you receive.

In the final part of our series, we’ll discuss the third pillar of effective mortgage marketing, the media. Now that you’ve identified your market and tailored a message to it, how do you reach your clients? What vehicle will you choose to bring your message to the marketplace? Read part 3 to learn the ins and outs of various media vehicles.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

The Three Foundations of Mortgage Marketing: Part 1: Market

The critical components of successful mortgage marketing are identified in this 3-part series. First, there is the Market, a reference to your target audience. Your market consists of those people who are in your sphere of influence—for instance, friends, family members, colleagues, past associates, etc.

As you know, most new business comes from referrals. Therefore, to effectively engage in mortgage marketing, you need to actively manage your contacts if you want to succeed in generating more referrals. To do so, we recommend that you follow these important steps:

Invest in Contact Management Software. There is a wealth of software out there for managing contacts, and some of it is geared specifically toward the mortgage industry. It can’t be stated how critical it is to have all of your contacts’ information listed in one central database.

Keep Your Database Up-To-Date. Your database is your primary marketing tool. Make sure that it is kept current and includes all potential leads, whether they are friends, family members, colleagues, or past clients. Anyone who you come into semi-regular contact with should be included in your contacts database.

Regularly Generate New Leads. There are a number of ways to generate new leads and increase your market. For instance, you can approach real estate agents or look through real estate listings to find agents with lots of listings. Also, you can consider approaching home owners who are selling their homes without the aid of a realtor. And don’t forget to attend open houses or trade shows. For example, at a home improvement trade show, you might want to advertise home equity lines; this is a great way to attract homeowners looking to invest in home improvement projects.

Once you’ve clearly identified your market—and you have a system in place for managing it—the next important pillar of mortgage marketing is the message. In part 2 of our series, we’ll identify what the message is and how it’s a critical feature of your overall marketing strategy.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.

Spring Cleaning Your Email Contacts

Okay, so it’s not quite time to begin your Spring-cleaning, but it never hurts to think about how best to market to your database of email contacts. It’s important to market to your database on a regular basis, but you should avoid having a repetitive message to your list over and over again. Use the down times of the holiday season to tailor new messages that will grab your potential client’s attention.

To get the best results from your direct mail campaigns, merge all your contacts into one database. Whether you received the information through your website, a referral or a chance meeting, bringing all your contacts together allows you to market effectively and consistently to all leads.

Here are three ways to spruce up your marketing by using your current database.

⦁ If your database is largest enough, this is a great time to see how your list responds to different messaging. Break your list into thirds. Send a third a low-interest rate promotion, a third a friendly holiday greeting, and a third some information on refinancing. Make sure to measure the response to each group. Without measurement, all marketing is useless, so be sure to enroll this important step. Plus, measuring your results prevents you from making mistakes again or it helps you in running a successful campaign a second time. If you find something that works, build on it for future campaigns.

⦁ Scout out local vendors to offer your contacts special offers. They can be industry related or perhaps someone in the home improvement business such as house cleaning, landscapers, or deck refinishers. Vendors should be happy to partner up, especially because your database may be full of homeowners and prospective homeowners that they may not have. Combine a few offers into one campaign and market them to your list. While the offer may be appealing, make sure your recipients can clearly identify your brand through all communication. This will create added value for your relationship and build up your vendor referrals at the same time.

⦁ Take the time to clean and organize your list. Organize your list by contacts if they aren’t already. Clearly mark former clients you’ve closed loans with, website visitors who filled out your contact form, agents who have referred you business, etc. The more information you can connect to a contact, the better you can target your marketing to them in the future.

Titan List is a full service Advertising and Design agency specializing in Direct Mail, Mortgage Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Website / Graphic Design. Titan List has been around since 1998, and has a team of highly qualified individuals with experience in the marketing trends that fit your business. Unlike other agencies that source their work out, Titan List & Mailing handles the entire campaign in-house. Looking for a special list of data for your business? We can customize any data list for your company.