It's time to hit the campaign trail
Since the middle of 2007, we’ve had the privilege (or maybe not) of watching the most complex and expensive marketing campaign battle in the history of the word – the 2008 Presidential election. For months and months we’ve been hit by a barrage of commercials, direct mail, phone calls, etc. ad naseum. And just when I think that I’m tired of hearing all of their crap, this little voice in the back of my head speaks up. “Hey dummy, they’re doing exactly what they should be doing. Competing for the mind-share of their customers (a.k.a. voters).”
Each is exhibiting the exact same quality that could help you thrive in the midst of the worst lending market we’ve ever seen – persistence. I’ll bet the very same techniques would work for you. Especially if you kept at it for as long as these candidates have.
So I submit to you 3 ideas for your mortgage business, stolen from the greatest marketing campaigns ever conceived.
Start working on next year now – Obama and Edwards know that there’s no way that they could win an election if they started campaigning 30 days before voting day. They’ve started more than a year in advance, knowing that all their time and hard work would pay off down the road.
Your marketing should be the same. Start now and keep it up knowing that it will pay off in the third and fourth quarter of the year.
Talk to everyone individually – My Dad (a serious Republican) gets very different e-mails and direct mail than I do. I’m younger, I make less money, and I’m more than just a shade to the left of his political views. And Hillary speaks differently at her AARP rallies than she will at MTV’s “Rock the Vote”. . Your campaign should run the same way. Speak specifically to your audience, no matter what type of media you’re using.
Profile as many people in your database as possible to create target groups (refis, new borrowers, reverse mortgage candidates, credit coaching) and make sure they’re getting exactly the right information each time you contact them. Remember, the better the information fits the recipient, the less likely it is to be considered spam.
Be as consistent as possible – As the Presidential campaigning enters the final stretch, pay attention to how the media (an in turn the public) rips into candidates as they sway back and forth on issues. And also take note of what happens when a candidate “lays low” for a week or two. The same concepts apply to your business. Pick the thing(s) that you know your clients are interested and keep pumping information out to them on a consistent basis. But remember, there are consequences to skipping a message or radically changing your pitch. But those are far outweighed by the benefits of frequent and consistent marketing.
In the end, marketing your business isn’t altogether different from a Presidential campaign. The concepts are the very same, it’s the scale that’s different. So take these ideas and combine them with your own observations of candidates on the campaign trail to have a profitable election year for your business.
As always, I want to hear more from you, the actual mortgage professionals. Shoot me an e-mail at dustin.moore@alamode.com and let me know what awesome things you’re doing in your campaign for more business.
