Marketing in Real Estate

We all know that I’m a huge fan of marketing through trade shows, especially for real estate services promotion. The article below focuses on dealing with competition, especially with Trade Shows.

There is so much competition at trade shows that having a trade show exhibit that does nothing but showcase your product is not enough, no matter how great your product is. You must have an attention grabbing promotion, like promotional drinkware, to ensure booth traffic and a trade show contest is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

Prize wheels are almost irresistible to trade show attendees; they add color and spice to an otherwise dreary exhibit. A colorful prize wheel offers a welcome break from row after row of boring exhibits, and who can’t resist the chance to win a free prize? Prize wheels can be customized with your company logo and to complement the theme of your trade show exhibit. Prize wheels give your booth staff an opportunity to engage visitors in conversation while they are waiting for their chance to spin the wheel.

A treasure chest promotion is an excellent way to attract visitors to you exhibit; as soon as a visitor walks by your booth and spots a treasure chest, their curiosity will get the better of them and they will feel the need to stop and see what’s inside. These treasure chests and their accompanying keys can be designed to fit specific themes and customized with your colors and logo. The familiar pirate chest with skeleton keys is always a hit, or you can use a transparent chest so that passersby can see the prizes the chest contains.

A prize vault is an instantly compelling trade show contest idea; a see-through vault contains a prize, an iPod or a bag of cash, for example and a mechanism attached to the outside allows booth visitor to try to crack the combination. If they enter the correct code, the vault opens and they win the prize. While booth visitors are waiting their turn to crack the safe, your staff can engage them in conversation and possibly get their contact information.

Any one of these ideas will increase your booth traffic, but you can increase the traffic even more by marketing your trade show contest prior to the show. Use a creative way to let your existing customers know what you are planning at the trade show; have a custom mail piece designed that includes a key to the treasure chest, for example. This may even be through something like promotional mugs. These will entice them to attend the show, and give them a chance to win a fantastic prize. Sending out keys to “special” customers will make them feel appreciated and may lead to increased sales.

Over the past few weeks and into the next few weeks we’ll see a lot of news about Trade Shows and Exhibits through media outlets. These events are not focused or targeted towards Real Estate but we can still learn a lot about them.

The first trade show event that received a lot of focus was Google I/O. Google yearly holds a conference/trade show event where they bring in media and developers from all across the country and show off their products and services. Interestingly enough, they also took the time to attack their competitor, Apple Inc. I wouldn’t recommend this in the Real Estate industry but technologists and reports seem to love this stuff. Time after Time, Google mentioned how they were “saving” the market form a dictator, Steve Jobs. And often, the crowd cheered when this happened.

Apple is set to respond June 7 with their own Conference and Trade show. WWDC is schedule for the week of June 7 and will include Keynote addresses and then trade show exhibits and displays for companies supporting Apple’s platform. I expect Steve Jobs to make a few pokes at Google during his unavailing of new technology and services.

While the competition ads to the importance of the Trade Shows, it still relies on the other benefits they receive from participating in such events. Free press, increased branding, and potential for new customers. We need to follow this example with our Real Estate Trade Show participation. Be ready for the best events and figure out how we can maximize our use to get free press, increase our real estate branding, and identify new customers.

How are you preparing for, and to which trade shows will you be participating in? You may want to discuss your options with a Virginia Trade Show Exhibit company.

Visiting trade shows can be very overwhelming for the average customer. If a trade show is big, in particular, it may not be possible for the customer to view all sales booths. Having a good exhibit setup that catches the customer’s eye is essential to guarantee that the products are being maximally advertised. Competitors, however, will use the same advertising strategy, so it is essential to promote the product (your real estate skills) with the best display and sales pitch that your budget will allow.

Having a good display is just the beginning, once you have the customers attention, you will need personnel to interact with customers by answering questions and pitching the product. It is vitally important that personnel working at the trade show exhibit have a full range of product knowledge and are supplied with enough business cards and product brochures for customers. Brochures should be explicit to the product, it should be precise and shouldn’t have vague or useless information pertained to it. Be aware that competitors will also have brochures and flyers for customers, so when making your brochure make sure that it can stands among a stack of other brochures. Be sure to keep up to date with all the latest trade show exhibit information.

Providing contact information is important, however, business cards and brochures have a way of getting lost or end up getting thrown in the garbage. Promotional items, such as pens, notebooks, coffee mugs, etc. can be given away for keepsakes since these items are useful and will be kept around for a longer duration. Be sure to display the company logo or brand name, and contact information on these items so customers will have the information handy when needed. Try to find an items that stand out or is less easy to get lost (for example, a pen is easier to lose than a coffee mug), as competitors will surely have promotional items of their own.

If you’re in the Mid-atlantic area we also recommend working with Virginia trade show exhibit company Exhibit Edge.

Many sellers rely on trade shows to make themselves known to potential buyers, and they use such opportunities to make a profit. Each seller that is part of a trade show needs a trade show exhibit, where they can display their merchandise or services, in order to attract customers. That is why trade show organizers allot floor space to all the people involved with the trade show, so they can have their own trade show exhibits, for attracting buyers, and ensuring the success of the event.

Specialized companies are involved in the business of trade show exhibits. They are the ones to go to for renting or buying floor space. The seller renting or buying a trade show exhibits should ask these providers about the available spaces that work best for their type of business, as trade show exhibits may be customized, according to clients’ specifications. After acquiring the space, it is up to the sellers to organize the best advertising for what they are selling, be it products or services. They must abide to some rules, though, such as respecting the allotted area and to avoid offending other sellers, or buyers.

The knowledge regarding selling goods and services must not be taken lightly, especially when trade show exhibits are involved. For instance, the design of the trade show exhibit is very important, because it may attract customers, if it is well organized and appealing. Sellers may have great products or services to sell, but if their trade show exhibit is not attractive enough, they may end up being avoided by all customers, and their wish for success will turn into failure. There are many ways in which a trade show exhibit can be improved, like adding special, modern looking lighting, flooring, or curtains, so the space looks great and professional.

You can often utilize local trade shows, like this virginia trade show exhibit company to help you fit your local trade show and event needs. Advertising and marketing yourself, business, and brand as a Real Estate agent can make the difference you’ve been looking for to drive your business to the next level.