Are Promotional Products Effective In Real Estate?

According to a survey, the top 5 purposes for using promotional products by real estate agents are to:

• Increase name recognition
• Get new customers
• Generate goodwill
• Get referrals
• Increase sales

Most agents use promotional products in their marketing mix but, often with no definitive strategy in place.

A few questions you may want to ask are:

What promotional strategy should you use?

At this time in your career, which promotional items would be most effective?

Can you build your brand and your business with creative, cost-effective promotional items?

Promotional campaign experts recommend following these six steps:

(1) Define a promotional objective

(2) Identify a target audience

(3) Determine the method of product distribution

(4) Create (or continue) a theme

(5) Develop a message, design, or logo for imprinting

(6) Choose the correct promotional item

Several studies have been conducted by a number of researchers and their findings may help you decide on what your next step should be.

According to one study, promotional item recipients were 75% more likely than letter recipients to return and patronize the business.

Researchers at Louisiana State University and University of Texas at San Antonio explored the effectiveness of promotional items when compared to other traditional forms of advertising such as television and print. They also studied the synergistic effects of promotional items when used along with these other media.

Findings of the study revealed:

  Integrating a promotional item with television and print ads increased referral value as well as credibility of the message.

  Groups who were exposed to promotional items tended to rate the advertising message more positively than those groups not exposed to a product.

Recipients of promotional items have a significantly more positive image of a company than those who do not receive a product.

Those receiving a quality promotional item were significantly more likely to recommend the business to others than those that received nothing.

  71.6% of attendees who received a promotional item remembered the name of the company that gave them the product.

  76.3% of attendees had a favorable attitude toward the company that gave them the product.

Advertising and Marketing Reach

71% of business travelers randomly surveyed by L.J. Market Research at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport using an intercept method in which an audience consisting mainly of business travelers were asked to complete a 22-question survey. They reported receiving a promotional item in the last 12 months.

33.7% of this group had the item on their person - a coveted location for advertising.

Recall:

  76.1% of participants could recall the name of the advertiser on the promotional item that they received in the past 12 months.

  In comparison only 53.5% of participants could recall the name of an advertiser they had seen in a magazine or newspaper in the previous week.

Impression of the Advertiser - Promotional items are powerful opinion change agents. Results of the study reveal:

  52% of participants in the study did business with the advertiser after receiving the promotional product.

  Of those who had not done business with the advertiser that gave them the product, almost half stated that they were more likely to do business with the company that gave them the item.

  52.1% of participants reported having a more favorable impression of the advertiser since receiving the item.

  73% of those who used the promotional item that they had received stated that they used it at least once a week.

  45.2% used it at least once a day.

The greater the frequency of exposure, the lower the cost per impression repeated exposure.

  55% of participants generally kept their promotional items for more than a year.

  22% of participants kept the promotional item that they had received for at least six months.

  75.4% of those who received a promotional product stated that they thought the item was useful!

  20.2% kept the item because they thought it was attractive.

  Using promotional items in conjunction with a sales letter can make a significant difference in direct mail response rates.

  Using promotional items can also improve a business' effectiveness in converting leads to sales appointments.

A study by Baylor University found that customers who receive promotional products are more willing to provide leads than customers who don’t receive promotional items.

The use of promotional items resulted in an increase in feelings of goodwill toward the company and its salespeople.

The value of promotional items is in their ability to carry a message to a well-defined audience. Because the products are useful and appreciated by the recipients, they are kept and used, repeating the imprinted message many times without added cost to the advertiser.

More ideas on Real Estate Promotional Items here.