Has Online Marketing Peaked?

In one of my favorite articles from 2008, WAV Group suggested that newspapers are like nursing homes. At that time, newspaper advertising was in a steep decline as a result of the emergence of more affordable online options that promised better reach. My argument was, “This obsolete technology sucks millions of dollars away from more cost-effective marketing tools while delivering less every year. There are better uses for your budget, especially if you market goods and services to people who don’t remember the Truman Administration.” Job seekers go online to Craigslist, Monster.com, or Careers.com to find employment. Consumers go to [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:47-07:00April 1st, 2015|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing|Comments Off on Has Online Marketing Peaked?

Fox and Roach Internal Marketing Excellence

Fox and Roach is among the largest real estate brokerages in America. They recently published an internal communications piece that is a great case study for how brokers stay connected to their agents using video, and move the needle on adoption of brokerage services. Watch this short 2 minute video https://youtu.be/cy_UUGiKcao Why I like it. First, its short. To many people try to say too much. Make your video quick, clear, and drive action. Second – its familiar – Fox and Roach does a great job of promoting people across the organization – staff, team leaders, top agents. Message – [...]

Association MLS Service Provider Controversy

WAV Group is a leading provider of satisfaction research to a large number of MLSs in the United States and Canada. This type of research is often performed annually by mid-sized MLSs and quarterly by large MLSs. Our satisfaction research is unique in that we support MLSs to benchmark off of their prior performance along with benchmarks against their peer group. WAV Group does not ever share another MLS’s data with any other MLS. But we do extract observations about what strategies are most effective at improving satisfaction in areas where MLSs are weak. As we have voiced on many [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:48-07:00March 26th, 2015|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Our Services, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Association MLS Service Provider Controversy

The Powerful Magic of Telling Your Story via Video

Sometimes your children really can teach you meaningful things about how to be more successful in your life. In our case the lesson of the power of telling your story via video came from our daughter Alexandra AKA “Sparkles” Lund. As many of you know “Sparkles” is engaged in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. About four months ago, she set out on a path to build her following among casting directors, agents, choreographers and producers. She deployed three powerful tools. First, she blogs regularly so her voice is being heard. Second, she creates “vlogs” or video stories talking about [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:48-07:00March 26th, 2015|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Do you love what you do?

It’s been a whirlwind past few weeks with Inman Connect and Leading RE and everything in between. And then came Valentine’s Day and I found myself writing and thinking about love: A news release on the love of our homes, a new Valentine’s video from 12-year old Sparkles Lund that captured her love of dancing, and I sat down and wrote a love letter to my wife of 22 years. So ask this question: Why do you love what you do? I asked this of a friend of mine when we both were hitting 40. He said he didn't. I [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:49-07:00February 25th, 2015|Main category, Marketing|1 Comment

Social Media or mass media?

Social media campaigns seems to be getting the bulk of attention in marketing and communication budgets these days, but I would argue that mass media still packs a far more potent punch when you are trying to build a brand or generate top of mind awareness among a mass audience. Skeptical? Let’s look at some numbers. Super bowl advertisers paid as much as $4.5 million for a 30 second spot this year – a new record – to reach 114 million viewers. That’s just over 4 cents a viewer. In 1993, advertisers paid $850,000 to reach 90 million viewers, just [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:49-07:00February 25th, 2015|Main category, Marketing|Comments Off on Social Media or mass media?

Association/MLS Leadership Doesn’t Always Allow for a Consensus

Association and MLS leaders have it tough today.  The best leaders are staying on top of the latest trends, considering how emerging ideas affect their subscribers and proactively making changes to keep their organizations relevant.  Sounds like the kind of leader we all want to be right? So if this is what all leaders strive for, why is it so hard to create sustainable change? I have recently run across a few examples where the Board of Directors believed they knew the path that was best for their constituents yet they were not able to implement the path that made [...]

Keep your organization ahead of the WAVes of Change happening in 2015!

As we end 2014 now is a great time to sit back and reflect on the best ways to help prepare your organization for the inevitable evolutions and revolutions we may experience next year. Do you sometimes feel like your Board of Directors and key staff are out of touch with what’s really happening in the real estate industry today? Do you sometimes feel a bit isolated and would like to know if other organizations are facing the same challenges you are? Is your organization suffering from stifled and cumbersome decision-making? Here’s what can happen when an organization is out [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:52-07:00December 18th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Our Services, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Keep your organization ahead of the WAVes of Change happening in 2015!

Building an Online Brand – The “Sparkles” Example

For any of you that follow either Victor Lund or I on social media you know that we are very proud parents. We share the latest news from our 11 year old daughter Alexandra, who has been named “Sparkles” by her fellow dancers because of her sparkling personality and propensity to wear glittery clothes regularly! As a proud parent, I have to share the great news that “Sparkles” will be appearing on the finale of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, November 24th in an opening number promoting the upcoming re-release of the classic story Annie coming to theaters around the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:54-07:00November 19th, 2014|Main category, Marketing|Comments Off on Building an Online Brand – The “Sparkles” Example

Millennial Marketing Madness

The fervor about marketing to Millennials peaked for me during the National Association of REALTORS® Convention in New Orleans last week. Surely you’ve seen some of the recent headlines: “Millennials could hold the key to housing recovery,” “Millennials need to be wooed,” “Insights about Millennials’ path to homeownership,” etc. One of the seminars at NAR had this in its title:” “Generating Referrals from Millennial Home Buyers.” Say what? Try this headline: Millennials are broke. Yes, Millennials (a.k.a. Generation Y), those who ages range from about 19 to 38, may comprise the largest segment of the U.S. population at 86 million [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:55-07:00November 14th, 2014|Main category, Marketing|1 Comment

Waves of Change Are Coming…Are you Ready?

We all know that the floor is shifting in the real estate industry. There’s a general discomfort among brokers and Associations that the world as we know it could go away soon. So what can you do to prepare?   Are you staying close to the new players entering the real estate space? Are you listening closely to what today’s real estate customers are demanding and many times NOT getting from their agent?  Are you proactively talking about the ways that the industry is changing and how it is affecting your local real estate marketplace? Here’s what can happen when an [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:56-07:00October 31st, 2014|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Our Services, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Waves of Change Are Coming…Are you Ready?

Facebook frustration, love for LinkedIn and Hello, Ello

Many self-proclaimed experts tout the importance of social media in real estate marketing as if it were a nitroglycerin prescription for someone with a heart ailment. Without it you will die. And they get away with this B.S. We have to remember that social media are communication channels; and, yes, their power, their ability to engage and cause immediate action indeed can be daunting. But they are still just channels and they are not the only channels you can use to reach, engage and cause your target audiences to respond. In fact, if you use social media incorrectly it will [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:56-07:00October 29th, 2014|Main category, Marketing|Comments Off on Facebook frustration, love for LinkedIn and Hello, Ello