Today will be the first in a series of posts on ways to ensure you get an effective and efficient return on investment with your marketing efforts. This week,

PART I: Importance of strategy in setting a budget.

Most marketing budgets are created from a percentage (not a fixed dollar figure) of the total project value, the smaller your project, the smaller your marketing budget. However, we all know that smaller real estate developments require most, if not all of the tools of a larger scale project. For all projects, it’s essential to work harder and smarter!

When thousands of dollars are at stake an ad-hoc, on-the-fly program that has no true understanding of the unique project offering will not be cost effective. You need to define your projects unique selling points, identify your key target markets, determine if the interior packages, and amenities are relevant to the way prospective buyer’s live their lives.
At MAC we try to ensure team accountability with our clients by beginning the planning process with our highly successful MAC ESP (Envision. Strategize. Plan) something I discussed in a previous blog entry. With everyone’s involvement you can build a clear road map and depend on the professionalism of your team to get you there.

After a productive strategy session you can set to work developing a clear and realistic budget for the life cycle of the project. One that outlines where, and how much, will be spent. Realistic is the key here. Don’t make the critical error of overconfidence, assuming the project will sell out immediately. It’s a new market, plan your absorption numbers accordingly; currently this usually means a longer program. Dollars need to stretch.

It’s important to remember: While planning is crucial, execution needs to be flexible. Be prepared to build in an expectation that you’ll need to shuffle things on occasion. The best marketing campaigns demonstrate flexibility because the market is ever changing, an organic beast if you will. Prepare to be nimble and be open to change on the fly. But remember, any change or decision has to be rooted in the strategy you set out in reaching goals and objectives. If you create an early atmosphere of open communication with your marketing team, the need to switch gears will be easily handled by a strong team effort, communicated with open dialogue, free of fear or misunderstanding.

A word of caution though. You don’t need to be lured, into the often default reaction of immediately spending more when things are going slow. This again is where strong planning, early knowledge sharing and development of a clear road map comes into play. If spending is taking you off the map, stop and re-assess.

The same rules apply for a single family home, a 10 home townhome project, a downtown tower looking to hit pre-sell requirements or even a project with standing inventory. If you know the unique selling points, and you have a plan that is understood by everyone, change, and ultimately success, will be easier achieved.

With a firm strategy plan in place, and a general budgetary guide agreed to, it is now time to focus on carefully allocating the dollars to achieve success. Covered next week: Build a Strong Marketing Budget.

Happy selling!

Cameron McNeill