Homebuilder Marketing: Communicate With Prospects Based On Where They Are In The Buying Cycle

When pursuing new homebuyers, it’s important to think about their mindset and the tools available for marketing to them during various stages of the buying cycle. Consumers act—and react—differently depending on where they are in the buying process. Radio, TV, magazines, and billboards all can be effective ways to deliver your brand to the masses. But no matter how creative or compelling, your message may be lost if it doesn’t reach those who are ready to receive it. That’s why today, your outreach marketing should concentrate on home shoppers—those defined as actively looking for a home, and prospects—those who have made contact with you either by visiting your sales center or registering online. Read more

Homebuilder Marketing: Target Your Homebuyers With A New Media Mix

When pursuing new homebuyers, it’s important to think about their mindset and the tools available for marketing to them during various stages of the buying cycle. Consumers act—and react—differently depending on where they are in the buying process. Radio, TV, magazines, and billboards all can be effective ways to deliver your brand to the masses. But no matter how creative or compelling, your message may be lost if it doesn’t reach those who are ready to receive it. That’s why today, your outreach marketing should concentrate on home shoppers—those defined as actively looking for a home, and prospects—those who have made contact with you either by visiting your sales center or registering online. Read more

Victoria’s Secret on Marketing

It has been since 1995 that Victoria’s Secret figured out a big advertising secret.

First, let’s look at the Victoria’s Secret corporation because this is big business.  Victoria’s Secret is an American retailer of women’s wear, lingerie and beauty products. Sales have surpassed $5 billion dollars. It is now known for its annual fashion show, catalogs and bringing models to the forefront. Read more

The Perfect Holiday Gift For Your Resort And Your Customers

Looking for a way to boost occupancy and improve revenue? Try gift cards. Many resort properties are capitalizing on the holiday season by offering gift cards redeemable for room nights, spa services, special packages, dining options, and more.

Pheasant Run Resort in the western suburbs of Chicago has taken to advertising its gift card program across all mediums—signage, radio tags, print ads, eblasts, and the property’s website all promote gift card sales. The resort is banking on the fact that people are looking for easy and affordable stocking stuffers for family and friends. Gift cards can be purchased in denominations of $20. To encourage repeat customers, Pheasant Run Resort also is offering a limited-time special where customers receive and extra $50 for every $200 in gift cards they buy. Read more

Attraction Marketing II: The Marketing March

Attraction Marketing is the process of making your company, its products, services and culture more attractive to prospects by driving marketing initiatives with the people you already employ. How to process this activity to steadily move your marketing forward, using data to guide you, is called “The Marketing March.”

The strategies outlined in Attraction Marketing are numerous and interdependent. Keeping each strategy moving forward is critical. Getting things all moving in the same direction has been referred to as herding cats and making decisions on where to focus resources and where to cut is the key to success. Read more

Attraction Marketing I: Drawing Prospects To You

Often marketing is something only focused on once or twice a year. You may be buying media today, running online listings on Web sites your prospects frequent. You may even be using Google AdWords and some limited print.

But so is your competition.

How are you going to stand apart? Increasing your spending may not be an option with tightening margins and flat or lower sales. So how can you get prospects to notice you? Here is where Attraction Marketing comes in.
Read more

Resort Email Subject Lines of the Month For September

Below are some of the top email subject lines from resort/hotel email marketing campaigns that we saw during the month of September.

Getaway this Month with our NEW Hot August Nights Package

Wake Up to the Beauty of Eagle Ridge

Make some memories at The Lake before the end of Summer

Your Labors Deserve A Getaway to The Abbey Resort

Labor Day and Fall Fun at The Abbey Resort

Celebrate Labor Day at The Abbey Resort

Live Entertainment at The Abbey Resort

August Beach Blast Cookout & Fireworks Show in Lake Lure……

Fall Events…Delaware Wine & Beer Festival

Ends Thursday! Sale starting at $49* one-way

Escape to Kohler this Summer for $148

Your August Pure Michigan Featured Deals

Luxury Escapes – August

Help Shanty Creek Name a Ski Run and WIN!

Snap up these great deals by Thursday!

Enjoy this post? Sign up for our newsletter for more.

Attraction Marketing: How Can You Do More Within Your Organization To Draw Business To You?

Over the past two years we have been asked by many companies what they can be doing themselves to improve their result in marketing. Budgets are tight and often people have time on their hands due to decrease workloads or seasonality. In June 2009 we began work on strategies that companies can implement with their team to build their business. During the process it became clear that, in order to control spending the focus would need to be on non-media strategies. Further discussion led us to the term “Attraction Marketing.” In short, Attraction Marketing improving your attractiveness to your prospects, to the marketplace.

We all personally want to be seen as attractive, be respected, admired, relevant. Similarly, Attraction Marketing addresses topics that can help create these perceptions for businesses.

Some of the strategies we will cover will be familiar to you, though we hope to get you to think about it a little differently. Some of the tactics you may already be doing, and that’s great. Hopefully we can show you how these things as connected and building on each other.

Stevens & Tate Marketing have been the test group for Attraction Marketing for 12 months now. In the postings I will tell you what worked for us and speak to our results. I will offer suggestions on how to lead the process through developing management and tracking. So join me is as I cover topics like All Dressed Up, Show Up In Style, Be Impressive, Become A Socialite, Lend A Hand, Stay Top Of Mind over the next few months.

Pandering Your Way To Profits? Most Likely Not.

Everyone in business today feels the need to do more with less; fewer people and smaller budgets. Sure, it’s 2010 and things were supposed to be better by now, but many marketing professionals are still adjusting and cutting advertising spending.

Many of the prospects we speak with are dealing with this by cutting across the board. All channels are reduced to get to the “new budget number.” It seems fair to your advertising partners. All your reps — the radio lady, your trade publication guy and the direct mail house — understand that you’re doing what you have to do. And they feel they are getting their share of your budget. “We’ll get through this together.” Read more

Staying Forever Young In Senior Living Advertising

Think seniors aren’t online? Think again. A recent Nielson report shows that the number of adults 65 years old or older actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent in the last five years. That’s more than 17 million people who you can reach online. Senior living marketing has become very popular.

What does that mean for you when marketing a senior living community? It means you must have a strong online presence.  More importantly, your website must be easy to find, easy to read and easy to navigate. Read more