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G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 11:04
I have a particular service that i would like to advertise to home buyers and sellers, i have thought of estate agents and mortgage advisors, but am a bit stumped after that, i have contacted a local home buyers mag which may be good but its pretty expensive.

any ideas?

G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 11:46
also thought about mailshots but always imagined this to be expensive and time consuming, once you buy the list etc

ethical PR
14th May 2009, 11:54
what sort of service are you providing and who are you providing it to?

G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 12:01
what sort of service are you providing and who are you providing it to?


i am providing the service to home buyer and sellers(first post).
the service is an gas safety inspection and written report on all gas appliances in the property. this is both for peace of mind for buyers/sellers and occasionally it is needed for mortgage purposes (if picked up in a survey).

Cheers

Dave

SFD
14th May 2009, 12:13
Have you tried the Estate Agents yet?

It would surprise me if they promoted it as it could cost them sale if the whole system was kapput.

I would contact the sign erection companies, ask to buy their data on new boards erected, may be just sold signs on the quiet. They would probably be glad of the business at the moment

ethical PR
14th May 2009, 12:15
I had picked up your first post about the potential customer but was trying to understand what geographical area you operated in and what you were selling in order that I could provide you with some PR and marketing advice.

However in general I would suggest looking at what would motivate someone to have the work done if it's optional rather than a 'have to' and if they are chosing to get the work done be able to answer the question 'why should they chose you'. Also look at what would motivate an estate agent, surveyor or mortgage adviser to recommend you.

Perhaps look at a special offer through landlord associations, banner ads on property sites, set up 1:1's with estate agents, mortgage advisers and surveyors in your area to build up a relationship with them so that they would want to recommend you to their clients.

Think about feature ideas for an article for local 'glossy' lifestyle publications and speak to the editor to see if they would be interested.

Run a competition in your local papers/radio station offer a free report....

Hope some of these ideas prove helpful.

G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 12:47
Have you tried the Estate Agents yet?

It would surprise me if they promoted it as it could cost them sale if the whole system was kapput.

I would contact the sign erection companies, ask to buy their data on new boards erected, may be just sold signs on the quiet. They would probably be glad of the business at the moment


I will try the estate agents but like you say they may not see it as benefitial to them, the mortgage advisors however are more than keen to pass me on.

When you say sign erection where exactly would you suggest putting the signs?

SFD
14th May 2009, 12:59
I will try the estate agents but like you say they may not see it as benefitial to them, the mortgage advisors however are more than keen to pass me on.

When you say sign erection where exactly would you suggest putting the signs?

No, the companies who erect the 'For Sale' signs for the estate agents. There are usually 1/2 per town. The have lists of all the addresses they erect signs at. You could ask to buy a list of all the new signs or all the signs which have been changed to 'Sold'

You could then use these addresses to send info/ a letter

G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 13:29
No, the companies who erect the 'For Sale' signs for the estate agents. There are usually 1/2 per town. The have lists of all the addresses they erect signs at. You could ask to buy a list of all the new signs or all the signs which have been changed to 'Sold'

You could then use these addresses to send info/ a letter

Ah genius, never thought about that, thanks a million.
They may have a privacy policy though, not to give out addresses.
In fact im pretty sure the estate agents do it in house, but worth a phone call


Dave

SFD
14th May 2009, 13:34
I used to work in an Estate Agents when I was younger an one company serviced all the agents.

www.snaithsigns.com is one such company in the N.E, not sure on the exact area they cover though.

G. Lasagne
14th May 2009, 20:27
Thanks everyone great tips

G. Lasagne
19th May 2009, 15:26
I used to work in an Estate Agents when I was younger an one company serviced all the agents.

www.snaithsigns.com (http://www.snaithsigns.com) is one such company in the N.E, not sure on the exact area they cover though.


I contacted the above company and i am having a meeting with him to discuss it further, he works for 47 different estate agents and erects 500 for sale signs at different properties every month.

It is very promising, so a big big thank you to sfd for giving me the idea, who needs a marketing consultant when you have the UKBF;)

G. Lasagne
19th May 2009, 15:27
Im also considering email marketing to home buyers, anyone have any idea of whats involoved and how much a decent campaign would cost?

SusanP
19th May 2009, 17:41
What about paying a couple of kids to tramp through the town putting one of your leaflets through every door with a For Sale sign outside?

red-source
19th May 2009, 21:54
You could place an advert in a property auction magazine, last time I visted a property auction lots were discussing issues such as gas expections etc as they are less sure of what they are buying and the state of repair.

Also try contacting your local authorities, councils. You my get a contract on a bigger scale. Worth a shot !

SFD
20th May 2009, 08:05
Good stuff, good luck with the meeting.

G. Lasagne
20th May 2009, 15:24
You could place an advert in a property auction magazine, last time I visted a property auction lots were discussing issues such as gas expections etc as they are less sure of what they are buying and the state of repair.

Also try contacting your local authorities, councils. You my get a contract on a bigger scale. Worth a shot !


Excellent idea thanks.

Im also looking at buying sme homemover data from selectabse.

150 per month for 6 months for £198+vat.

Good idea or not?

SFD
20th May 2009, 15:48
Excellent idea thanks.

Im also looking at buying sme homemover data from selectabse.

150 per month for 6 months for £198+vat.

Good idea or not?

I think it depends on the age of the data.

For example, if a buyer has just had an offer accepted then they are excited but nervous about the move. This would be a good time to target them, make sure they are making a good buy and put their mind at rest.

If the buyer has lived in the property a month or so, the heating system works and doesn't make any funny noises then I'm sure they will be looking for other ways to spend their money.

I suppose it's not a large cost for so many leads though, seems quite reasonable plus if you send them one of your magnets to stick on the boiler then they can call you if it does break down. (I think it was you who had the magnets.)

G. Lasagne
20th May 2009, 15:52
The data is 7 days old, so not too bad in that sense.
cheers

ThePublisher
20th May 2009, 16:55
I contacted the above company and i am having a meeting with him to discuss it further, he works for 47 different estate agents and erects 500 for sale signs at different properties every month.

It is very promising, so a big big thank you to sfd for giving me the idea, who needs a marketing consultant when you have the UKBF;)

You could try working this so that if you got leaflets printed up your board man could stick them through the door at the same time he's putting the sign up, and another when he's changing it to a sold sign.

Would save a fortune on postage, but would have the downside you wouldn't necessarily know how many/where the leaflets have gone and you would be relying on trust and the relationship with your contact.

TMSL
21st May 2009, 15:54
Most of the large corporate estate agencies erect there own signs, I would stick to the smaller independents , but as previously said, they wouldnt advertise something that could scupper a purchase when they are already so hard to come by.