We're building a new website for a client. The initial visuals had been signed off and we proceeded to build the site and upload it to a test address for the client's final approval prior to going live. And then we hit a wall, with the client saying that the site didn't look or feel quite right and could we go away and come back with a list of suggestions to make it better. I'm sure we've all been here before, but this is a no-win situation for all concerned.
Instead we engaged the client and began to probe more deeply into why they felt the design wasn't working. We kicked a few ideas around and there were some good suggestions from both sides of the table - we were working as a team and the client was taking joint ownership of the design process. Before long we'd reached an agreed action list of relatively minor items which will be applied quickly and easily, resulting in a website that the client and our team will be proud of.
Creativity is a two-way street and any client who totally abdicates responsibility for any part in the design process is almost certainly going to send up disappointed with the end result. At MMS we aim to work with clients, not for them. It's incumbent on the account handling team to make sure they're encouraging the client to contribute to the process rather than act as a passive spectator.
Drawing pretty pictures isn't terribly difficult. More of a challenge, and one of the biggest contributions a good marketing agency can make to a client's business, is to act as a catalyst and facilitator for creative thinking.
7 November 2009
16 October 2009
A load of crystal balls
I'm amazed at the diversity of opinion amongst the experts, analysts and self-appointed gurus as to what the future hold in store for the housing market and the new homes sector in particular. On the one hand we have credit rating agency Fitch telling us yesterday (15 October) that any signs of an upturn are nothing more than a false dawn and that the "crisis has only been postponed until 2011 or 2012". On the other hand investment specialist Assetz reassure us today that a double dip is unlikely and concerns are misplaced, thanks to expectations of interest rates remaining low and property sales underpinned by a fundamental lack of supply.
These are just a couple of example of the wide ranging predictions out there at the moment. I wasn't at yesterday's HMI conference, but colleagues who attended tell me that many of the presentations were laced with a good deal of caution. The fact is of course that no one knows for certain which way the housing market is going to head and where it's going to be in six or twelve months time. All we know for sure is that there are signs of recovery in many areas; our clients at MMS are certainly achieving sales at a reasonably acceptable level (albeit at values lower than where they really need to be) so we're getting on with it and making the most of the market we have right now.
My guess is that things will remain fairly level over the next year and I think most would settle for that; some stability in the housing market would benefit all concerned.
What are you seeing in your crystal ball for the new homes market in 2010?
PS - If you want to subscibe to our weekly property news round-up so that you can learn about the future as it unfolds, click here.
These are just a couple of example of the wide ranging predictions out there at the moment. I wasn't at yesterday's HMI conference, but colleagues who attended tell me that many of the presentations were laced with a good deal of caution. The fact is of course that no one knows for certain which way the housing market is going to head and where it's going to be in six or twelve months time. All we know for sure is that there are signs of recovery in many areas; our clients at MMS are certainly achieving sales at a reasonably acceptable level (albeit at values lower than where they really need to be) so we're getting on with it and making the most of the market we have right now.
My guess is that things will remain fairly level over the next year and I think most would settle for that; some stability in the housing market would benefit all concerned.
What are you seeing in your crystal ball for the new homes market in 2010?
PS - If you want to subscibe to our weekly property news round-up so that you can learn about the future as it unfolds, click here.
17 September 2009
Think like a home buyer
In all my (many!) years in new homes marketing, one of most common traps I’ve seen clients fall into time and again is failing to ‘think like a home buyer’ – and, more importantly, think like a buyer of one of their own products.
Picture the scenario: you’re pitching some ideas for a development of first time buyer properties and you know from your market research that the likely demographic for buyers is 25 to 35 year old professional singles and couples. There’s a fair chance that these people are going to be pretty new media savvy – receptive to the web, social media, SMS etc., so you pitch a really neat idea based around SMS as an instant response point for the offline media activity. The client’s response? “I’d never use text to get details of houses for sale…” and it’s dead in the water.
What the client is doing of course is applying his own personal values when judging the optimum communications solution. But as we know, his demographic footprint is totally different to that of his target market.
It’s our job as marketing professionals to demonstrate and persuade the client that he needs to open his mind, and it’s a challenge that MMS relishes rising to. But with the development of web 2.0 and its infiltration into mainstream marketing communications it’s something that we’re going to have to work a lot harder at.
Picture the scenario: you’re pitching some ideas for a development of first time buyer properties and you know from your market research that the likely demographic for buyers is 25 to 35 year old professional singles and couples. There’s a fair chance that these people are going to be pretty new media savvy – receptive to the web, social media, SMS etc., so you pitch a really neat idea based around SMS as an instant response point for the offline media activity. The client’s response? “I’d never use text to get details of houses for sale…” and it’s dead in the water.
What the client is doing of course is applying his own personal values when judging the optimum communications solution. But as we know, his demographic footprint is totally different to that of his target market.
It’s our job as marketing professionals to demonstrate and persuade the client that he needs to open his mind, and it’s a challenge that MMS relishes rising to. But with the development of web 2.0 and its infiltration into mainstream marketing communications it’s something that we’re going to have to work a lot harder at.
30 August 2009
Web 2.0 and house builders
Web 2.0 and the associated social networking phenomena are clearly gaining a critical mass – and not just amongst the younger demographic. Recent research has confirmed that the majority of Twitter users worldwide are age 35 or older, and young adults ages 18-24 make up only 10.6% of the Twitter population in the US (source: ComScore).
I think web 2.0 is probably where the internet was around 10 to 12 years ago – it’s seen as a bit geeky and a significant minority simply just don’t get it. But that’s what they were saying about the web a decade ago.
So at MMS we’re working hard to understand web 2.0 and, more importantly, ways in which it can be used to give our clients a commercial benefit. The concept isn’t rocket science, but the trick is finding the ways to weave it into a cohesive marketing strategy and convincing the client that this is indeed the future.
Our target market sector – the house building industry – is traditionally conservative in its approach to marketing. There are a few house builders who have taken the first tentative steps; not surprisingly Miller Homes has a presence on facebook and twitter. CALA also twitters, but apart from these two, I’m struggling to find much evidence of web 2.0 activity in the sector.
I’ve already experienced the incredulity from clients when we suggest a strategy that includes entering into a public dialogue with their potential and existing customers. Their overriding concerns centre around potential negative feedback from disgruntled purchasers; perhaps a sad indictment of the builder’s faith in its product. And this stance is blinding them from the potential upsides to be had from developing a two-way online relationship.
Rather like with the web, which is now an accepted part of mainstream marketing, house builders will eventually embrace web 2.0. However getting them there will be a challenge that the team at MMS will enjoy rising to.
I think web 2.0 is probably where the internet was around 10 to 12 years ago – it’s seen as a bit geeky and a significant minority simply just don’t get it. But that’s what they were saying about the web a decade ago.
So at MMS we’re working hard to understand web 2.0 and, more importantly, ways in which it can be used to give our clients a commercial benefit. The concept isn’t rocket science, but the trick is finding the ways to weave it into a cohesive marketing strategy and convincing the client that this is indeed the future.
Our target market sector – the house building industry – is traditionally conservative in its approach to marketing. There are a few house builders who have taken the first tentative steps; not surprisingly Miller Homes has a presence on facebook and twitter. CALA also twitters, but apart from these two, I’m struggling to find much evidence of web 2.0 activity in the sector.
I’ve already experienced the incredulity from clients when we suggest a strategy that includes entering into a public dialogue with their potential and existing customers. Their overriding concerns centre around potential negative feedback from disgruntled purchasers; perhaps a sad indictment of the builder’s faith in its product. And this stance is blinding them from the potential upsides to be had from developing a two-way online relationship.
Rather like with the web, which is now an accepted part of mainstream marketing, house builders will eventually embrace web 2.0. However getting them there will be a challenge that the team at MMS will enjoy rising to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
