Snail Mail is NOT Dead - Rule 10

The Following is an excerpt from: Sell More Homes Online -
15 Essential Rules to Sell the Digital Homebuyer.

One of the greatest things about email is that is does not occupy any real space. It does not clutter the dining room table like snail mail, and it does not fill the paper shredder either. When its time to delete it, it just disappears. Consumers love this. You need to understand email because consumers love it, but you also need to know that email makes it easy for them to delete you, and never see you again. For this reason, I do not advocate abandoning regular mail.

I have heard some builders argue that the buyer wants to communicate electronically, so they deliver everything that way and save money on postage. Attaching lots of information is one problem, which will be discussed in the next chapter, but email has no shelf life. It has no physical properties to be the reminder you want it to be.

I recommend that all leads that supply a valid address should receive something in the mail. It does not have to be a complete brochure that costs $4 and another $2 to mail. A condensed brochure, a postcard, or a CD-ROM with community information, among others will suffice. Some studies have shown that offline marketing is some of the most effective marketing to drive website traffic. This means that print, billboard, and other physical non-Internet materials with your builder name and web address can be MORE effective in driving people back to your site than online ads. A combination of on and offline marketing is best. This means you want a physical reminder of your email or conversation in their house and cluttering their dining table. When they go to clean the table a week later and they have other things or their mind, that brochure has an opportunity to bring them back to you.

It is always important to stay in front of the shopper. A web lead is no different. They are probably more likely to be distracted. Regular online users are inundated with huge volumes of content and distractions that can be found on the web. Be sure to put something physical in their hands.

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