Your Yearly Marketing Review Checklist

Marketing is an ongoing process, but the new year offers an opportunity to reassess your marketing message and to refresh the look and feel of your brand.

What’s working? What’s not? Where could you improve or expand?

Use this checklist to begin the evaluation process.

→ Marketing collateral: Business cards, brochures, flyers, etc. Is it time for a redesign? Is the design consistent with your digital presence? Is there information that requires updating?

→ Website: Review metrics to determine the effectiveness of your site. Customer conversion rates and search engine optimization (SEO) can tell you a lot about customer behavior. Are you capturing new customer contact information? In other words, what is your conversion rate?

From a design standpoint, do pages flow logically and are they consistent in their look and feel? 
Are you incorporating simple landing pages where visitors coming from your blog or social media pages can find useful information or more meaningful content easily?

Does information need to be updated or refined? Do a total audit of contact information, testimonials, photos, videos, content offerings, social media links, and calls to action.

→ Blog: Have you been publishing on a regular basis? Is your blog easily accessible from your website and social media pages? Is it time to archive or refresh older posts?

→ Social media: How often are you posting on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn? Are updates needed for contact info, testimonials, etc.? Are all links working? Are you posting new MLS listings? Are there other platforms you should be on  like Instagram or Pinterest? How many followers do you have?

→ Email: Are email campaigns in place for prospects, current, and post-close clients? Do emails require information updates like subject, signature, or social media links? If automated, are emails going out as scheduled? Does content need to be refreshed? Are unsubscribe requests being honored?

Little things that matter

• Is your customer database up-to-date?
• Does your voicemail greeting need to be updated?
• Are you direct messaging clients? Is it time to add Snapchat?
• If applicable, does your mobile app need to be updated?
• Are you building and maintaining a database of professional referral partners? Are you marketing to this group on a regular basis?
• Are you co-branding with lenders? If so, what updates or changes are required to shared collateral?

The Bottom Line

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is your marketing message consistent with your brand? Does it reflect your experience and expertise? Is it time for a design refresh and messaging update? Are their areas where you’d like to extend your efforts — niche development such as luxury properties, first-time homebuyers, etc.? Are there areas that are not working for you?

While this is not by any means a complete list, it should be a good starting point. Taking the time now — prior to the spring selling season — to refresh and expand your marketing is well worth the effort. By the same token, eliminating components that aren’t working or that you’re just not good at (like blogging or particular social media channels) will both free you up and eliminate any clutter and noise that may impact your overall presentation.

Don’t put this off. Bad links, outdated content, and incorrect information can lead to lost sales and referrals.