It's not all about you! The marketing shift that will change your business forever.

The problem with most marketing:
 
There's a lot of money being thrown around by the mortgage industry these days. Firms are investing in digitalization, data, and recruiting more than ever, while individual loan officers look to boost their marketing and ad budgets. With record-low interest rates, a preponderance of home equity to work with, and strong homebuyer demand, it's no wonder why the mortgage industry is doubling down on client acquisition.
 
However, from the largest firm spending millions to the solo-preneur trying to keep up with their own marketing, a lot of that money is being wasted for one simple fact:

They’re doing it wrong!

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This is another fantastic guest blog by my good friend and industry icon, Kelly Resendez. 

You can get to know Kelly better or contact her here.

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In fact, there’s one fundamental snafu that many brands and organizations make over and over; their marketing is all about them, not their clientele and audience.
 
The good news is that this pivotal error is also incredibly easy to fix, and the shift will reap huge financial rewards almost immediately.
 
How do you flip that switch?
 
Stop talking about your own firm, service, or process in your marketing, and start focusing on your customers.
 
“Make the customer the hero of your marketing story,” as presentation and sales expert Tom Bresnahan puts it. 

Let’s take a further look at how (and why) to do just that.
 
The transformative solution: 
 
According to a comprehensive study by Rutgers University, all marketing content falls under one of two umbrellas. 
 
“Meformers” mostly talk about themselves with their marketing messages, posts, and images.
 
While “Informers” do the opposite, turning their lens to the outside world by focusing on their customers or audience. 
 
Informers post marketing materials that provide value, solve problems, acknowledge people’s challenges, and share experiences. Basically, they tell a whole lot of stories about others – not themselves.
 
So, that loan officer whose "marketing strategy" consists of posting nothing but selfies (we all know that person!) - he or she is a "Meformer."
 
But the professional who posts tips, hacks, resources, educational facts, community news, and especially tells the stories of the clients they help is thoroughly an Informer.
 
And the benefits to being an Informer are profound.
 
Stats and facts that prove Informers win:
 

• According to research by Deloitte and Touche, companies that focus their marketing on their audience are 60 percent more profitable than similar firms who focus messaging on themselves.

 

• But only two-thirds (66%) of marketing campaigns actually focus on their audience’s information needs over their own company information or messages, per a 2020 B2B Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends study.

 

• However, that same study (conducted by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs) found that 88 percent of top performers and earners in any field are Informers!

 
It’s not only advertising campaigns that illuminate this crucial chasm, but regular day-to-day social media marketing.
 

• In fact, Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase, found that Informers have almost 300 percent more social media followers than Meformers.

 

• Consumer surveys back up that assertion. A study by Chadwick Martin Bailey found that consumers share 72 percent of social media posts because they find them interesting or entertaining, and 58 percent because they feel they are helpful (the two top responses for that question).

 

• And according to marketing research conducted by HubSpot, news (78 percent) and how-to information (58%) are the forms of social media content that are shared the most, while posts about products (45 percent) were near the bottom.

 
The tangible benefit to this marketing shift:
 
By “turning the marketing lens outward,” you’ll engage and connect with consumers on a whole new level. These days, that’s a necessary tactic since they’re inundated with marketing and advertising messages at a mind-boggling rate – including from your competitors.
 
Did you know that the average person is bombarded by more than 3,000 commercial messages every single day?!
 
But you’ll stand out, develop an authentic relationship, and build brand loyalty once you look to make the consumer the hero in your marketing stories. 
 
No longer is it sufficient to intercede and reach them right before they make a buying decision or certain consumer triggers pop up, like credit score checks, home value estimates, or home searches, etc.
 
Instead, you’ll share their journey every step of the way, offering advice, information, resources, help, and a lot of genuine investment in the relationship. 
 
They’ll already understand the value your firm provides and trust you to provide solutions via your services. 
 
Your audience will love you for it!
 
Your audience will appreciate that you’re authentically interested in their lives and experiences, and that’s backed up by mountains of data. 
 
For instance, 77 percent of people surveyed are brand loyal according to HubSpot, and 90 percent of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends online.
 
The best part is that by making your marketing about THEM, you'll see a significant uptick in user-generated content, like when your clients share photos, recommendations, shout-outs, testimonials, and other endorsements.
 
That’s HUGE – the Holy Grail of any marketing – as 70 percent of consumers trust content and endorsements from regular people (over brand-sponsored marketing), and 61 percent are more likely to engage with an ad if it includes a real customer or regular person.
 
That’s fundamental to your success (and a spike in profits!) since repeat clients or referrals from past clients convert at a 65 percent rate compared to just a 13 percent closing rate for new prospects. 
 
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I recommend you sit down and map out your marketing strategies to see if you fall in the Meformer or Informer category. 

​-Norm  :-)