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How to Use Demand Generation to Fill the Top of Your Sales Funnel

The Key to Success is to Connect the Dots By Charlie Calise To generate business from high-quality prospects, companies must have a plan to seamlessly integrate their demand and lead generation approaches.  Here is an overview of demand generation, what media types are best suited to support these top-of-funnel marketing activities, and how to integrate demand generation with lead generation to support your entire sales funnel. What is demand generation? Demand generation focuses on the top and middle parts of the sales funnel (i.e., awareness and consideration). It helps you reach new audiences and get them interested in learning more about your products or services. Demand generation marketing aims to generate brand awareness, build trust and credibility, educate audiences, and move them further down the path to purchase. Lead generation picks up where demand generation leaves off by increasing the audience’s interest in your products or services, convincing them that your offerings can meet their needs, and converting them into customers. How to build a demand generation strategy Here are the essential steps in a demand generation strategy: »          Build awareness // Let people know you exist and create a positive impression and understanding of your brand. Use awareness to build trust in your brand as someone who can help solve problems and address opportunities. »          Align content and media mix with the customer journey // Position your brandas an authoritative industry leader by regularly publishing high-quality, relevant content that matches the steps of the buying process. Support this content with the right media types to support the customer throughout their journey. »          Nurture high-quality leads // Via data insights (e.g., past brand interactions such as content downloads or website visits), reach prospects at the right time with the right content to deepen connections and drive deeper purchase intent. »          Integrate Marketing Automation tools with CRM systems // Improve alignment and efficiency of marketing and sales teams by integrating marketing automation tools with your CRM system. This powerful combination provides leads with a data-driven, seamless journey from awareness through to close. Best media types for demand generation Demand generation starts with developing and executing integrated marketing and media campaigns to generate awareness among the target audience. Here are the top digital marketing tactics for effective demand generation: »          Paid search // Pay-per-click (PPC) ads help you increase website traffic and connect with prospects searching for topics or solutions relative to what you provide. For demand generation, paid search keywords tend to be broader and more topical as opposed to paid search for lead gen which involves more specific, action-oriented terms. »          Search engine optimization (SEO) // Organic search is a sustainable and low-cost (but time-intensive) tactic to attract website traffic and increase brand visibility on search engine results pages. Combining organic and paid search can increase the impact of your efforts significantly. »          Paid social ads // Social media is a great way to generate awareness of your business and your products and services. However, since organic reach of social posts is so low, paid social ads are important to add to the mix. These ad types allow you to effectively reach highly targeted audience segments by leveraging social media platforms’ vast amounts of user data. »          Affiliate marketing // This channel helps you multiply your reach by having many affiliates in related business areas promote your brand and drive traffic from their websites to yours. You do not have to pay for the traffic upfront, and you can multiply your reach by having many affiliates help you generate website leads. You can provide pre-written content and image or video assets to your affiliates to ensure a consistent brand image and message to boost the effectiveness of this tactic. »          Programmatic advertising // Data analytics technologies help you buy digital advertising automatically and dynamically across the web, based on preset criteria such as prospect behaviors, interests, or past activities. »          Retargeting ads // These social media, online display, and search engine “reminder” ads bring visitors back to your website after they have visited, giving them another opportunity to engage with you. »          Events // While not technically a media type, events like tradeshows and conferences are a great way to generate awareness about, and interest in your brand among many people gathered to learn about a subject relevant to your business. Integrating demand generation with lead gen Once you have created awareness and interest, you need to continue moving prospects through their journey by educating them on why your products or services can solve their challenges and meet their needs. For example, drive them to your website to learn more about a specific topic or solution, encourage them to register for a webinar, request a demo, or directly contact a salesperson by filling out a form. As a result of most demand generation activities, prospects are considered marketing qualified leads (MQLs). An MQL is someone who has intentionally engaged with your brand (e.g., downloaded a white paper, filled out a form, or attended a webinar or event), and shows interest in your products or services. These leads become sales qualified (SQLs) when the contact shows enough buying interest (e.g., by requesting a demo or proposal or achieving a certain score) and proves a good fit for direct sales outreach. Your marketing team needs an internal process to move MQLs to SQLs so sales can get in touch with prospects as soon as they show high purchase intent. Lead scoring is one of the most-used methods to facilitate collaboration between marketing and sales. When a prospect takes an action or series of sequential actions (e.g., sign up for a webinar, download a whitepaper, schedule a demo) they should be assigned a score or ranking. Once they reach a certain score, they turn from MQLs to SQLs and are passed onto the sales team, who will further nurture the relationships and close the deal. How to implement effective lead scoring Effective lead scoring must address all of a prospect’s interactions with your brand

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5 Things to Know About Marketing in 2023

Boost Your ROI in 2023 By Kori Covrigaru In today’s world, marketing is no longer just about getting people to your property for viewing. It is about creating an experience that engages them at every point on their journey. According to the New York Times, single-family rental homes accounted for 35% of the 44 million rental units in the United States in 2021. This means the world of property management keeps growing. Marketing has undergone a more radical transformation in the past decade than in the previous century. By 2023, marketing will be even more data-driven and personalized than today—and only continue to evolve from there. Here are the 5 things to know about marketing in 2023. Community-Based Marketing Community-based marketing is the most effective way to reach your target audience and influence their buying decisions. It is a strategy that can be implemented at every stage of the sales funnel, and it works by establishing a relationship between you and your target customers. For this kind of marketing, you give your customers a voice and a degree of agency. Above all, community-based marketing focuses on building relationships with customers and stakeholders in your community by providing them with exact value rather than just selling them things. Symbiotic relationships make customers share satisfactory experiences with others—according to Duel, 72% of customers share good experiences with others. The newly rolled out Whatsapp community feature, where communities can be created, and in-chat polls added, is an excellent medium to leverage for marketing departments of property management companies. Conversational Marketing Conversational marketing is a crucial part of the future of marketing that focuses on building relationships with customers rather than pushing products. It can be used to build awareness for your brand and drive conversions. The idea of conversational marketing borders on providing a personalized experience for customers or potential customers. According to Drift, the demand for immediate communication has grown yearly by an average of 64%. When it comes to property management, conversational marketing has a lot of potential benefits. You can use it to connect with customers before renting from you and then keep them connected after the move-in process. This relationship building can make you more competitive in an already competitive market, allowing you to charge higher rents and attract top tenants. Marketing to Gen Z vs. Millennials Gen Zers and Millennials are two of the most important groups to consider when marketing your products. They are both very different from each other, but they also have some things in common. Both groups have grown up with technology and have been shaped by it differently, so it’s important to know how to market to them as separate groups. The best way to market to Gen Zers is through social media platforms where they can see how involved your brand is with current events and causes. If you can show them your brand has a purpose beyond itself, they’ll be more likely to want what you offer. Millennials are likelier to choose products based on brand reputation than price or quality. This means that if you want to market towards them effectively, it is important that your brand has a good reputation and communicates its values clearly through its messaging and visuals. As a property management company, you must understand how to market to Millennials and Gen Zers. This allows your company to offer better customer service and ensure that your customers always feel heard. User-Generated Content User-generated content—UGC for short—is precisely what it sounds like: content created by your users. It can be a review of your product or service, a photo of them using your product or service in their home, or even a video testimonial explaining why they love your brand. When you produce UGC, you do not only get free exposure. You also provide consumers a chance to share their stories with others and encourage them to think about your company when they need a comparable service. Cohesive Customer Experiences Cohesive customer experiences are the holy grail of marketing. It means that you are creating a consistent customer experience across all your marketing channels—from your website to your email campaigns to your social media presence. Property management companies must give prominence to how the customer reacts or feels through their customer journey map. Below is a visual representation of the customer journey map: Cohesive experiences help create brand loyalty. When people have an excellent first impression of your brand, they are more likely to return for future interactions. A cohesive experience provides consistency across all touchpoints, so there is no doubt about where to go next time you need something from your property management company. Marketing is integral to running a successful property management company. It is not something you can ignore and hope for the best. So, for property management companies, knowing the top marketing trends in 2023 will boost your ROI. For more information on how to increase ROI, please visit www.planomatic.com/roi-study/.

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Maximizing a Challenging 2023 Housing Market

Technology Can Help Those Who are Still Looking to Find Opportunities By Tim Reilly The real estate market has changed dramatically over the last year. With home price appreciation softening market-to-market and inflation running wild, something had to give. Successive increases in mortgage interest rates beginning in the second half 2022 put the brakes on the previous year’s unprecedented homebuying activity as the housing market shifted into a new ‘price discovery phase.’ Consequently, the single-family rental (SFR) and fix/flip investor activity which represented 4-5% of the total purchase market began to slow down as well. According to CoreLogic data, SFR growth has decelerated in the second half of 2022. A Redfin report also confirmed investors are retreating from the purchase market. According to the report, real estate investor purchase activity fell 30% in the third quarter. Rental growth is beginning to soften as well. Based on an analysis of the CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index, Hunter Housing Economics is forecasting rent prices will decrease slightly across the country in the first half of 2023. It will require investors to fine-tune and consider the drivers of their portfolios more carefully. Looking back on 2021, investor participants enjoyed the macro-benefits of a booming market like all boats rising during the high tide. Now, as a result of the cooling housing market, cap rate and ROI pressure is impacting purchases unevenly throughout differing geographic markets. Persistent inflation coupled with more expensive capital repair costs, have suddenly made acquiring, rehabbing, and pricing a rental or flip property a more challenging puzzle for even the most experienced investor to solve. Welcome to the “new normal.” However, analysts are still favoring the SFR market as demand for rentals is expected to grow. The shortage of affordable homes combined with mortgage rates trending above 7% continues to make purchasing a property difficult for many would-be buyers. According to Realtor.com, the gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew from 3.84 million homes at the beginning of 2019 to 5.8 million homes as of September 2022. It is a factor driving growth in the SFR market, as well as a shift in sentiment towards renting. A new suburban renter who values the flexibility and ease of renting has emerged from the pandemic and is here to stay. Renting well managed properties can offer a high standard of living without the commitment and expense of owning a home. And the growing trend appears to be transgenerational—from Gen-Z to Millennials and even Baby Boomers opting for the no-maintenance living offered by SFRs. As history teaches, where there is demand there is opportunity. Investors who continue to find opportunities amid the turbulence are more likely to thrive through this slowdown. One thing SFR investors, owners and developers can do to position themselves for success and prepare for the road ahead is put technology and property data to use. The right tech stack and data resources can help stabilize portfolios, maximize a variable operating cost structure while enhancing operational efficiencies, and refine acquisition and/or disposition strategies. Below are some methods for investors to do just that. Finding Acquisition Opportunities As home prices begin to fall in certain metros but continue to appreciate in others, investors have the more difficult task of identifying which opportunities will yield a good return. The latest proptech embedded with artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help in a number of ways: »          Pinpoint desirable SFR market locations where property values are stable or appreciating. »          Create a personalized buy box with intelligent search functionality to quickly sort through available investments based on specific property characteristics. »          Use computer vision AI to instantly estimate the condition of properties. »          Estimate the cost of repairs and property value after improvements are made to quickly establish potential ROI. Property Maintenance  Single-family renters have higher expectations for the quality of finishings and responsiveness to property issues. To help you get top dollar for your rentals and retain tenants, a platform that includes automated workflow, assignments, and access to a network of qualified contractors can help you streamline your property management operations: »          Scope renovations and repairs to allocate budget and timelines appropriately. »          Access a network of vetted contractors to quickly dispatch a qualified professionalto complete repairs. »          Use AI to compare the condition of your properties to comparables in the same market. Portfolio Management As the market fluctuates, asset managers need flexible technology that allows them to focus on strategy rather than executing the thousands of repetitive tasks required to effectively manage their portfolios. The best asset management technologies leverage automation and task-driven workflows to simplify complex processes, track progress and proactively manage portfolios. This helps users more easily execute and manage their strategies, from acquisition through renovation, listing, management, and disposition in the following ways: »          Customized rental management workflows can help manage specific scenarios for property maintenance. »          Track KPIs to monitor property performance and manage expectations. »          Execute your disposition strategy for properties that are underperforming or in higher risk markets. Onboarding and learning new technology can understandably feel like a daunting exercise. However, adopting a new technology solution may provide the competitive advantage savvy SFR investors are looking for as the market becomes more complex. Working with a provider like homegenius Real Estate that has invested in the latest advancements in automation, machine learning, and data science can help you take a proactive approach based on real-time micro-market data. While others are choosing to “wait and see” how the market performs, you can get ahead of them by optimizing your strategy now. Ultimately, nimble technology is a critical investment for SFR investors and asset managers to successfully navigate the market slowdown.

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Home Affordability Worsens Across U.S. During Q4 2022

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Major Home-Ownership Costs Consume 32% of Average National Wage By ATTOM Staff ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, released its fourth-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Affordability Report showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos are less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to historical averages in 99% of counties across the nation with enough data to analyze — far above the 68% of counties that were less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2021. The report further shows that the portion of average wages nationwide required for typical major home-ownership expenses has risen to 32.3% this quarter. That figure — considered unaffordable by traditional lending standards — is up from 29.6% in the third quarter of this year and from 23.8% a year ago. It now stands at its highest point since 2007. Affordability has worsened due to rising home-mortgage rates in the U.S., which offset the benefits of rising wages and a recent decline in home values. Higher loan rates in 2022 have pushed up major ownership expenses on median-priced homes by 10% this quarter even as the median price of single-family homes and condos nationwide dipped 3% this quarter, following a 4% drop over the Summer. But lower prices and a 1% gain in average wages have been too little to make up for the impact of these increased mortgage payments. “Prospective homebuyers — especially first-time buyers — can’t seem to catch a break,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “For the past two years home prices have appreciated in double digits — 15 to 20% a year in some markets. Now that home prices have plateaued and even declined in some markets, buyers are faced with mortgage rates that have doubled, making home purchases even less affordable.” The report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet major monthly home ownership expenses — including mortgage, property taxes and insurance — on a median-priced single-family home, assuming a 20% down payment and a 28% maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. That required income was then compared to annualized average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to historical levels, median home prices in 577 of the 581 counties analyzed in the fourth quarter of 2022 are less affordable than in the past. The latest number is up slightly from 572 of the same group of counties in the third quarter of 2022. But it is well up from 393 in the fourth quarter of 2021 and just 181, or less than a third, two years ago. Meanwhile, major home-ownership expenses on typical homes are unaffordable to average local wage earners during the fourth quarter of 2022 in 427, or about three-quarters, of the 581 counties in the report, based on the 28% lending guideline. Counties with the largest populations that are unaffordable in the fourth quarter are: »          Los Angeles County, CA »          Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ »          San Diego County, CA »          Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) »          Kings County (Brooklyn), NY The most populous of the 181 counties where major expenses on median-priced homes remain affordable for average local workers in the fourth quarter of 2022 are: »          Cook County (Chicago), IL »          Harris County (Houston), TX »          Wayne County (Detroit), MI »          Philadelphia County, PA »          Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH Interest rates have more than doubled this year to almost 7%, inflation remains near 40-year highs and the stock market has declined. All those forces have helped drive down prices after a decade of gains. At this point, prices haven’t declined enough to make up for rising mortgage costs. But affordability could shift back in favor of home seekers if mortgage rate hikes ease or if prices drop further. “There is a scenario where affordability improves as we move through 2023,” Sharga added. “Wage growth continues to be strong; home prices appear to have stabilized and are even going down slightly; and mortgage rates may have peaked for this cycle and could go down gradually next year. If those conditions remain in place, the affordability picture is much brighter for a lot of potential buyers.” Home prices remain up at least 5% annually in two-thirds of U.S. Despite the recent decline in the U.S. housing market, median single-family home and condo prices in the fourth quarter of 2022 remain up by at least 5% over the fourth quarter of 2021 in 361, or 63%, of the 581 counties included in the report. However, typical values have dropped from the third to the fourth quarter in 463, or 80%, of those counties. That has contributed to a nationwide 3% decrease in the median home price, from $335,000 in the third quarter of 2022 to $325,000 in the fourth quarter. The median is now down 6.9% from the peak of $349,000 in the second quarter of this year. Among the 48 counties in the report with a population of at least 1 million, the biggest year-over-year gains in median sales prices during the fourth quarter of 2022 are in: »          Collin County (Plano), TX (up 34%) »          Hillsborough County (Tampa), FL (up 18%) »          Miami-Dade County, FL (up 17%) »          St. Louis County, MO (up 16%) »          Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach), FL (up 16%) Counties with a population of at least 1 million where median prices have dropped most, year-over-year, during the fourth quarter of 2022 are: »          Philadelphia County, PA (down 13%) »          New York County (Manhattan), NY (down 4%) »          Honolulu County, HI (down 4%) »          Bronx County, NY (down 1%) »          Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA (down 1%). Portion of wages needed for home ownership increases throughout the U.S. With mortgage rates rising close to 7%, the portion of average local wages consumed by major expenses on median-priced, single-family homes and condos has increased from the third to the fourth quarter of 2022 in 97% of the 581 counties

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