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How a real estate agency carries out their marketing tactics in Australia has changed forever. Gone are the days of simply dropping flyers and posting big advertisements in the local newspaper. It is a new landscape with many opportunities, both traditional and digital.
But how do you know which tactics are working? Which marketing activities are giving you the best return on investment? Well, the only way to find out is to test them…
What is split-testing?
Split-testing (also known as A/B testing) is the process by which you decide which marketing tactic you will try, and then choosing two different ways to drive this tactic to the result you want.
Then, if one way gives you the better result, you keep that way as the ‘constant’ to try other tactics against.
What can I split-test?
Split-testing is most commonly used in online advertising – on your agency website, in your Google or Facebook AdWords, in your email newsletters. However, you can also split-test other marketing tools such as messaging on business cards and letterbox-drop flyers.
You can also split-test targeting. You can create a headline and call-to-action and split-test whether you get a better response from women or from men. Or you can see if you get a better result from people aged 25-35 or 36-45.
How do I make the most of split-testing?
To make split-testing successful, you need to carefully set up, track and measure all of your tactics. This can be done in a piece of software, such as your CRM or a marketing tool, or in something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet.
Are there downsides to split-testing?
The main downside you need to be aware of is that it does take additional resources – mainly staff – to execute the split-testing. If you have a copywriter, they will be doing double the work as they will write two pieces of copy instead of one. There is also the extra time needed to track and analyse the additional results.
But you will find that the downsides are far outweighed by the upsides.
An example
You want to drive leads from home owners in your area. You decide to run a Facebook ad campaign. You create an ad that shows 25- to 35-year-olds in one set and 36- to 45-year-olds in another set:
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You might see that you are getting a better response from the 36- to 45-year-olds, so you decide to amend the ad that is sent to the younger age group:
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As you try different copy, and keep an eye on the results, you will get a feel for which copy drives more leads and better customers.
For your free guide to split-testing for real estate agents, sign up to www.expertagent.com.au and you will be advised when the guide is available.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fiona McEachran
Fiona McEachran is the marketing manager for the Console range of real estate software at Onthehouse Holdings.
Fiona manages the Console team, driving the brand strategy and implementing the marketing tactics using both web and traditional advertising, promotions, events and campaigns.
Fiona has over 10 years’ B2B and B2C marketing experience, and has led successful campaigns encompassing planning, website development, email marketing, SEO, SEM, direct mail, e-newsletters and more.
Console is the leading software provider for the real estate industry – offering property management, sales, CRM and website solutions.
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