Case Study: The Nautical Club: Targeted Mailing Lists, Direct Mail Design, Print Production and Ad design and placement by Beach List Direct helped this real estate developer reach his high-end target.

Direct Marketing Strategies for the North Carolina (South Eastern US) Coastal Real Estate Market

A. Overview
Beach List Direct, Inc. (BLDI) is a strong resource for companies and individuals charged with marketing and selling NC coastal real estate developments. BLDI, operating since 1994, provides multi-channel promotional programs to reach individuals in known US markets who are or plan to purchase second homes, vacation homes and/or investment property in NC, and specifically, on the coast. Proven direct marketing techniques are used to communicate one-to-one, on a very personalized level, to these individuals at their home address. These efforts, when appropriate, can be reinforced with traditional mass-market advertising such as TV commercials, newspaper ads and radio. Sales events and online marketing efforts should also be part of the mix.

We have all witnessed the affects of a national downward trend in the economy due, in large part, to defaulting mortgages. This has produced a buyers market. And while lingering effects of this downturn have influenced bottom line operating and marketing costs for NC coastal developments, it's clear that demand and interest remain high, given the state's natural beauty and climate, economic growth, energized business climate, and affordable standard of living. While some developers have had to adjust their commercial pricing downward, marketing remains a vital business need and justifiable expense.

The good news: North Carolina is still consistently ranked as the best housing market in the country, and one of the best to do business in! And when it comes to NC coastal vacation-like properties, we see another strength….the second home market. According to a recent TIME magazine article, this is a good time to buy your retirement house, even if you don’t plan to live in it for years because it is a buyers market. It is a sure bet that housing values will stop going down and start going back up within the next 10 years. Additionally, the preferred retirement spots like waterfront property will go up the fastest and the most. Because of this, people in their 40s, 50s and 60's are keeping the second home market alive. Last year second home prices rose 5%, and the typical buyer is 44 years old. A third of these buyers say they plan to live there later in life.

Many who plan to live in their coastal property later rent the house for years to defray and re-coop costs. Still, many homes remain too expensive for this plan (costs are higher than the rent that can be demanded). But, for the first time in many years, some regions have slipped enough to make the math work, including the North Carolina coast.

You'll find in Beach List Direct a marketing partner that can help coastal developers and their agencies communicate clearly to target prospects on a number of different levels and touch points.

Direct marketing is all about testing. It's accountable. We specialize in targeted list brokerage and management, where we find the lists that best fit your target demographic. All of the list research is FREE, and if you are an agency, can be provided to you in a format you can private label and present to your client. We have great ideas on campaign structure, including campaign strategy, mailing formats and design, copywriting, schedules, delivery methods, tracking and interactive/online elements, some of which is outlined below, relative to NC Coastal marketing.

In Summary, at BLDI, you have a knowledgeable direct marketing partner who can help you find your target audience and communicate to them directly in a very specific, personalized and engaging way, multiple times. We have strategies to test and learn from each mailing, and we have systems in place that help track response and ROI, so you know what's working and what is not.

Finally, BLDI provides additional multi-channel marketing services to round out any full campaign, including alternative (Insert) media, mail piece and collateral print design and production, printing and lettershop (mail) services, and online marketing efforts including website/micro-site/landing page design and production, email marketing and search engine marketing.

B. Working with Beach List Direct:
In working with BLDI to promote your property we would:

1. Conduct discovery and orientation
a. Identify the top two to three target audiences - by demographic, behavioral and geographic characteristics. Ask the agents, property owners and anybody involved what they know about the target audiences, what motivates them, what do they like, what do they not like, where do they come from, what are they looking for or what do they want to get away from.

b. Understand what will constitute success for the program – average sale price of units times the number of units sold to cover cost of promotion will determine the required response rates to break even. To be considered a success, the amount of profit above and beyond this breakeven point should be identified.

c. The types of audiences will help determine the best media, the best approach, & the voice to use in speaking with the audiences. Sophisticated audiences will require more sophisticated approaches and information, typically personalized letters with compelling copy on nice printed pieces. Properties geared toward families may require more emphasis on family amenities and family activities, perhaps using a tone that communicates less exclusivity and more practicality. Discuss what formats the direct mail pieces should take and what is good and bad about each.

d. Understand budgets and timing issues - be particularly sensitive to weather and season (time of year) of promotion.

2. Use information gleaned in Step 1 to build preliminary direction and rough proposal outline. Discuss reasons for recommended directions, such as why promotion may recommend multiple touches or particular mail piece formats. Emphasize need for testing in early stages and importance of having tracking mechanisms in place. Identify various hypotheses to be tested and explain why they are important to test.

3. Review preliminary outline with client. Discuss approaches and look for consensus or note need for revisions in direction as necessary.

4. Flesh out full program details. Set schedules, & specify materials, maintaining continuity of message and consistency across all channels. Review with attention to following directives from Steps 1 and 3 (i.e. don’t lose sight of goals and audience characteristics).

5. Second session for client review and approval, or revisions as necessary

6. Begin first promotions. With all approvals and direction set, begin first promotions with understanding that early efforts are primarily tests.

7. Measure and review results of early promotions

8. Make adjustments as required based on initial tests. Based on results adjust next promotions to what works while dropping low performers. Continue with some testing, but understand these efforts are much less about testing than executing what has been shown to work. A general rule of thumb in direct marketing is that once you find a list that performs, keep mailing it until it doesn’t.

C. Target Markets for NC Coastal Developers and Marketers:
a. North Carolina: Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston Salem, Greenville, Wilmington
b. Northern Virginia
c. Maryland
d. District of Columbia
e. Northeast: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania
f. Florida (half-backs)

D. Sample Demographics for NC Coastal Developers and Marketers:
a. Retirees
b. Baby Boomers
c. Those who have previously purchased investment properties, second home, vacation homes.
d. Age – 44 - 68
e. Income - $150,000 - $250,000
f. Net Worth - $750,000+

E. Targeted Mailing List Samples
A sampling of lists worth considering for this market:
1. Helping Hands – High Dolor Donors
2. Ultra Wealthy Americans - $2+ million Net Worth
(taking Real Estate Investors first, then fill with Investors)
3. American City Business Journals Subscribers
4. Business Owners at Home Address White Cliff information
5. AMA Physicians at Preferred Address
6. Bell South Enhanced Residential
7. Real Estate Investors Inquirers and Prospects, Net Worth $1MM+
8. Real Estate Vacation & Second Home Buyers with $2 Million Plus Net Worth
9. SmartMoney Subscribers
10. Wall St. Journal Paid Subscribers

F. Mailing Piece Formats and Campaign Recommendations
We recommend mailing the same record 3-4 times in an ongoing campaign. There is a perceived value to the audience that cannot be communicated in a single mailing, given the fact that your competitors are mailing them several times as well.

A number of mailing formats are open for consideration, including a postcard, a self mailer, a letter package, a CD/DVD and an invitation to a sales event, to name a few. The mail pieces need to have clear, communicative marketing text and offer, and include multiple ways to respond, usually an 800#, email address and website url. And, to stand out in today’s cluttered mailbox filled with competitor’s offers, unique materials such as clear envelopes and interesting dimensional mail should be considered.

As previously mentioned, any direct marketing campaign should be backed up with a website, micro-site or custom landing pages devote to that specific mailing. Additional campaign elements, when appropriate, might include newspaper, radio and TV advertising, email follow-up and newsletter campaigns, and pay-per-click search advertising. BLDI provides expertise in these areas as well.

G. Tracking
1. Track phone inquiries – we can implement systems that provide 800#s to clients that track phone calls that originate from a direct mailing or print advertisements, something that until recently was difficult to do.

2. Track web inquiries – custom urls applied to direct mailings or print advertisements allow us to track where those visitors came from.

H. Analysis
1. Breakeven analysis - Understanding the profits and losses associated with a direct mailing can be difficult. We provide a sample breakeven analysis that helps de-mystify these elements.

2. Search Analytics – If you have a Pay-per-click search advertising program in place, you can use your analytics software to see additional information on referring sources of traffic.

Need to drive qualified traffic for your next venture? Contact Roberta Beach today to discuss a customized program for your organization: (615)356-1100 x6305.