In good times and bad, marketing your services still a must

For months now, the debate has been raging: Is the housing market boom over or isn't it? Home sales are still breaking records, Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.83 percent and although existing single-family home sales slipped in July to 6.72 million units they're still the third-best pace on record, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

But some economists and real estate experts still warn that a change is on the horizon: The boom is going to bust eventually, and you'd better be ready for it. Already, the Fed has stared hiking the federal funds rate and consumer spending is slowing in many parts of the U.S. due to lackluster retail sales and less robust home sales.

That's right, home sales are cooling off; or are at least back to moderate numbers, especially in once-vigorous markets like New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City and San Francisco.

Sam Walton, asked about his plans for a recession, once famously answered, "We don't plan to participate." He didn't, and his company's doing o.k. today (maybe you've heard of Wal-Mart?). Walton believed the old saw that when times are good, you should market your goods or services, and when times are bad, you must market your goods or services.

A McGraw Hill Research study of U.S. recessions, analyzing 600 companies over a five-year period emerging from an economic downturn, found that firms which had maintained or increased advertising during tough times averaged 275 percent sales growth in the five years coming out, while those who cut back on advertising grew only 19 percent.

Companies that regard marketing as an investment rather than an expense are shown to earn larger long term dividends. Marketing aggressively during a downturn projects an image of corporate confidence and stability. And it costs a great deal more to re-acquire customers or clients after you've lost them than it does to devote marketing money and efforts to keeping them.

It's simple, if counterintuitive, and sometimes even painful. When times are good, you should market your goods or services, and when times are bad, you must market your goods or services.

Soon, Mortgage XSites will help users do just that by including a suite of services called XSell, which is a built-in comprehensive marketing kit for mortgage professionals. It will allow you to set up marketing campaigns wizard-style. You'll be able to send promotional or, better yet, informational campaigns to a contacts database that you create and XSites maintains and manages for you. XSell will work in conjunction with Contacts and Scheduling so that you can set reminders for your campaigns which can be set up as a one time distribution or multiple scheduled distributions over time.

But while you're waiting for XSellerate (it'll be available soon, we promise), there are plenty of things you can do to increase your visibility to clients and reel in new customers. And even if a prospect isn't in the market for a new home yet, it's important to stay on their minds until they are.

Stay in contact. If you're a broker dealing with a particular LO on a weekly basis, you're never far from his or her thoughts. But if your "face time" with your partner starts to dwindle as mortgages taper off, a personal e-mail or phone call keeps you in front of him or her. If you worry about seeming too "clingy," how about forwarding them an interesting article you found on the Internet or even in your a la mode e-Newsletter? Whether it's an article about something exceptionally important to them or not, the idea is to get your name in their mind. The personal touch of "I read this and thought you would find it interesting" adds value, too.

Ask for business. Now is the time to send out a direct mail postcard or letter to prospects. Send a friendly e-mail out letting your potential customers know that, even if The Fed promises higher interest rates, you will always do your best to find the right mortgage for them.

Keep up with current events. Remember last summer when your magazine and newsletter subscriptions were piled high on your desk because you didn't have time to read them? Read up on market trends, stay informed and then keep your clients and customers informed.

Marketing your added value to your clients and your potential customers may take time and money. It's important to make a commitment to spend it even - especially - in down times. And it's a good way to distinguish yourself from your competitors.