Marketeers: Restart Your Engines, You Haven't Arrived Yet

Your job is done. You have arrived. Success has been achieved. All that hard work paid off.

Within the property industry right now I'm hearing a hell of a lot of backslapping and self-congratulation from bosses and marketeers. 'Record sales', 'record completion numbers', 'record revenue' etc. And it's as if bosses believe that the recent hike in property transactions fuelled by a hefty stamp duty discount and pent up demand, is permanent.

It's not.

Frankly, any estate agency that isn't making huge profits right now is doing something very wrong indeed. Selling houses in the current market is like shelling peas. They are selling like hot-cakes - and other such demonstrative cliches.

In fact, to illustrate the unusual nature of the housing market you only have to compare home sales in March 2021 to typical monthly levels - 190,000 sales versus 100,000 usually. That's some increase.

Agents and their marketing departments can perhaps be forgiven for thinking that their stars have aligned and that it's their months and years of toil, strategy and planning that have conspired to bring about exceptional listings, sales and completions rather than the Rishi Bounce that it really is.

The word on the street is that notwithstanding this misconception, consequently estate agencies and other property services related businesses are preparing to throttle back on spend - because they feel that they have made it. That the marketing job is done.

Wait. Stop. This is akin to posting a fastest lap midway through a race and then resting both feet on the dashboard as you coast around thereafter in the belief that you've won, only to slow down and be overtaken by everyone as they continue to speed along.

Don't be complacent. And certainly, don't believe your own hype. Because marketing is about continually acquiring customers through consistency of visibility across multiple channels. Sadly, those that think it's a short term fix will have a pretty awful 2022 as they run out of speed, stuttering along on an emptied tank.