Marketing Analysis

A marketing analysis is taking a look at all your marketing activities and measuring which ones are the most effective so that you can create repeatable patterns.

To give you an example, I'll use my Chicago apartment for rent. The showings to potential renters have come from:

My Realtor: 5
Chicago Reader: 5
CraigsList, Apartment: 0
CraigsList, Garage: 3
Free Press: 0
Posted Flyers: 0
Apt People: 2
Chicago Apartment Finders: 1
Apartment Exchange: 0

As I look at these results, I can see that my realtor and the Chicago Reader have done pretty well for me.

A Chicago Reader ad has cost me $57.00 a week and I've run it for 3 weeks.

My realtor will take one months rent equal to $1,195.

Craigslist is free but isn't producing anything for me. Craigslist has a great reputation for finding renters and I've had good luck before. So I started to analyze, "why is it not the case anymore?"

When you check a Craigslist listing for an apartment, you are overwhelmed with daily postings. The posters have figured out how to post the same property every day in a different way. The renters are overwhelmed and frustrated. Taking a look at this information and asking questions is an example of listening.

I decided to try a backdoor approach to CraigsList, posting the garage thinking that if someone needed a garage, they might need an apartment too. This idea produced three inquiries.

Then I ask, why is the realtor doing well? I can post on the MLS myself for a fee. I believe it's because she is a long-term professional realtor. Her postings have credibility. She's known in her marketplace. When she has a posting, other realtors who know her take notice.

Why is the Chicago Reader doing well? I think it's because Craigslist is so saturated. The Reader is easier to read and there's less competition because of the small weekly fee. It is also distributed in a target market that has a high population of renters.

This is an example of a marketing analysis. When clients ask "what marketing/sales initiative should I use?" My response is to try several and test them. Once you see positive patterns, invest more in the initiative that is producing results.

That's how it works.