Page 249 - Social Media Marketing

238 Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

be able to stay ahead of the curve by changing your product line or
adjusting your focus to other products and services you currently
have available.

One way I have protected my business from the ill effects of a
soft housing market is to have a cash-buy division that invests in
properties. During market downturns, we can usually pick up some
good deals on real estate and generate additional profits to cover
the profits we are losing from declining home sales. You may not
have similar opportunities in your industry, but chances are pretty
good that you can make some adjustments, as long as you have
enough advanced notice that a change is likely to occur.

Changes in How Customers Shop

Have you seen many door-to-door salespeople lately? Do you hear
from many telemarketers? The door-to-door salesperson is an en-
dangered species, fast on the way to becoming extinct. Likewise, the
national do-not-calllist has decimated telemarketers. Amazon.com
and eBay have completely revolutionized the way many people
shop, and Wal-Mart has put thousands of mom-and-pop retailers
out of business. In the real estate industry, I have seen incredi-
ble changes in the way people shop for and buy homes: More than
25 percent of homes that are sold are now For Sale By Owner (FSBO),
and 70 percent of people do some online research before consulting
a real estate professional.

The way customers shop for products and services is constantly
changing. Now, if you don't have some sort of Internet presence,
you are losing business. If you are not serving the multicultural
marketplace, you are missing out on an opportunity to tap into
a $2 to $3 trillion market. If you are not where your customers
shop, providing them with the information they need to make savvy
purchase decisions, then you're missing opportunities.