Park Terrace sells condos in downtown San Diego, among other builders trying to move similar inventory. I first saw Park City Terrace in a TV commercial touting the new high rise and introducing some common benefits of the project. The TV commercial grabbed my attention and I found it rather striking because it’s not every day you see advertisements for new homebuilders on TV. A splurge by the ad team, indeed.

After the 30 second ad spot finished, a screen flashed with Park Terrace’s contact info and website address. Due to poor design, the website address didn’t stand out among the contact information and only truly web savvy buyers would have visited the site. As an Internet junkie, I went to the site out of curiosity (and not to mention, its my job). Park Terrace’s marketing team needs to work to build interest and traffic to their website because they can’t rely on curious Internet marketers as their only potential home buyers.

The ad dollars spiraling down the tube didn’t stop at the TV commercial. The TV commercial had a weak lead-in to the website and an even poorer call to action. If someone did pull up the website, there was no clear path presented on the home page. It was as if the marketers weren’t clear what they wanted their visitors to do. Did they just brainstorm seven buttons that they thought people would like? Or was there a larger strategy in place? My guess is the former.

Assuming I was still interested in getting more information about Park Terrace, I began looking for the Interest List in order to join it. The Interest list is the primary way prospects stay in touch with your home development, and to not drive Interest List registrants tells me the marketer has yet to see the benefit of it.

I sifted through the stagnant content and found the Interest List on the site. Wouldn’t you know, I was faced with a 13-field web form that scrolls the page and begs me to abandon my activity. Marketers that send people to such web forms that don’t instruct prospects on what will happen next, most likely don’t know themselves.

Your web form or sign up page ought to have a clear explanation on what will happen after you sign up. The page should even have a sample of the newsletter you might send, or set expectations as to how frequently you might be contacted. Better web forms let users choose their preferences on what types of emails they wish to receive. I filled out my information as painlessly as I could, and hoped to hear from someone at Park Terrace.

I checked my email a few minutes later and I got a message from “Intracorp.” How Intracorp is related to Park Terrace, I couldn’t tell you. I had to read the email in detail to know it was connected to Park Terrace. Besides inviting me to the sales office in a plain text email, there was little care put into this message. The email address itself was: sales@intracorpcompanies.com and the from name that appeared in my inbox was Intracorp.

In addition to a poor commercial, weak call to action, half hearted web presence, and an abysmal web sign up form, the wasted marketing dollars didn’t stop there. What if I had been this über-hot prospect that was ready to buy right away and filled out accurate information? I never received a call or another email from the sales team. If these hot leads go uncalled, there is no faster way to waste marketing dollars—especially in today’s home buying market.

Now that you have shared the experience of what I went through, here’s how to do the same campaign more effectively. ###

First, keep the commercial, but add a Call-to-Action. Keep it simple; something like, “visit us online at ParkTerraceCondos.com for updates and availability.” Having some reason to go the website is tantamount.

Once you have successfully motivated your visitors from your TV commercial to the website with a call to action, you need to back the call to action up with a very obvious plug on your home page or landing page. The offer that was being advertised should be one of the first things people see. If I have the mindset that I am going to your website to get updates, I better see a place I can type my email in and get these announcements without having to dig through your entire site.

After successfully getting me to the Interest Registry, do me favor and make it easy it for me. I am here, now don’t waste my time. I only really want to give you my email, maybe name, and in asking everything else, you are wasting both of our time. Don’t ask me where I heard of you, you should know that already. Don’t ask me if I have any pets, unless you are going to send me targeted messages about my pets within the first 2 weeks of our so called ‘relationship’. You need to earn the right to ask questions like current address, pets’ names, and number of family members. You can build your database overtime asking for this information after (and only after) I determine your project is a fit for my family.

Keep the web form simple, minimal, and to just what’s absolutely necessary and nothing more. Explain to me why it’s worth my time and personal information to sign up. What am I going to get? How often? From who? Why is it important? Let me know what kind of communication road map you have planned. Better yet, let me know you have a plan and I will be more willing to subscribe.

Now you got me! You had a great commercial with compelling call to action. You linked to the landing page or call-to-action directly and I found it easily. I arrived at your webform and wasn’t intimidated by the questions and I gave my personal info. Kudos to your marketing department. Now, don’t mess it up.

I expect an email soon from your team. And not just any email, a good one. It better be from your sales team, it better having branding for Park Terrace, and it absolutely should set the tone for future emails to come. The initial email is your first impression and you don’t want people getting the feeling your emails look more like spam than professional marketing updates.

Take the time to write some valuable content about your development in advance and share it with me over time. Maybe email me right away, then within 3 days, and another communication a week later from sign up. Having regular scheduled content via email to deliver to your readers can make a big difference in readership and participation. The more pertinent you can make your first email communication, the more likely I am to continue reading the next one.

As I write this blog post I still have heard nothing from Park Terrace, though I am not surprised. Most marketers don’t know what they do is wrong, until they do it right. If this post inspires someone to try some of the techniques our firm has had proven success with, I welcome a discussion about them.

At Integral Impressions, we help marketers and advertising agencies raise expectations, surpass historical benchmarks, and be the most innovative agency they can be. If you have clients in need of a better marketing experience, we hope you consider speaking with us.