Are you talking about going into another industry, or selling real estate to other demographics?

Brett Thanks for opening this subject, Larry thanks for publishing it.The US system of marketing real estate is clearly broken or at least obsolete compared to Australia. There is no excuse for a million dollar properties to be so poorly marketed in the US. I have worked with 2 brokers who ask sellers to pay for photography and get reimbursed at closing. These sellers don’t seem to mind at all when they cut me a check while other brokers are complaining that they cannot afford photography and they are loosing listings to those who can. I have shot a few videos with sellers present and they are thrilled with the process and the product. I am sure they would participate in the cost when they know the upside to great marketing. Breaking the old ways of thinking in real estate circles may be harder than we think. Established brokers have made allot of money using the current system and when one pioneer broker goes out and shakes things up by providing (pro) video and other cutting edge marketing they risk becoming a black sheep who listings do not get shown by other jealous brokers. I know it sounds unbelievable but apparently it happens. Going straight to the seller may be the best solution. They control the money and can demand products and services if they know they exist. I am starting an ad campaign targeted at sellers. I am sure it will anger some brokers when their clients call and ask about having a video done of their home but we all need to take some risks if we are going to change the way real estate is marketed.

Because I want to study marketing in college, I have been especially observing the marketing tools and strategies of the real estate team. Marketing is an essential part of business, especially the real estate business. Real estate professionals survive and thrive based on name recognition. People like to do business with names they have heard of or have been referred to. With marketing, Real Estate businesses get visibility to various groups of consumers. By creating visibility to specific demographics or groups of consumers, the real estate agent or team can generate leads.
At Keller Williams, lead generation is critical to every agent’s success. The Diane Kelly Team’s marketing coordinator is Tabitha Smith. One of the marketing pieces they use is a monthly newsletter. It is part of the 33-Touch plan that says you should touch a potential customer or referral-giver 33 times in one year. This plan includes holiday cards, monthly Buffini mailings, e-Newsletters, and phone calls. On Top Producer, our client list is divided into an A list and a B list. The A list are former clients and prospective clients. These are the people that most of the marketing is directed towards, because they are the most likely ones to create business and referrals. The 33-Touch plan is an idea from the Millionaire Real Estate Agent book that I read in January. The Diane Kelly Team’s business plan is essentially based on that book actually. Anyways, this week Tabitha and I are working on the April newsletter layout and stories. Important to mention, the newsletter is actually an e-Newsletter. The purpose of the monthly e-Newsletter is to inform people of recent real estate news as well as keep the Diane Kelly Team name fresh on people’s minds.
Another important aspect of marketing in real estate is listing marketing. When a real estate agent lists a home for sale, it is important to market the house. I have been participating in creating marketing ideas for two home listings the Diane Kelly Team. First, it is important to market that the house is on sale by posting signs, making fliers, and listing it online. Secondly, it is important to make the house as desirable as possible. For this, the Diane Kelly Team contracts Linda Rodenhi as a professional home stager. Staging the house is quite an ordeal when you include all the work that must be done for a house to sell. Many homes have maintenance issues and repairs to be dealt with in order to attract buyers. For this issue, there are inspectors. They go into a house and find each and every thing that is wrong with the house such as wood rot or mold. Inspections are done to protect the homebuyers. It would suck to buy a house without knowing that your deck is about to collapse and there’s asbestos in the attic. Inspectors are professional problem finders!

Get your degree in business as you don't need a formal education to get your real estate license Once you have been working in the field for a couple of years you can study and get your brokers license and eventually open your own real estate firm.

I don't know of any website offering an exhaustive list of niche markets to explore. Niche markets are something you have to find for yourself; many when they discover a niche immediately put a stake on it as theirs. Why share a profitable niche to others? Niche by definition is a specialized market, and your goal is to have as few competitors as possible.

Given your business experience, what do you think are areas in your industry that have not been tapped? Are there any needs that are currently not being addressed? If not in your current industry, is there anything that you need but no one is currently giving it to you in a way that you want to? Ask yourself these questions — and then that's your niche.

You may want to read the article "5 Steps to Creating a Profitable Niche for Your Small Business" to help you in the process of identifying your niche.