IT’S AS EASY AS ABC:
PROMOTING IREM® ED
Lynn Disbrow, CAE
Vice President, Membership & Marketing
Matthew Lesh
Marketing Manager
Today’s Session
• Share best practices – the do's and don'ts of
marketing IREM® ED
• Share strategies to promote IREM® education
and increase course attendance
• Develop a plan to promote courses in 2012
• Share ideas
As easy as A B C
• Awareness
– Those who know us
– New markets/new prospects
• Branding
– Consistent Messaging
– Look & Feel
• Commitment
– Plan and execute
– Result in new customers and repeat customers
Why is it important to grow
our students?
More Students = More Members
Best Practices
Best Practices: E-mail
The Do’s
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Use IREM® ED design guidelines
Target the message
Use course descriptions
Create a schedule
Cross-promote
Create a call to action
Be bold
Best Practices: E-mail
The Don’ts
• Be too wordy
• Hide the message
• Send to people for whom the message is
irrelevant
Best Practices: E-mail
The Art of Writing Subject Lines
• Always be concise – 35 characters or less
• Be clear but attention-grabbing – recipients
should know what the e-mail is about and
want to read it
• Avoid words that set off SPAM alarms – free,
act now, offer*
•Source: "The Seven Dirty Words you can't say in subject lines;
plus 100 others you shouldn't use either."
Best Practices: E-mail
Testing and Tracking
• Test subject lines
• Test days and times, and “from”
• Record results and learn from your efforts
Best Practices: E-mail
Tips and Tricks
• Fewer words and more links receive better
open rates and fewer unsubscribes*
• Careful use of graphics – mobile users will
have problems reading e-mails^
*Source: HubSpot
^Source: Informz
Best Practices: E-mail
Did You Know?
• Smaller target groups outperform (under 50
average 60% open rate)
• 61% read on desktops
• Web and mobile device usage increasing
• Mobile readership more than doubled in
2010, from 6% to 13%
*Source: Informz
Best Practices: Print
The Do’s
• Use IREM® ED Design Guidelines
• Use IREM® ED logo, fonts, and styles
consistently
• Use full chapter logo
• Include dates, location, web address and
phone
• Include a call to action - create a sense of
urgency
• Use IREM® trademarks correctly
Best Practices: Print
The Do’s
• Balance content vs. design
• Maintain a professional appearance
• Stock photos and images
– www.istockphoto.com
• Use white space
Best Practices: Print
The Don’ts
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•
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Use meaningless graphics
Overuse “cute” clip-art, if at all
Mix your messages – be consistent
Use lofty, trite, or “cutesy” themes
Use insensitive or inappropriate design or
content
Chapter Samples
IREM® Georgia Chapter No. 67
IREM® Houston Chapter No. 28
IREM® Michigan Chapter No. 5
IREM® Minnesota Chapter No. 45
Practicing Leadership
Your upcoming course has low enrollment. The
course dates are fast approaching. What’s
your promotion strategy?
2 Minutes Left!
The Market
Prospecting
The Market
Red = Rank of IREM® Members
Blue = Property Managers from U.S. Census
The Market: Prospecting
• 499,025* property managers who are not
IREM® Members
• Without prospecting, there is no marketing
• Prospects become students, students
become members
• Existing customers vs. new customers
* Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The Market: Prospecting
• Swap lists with other associations and
organizations
• Hold joint events with other organizations
• Attend trade shows and acquire lists
• Data-mining – comb the web for contact
information
• Member referrals – word of mouth
• Solicit prospects via your website
• ODIE visits
Branding: Messaging
IREM® ED is . . .
A professional development
program to maximize your
potential and the value of the real
estate assets you manage
Branding: Messaging
• New customer vs. existing customer customize
• Your Choice. Your Pace. Your Program.
• Your Career Partner.
• It’s all about you – your professional
development, your business, your success.
• Up-to-date, leading-edge information.
• Solutions you can use in your business
tomorrow.
Branding: Messaging
• A diverse learning environment.
• Heighten your abilities and maximize the
value of the assets you manage.
• Enables real estate managers of all levels of
experience to reach their potential and
maximize their earnings.
• Subject matter that matters to you and your
business.
• Course descriptions and benefits.
The Right Marketing Mix
• Don’t rely exclusively on e-mail marketing –
avoid “E-mail Exhaustion”
• A mix of print, e-mail and phone calls is ideal
• Develop a budget for marketing expenses
• Multiple touches increases likelihood of
action
The Right Marketing Mix
Practicing Leadership
A nearby chapter is holding the same course
your chapter is holding, at a similar time.
What changes in your marketing strategy?
2 Minutes Left!
2012 Headquarters Promotions
• Monthly targeted e-mails (members & nonmember)
• Annual Education Catalog mailing
• Direct mail to targeted markets
• Customer relations outreach
• Phone calls to targeted markets
• Content marketing campaigns
• Prospecting
• Advertisements
Chapter Resources for
IREM® ED Marketing
A version for
every track and
every individual
course
Second page is a
registration form
Recruitment
Promos
Education Promos
•IAE login only
•Excel Report
•Members & non-members
•Contact information
•Which CPM® courses completed
Online request for lists
Online request for
brochures, catalogs, and
applications
Chapter Resources
• $50 chapter rebate for online and selfpaced registrations with chapter referral
– $20,750 in 2010 (415 referrals)
– $7,150 in 2011 thru July (143 referrals)
– Promote all course delivery formats
• Coming in early 2012
– Hot prospect lists
Commitment:
Course Marketing Timeline
• Dedicate the right resources
• Plan and execute
• Start promotion as soon as your course is
scheduled:
– Review your Student/Candidate Course Reports for
targeted promotions
– Craft a targeted message for your audience with a
call to action and a sense of urgency, i.e., Register
today!
– Add your course schedule to your chapter website
Commitment:
Course Marketing Timeline
• Four months out:
– build awareness with flyers, e-mails, and advertising
• Three months out:
– contact local employers, place phone calls, utilize
your newsletter
• One month out:
– notify the media of your course
Commitment:
The Full Customer Experience
• Happy customers become repeat customers
and word-of-mouth ambassadors
• Marketing doesn’t end when the course
begins
• Cross-promote other courses and
membership on-site (use powerpoint)
• Every touch matters – from confirmation
letters to returned messages to on-site
As Easy as A B C
• Awareness
– Those who know us
– New markets/new prospects
• Branding
– Consistent Messaging
– Look & Feel
• Commitment
– Plan and execute
– Result in new customers repeat customers
As Easy as A B C
• Always
• Be
• Closing
2012 Course Schedule
Coming November 1
visit www.irem.org
Lynn Disbrow: ldisbrow@irem.org
800-837-0706 ext. 6009
Matthew Lesh: mlesh@irem.org
800-837-0706 ext. 6064