Business
Our guest on this episode of the Business and BBQ Podcast is Charlie Calise, CEO of Imaginuity marketing agency, real estate investor, and marketing guru. He provided listeners with so much relevant marketing knowledge that it might merit a second listen.When it comes to the customer journey, Charlie points out that while many people would like to think that they can conduct their entire customer interaction either online or offline, it will almost always be a combination of both. Through ad science, the Imaginuity team uses machine learning to understand where each customer journey begins, observe customer behavior, and then create lookalike audiences that can be marketed to in the future. This takes into account customer demographics as well as personal interests and browsing or purchasing behaviors. If you want a first-hand look at how this works, just scroll through your own Facebook feed and notice the sponsored posts that are being served to you. From the small business perspective, the simplest way to do marketing is to look around at who your customers are and then figure out how to get more people like them. Collecting data like their physical or email addresses and using old forms of marketing such as direct mail is the most straightforward way, but you can also run some targeted Facebook ads. It is imperative that you pop up on Google Maps and that the information there is enough because being there when consumers are looking for you is crucial. If Charlie were to give advice to an entrepreneur looking to start a new business, it would be: establish your target audience, choose the best location, send out direct mail coupons, convert customers when they look for you online, and have an effective website. As you get more sophisticated, you can get into SEO, but the algorithms are changing so frequently that you really need to be able to invest in this to get it right. A good rule of thumb when planning a budget and marketing plan is: Do what you are comfortable doing for an extended time. You need to be consistent and reliable, not falling off the radar when your customers are looking for you.In terms of real estate investing, Charlie is a huge fan of the way he and his wife operate their portfolio, which has allowed them to accumulate wealth in a short time. His wife does their rehabbing work and Charlie likes to focus on owner financing and other creative financing models in Dallas, TX, and Jacksonville, FL.Connect with Charlie:Charlie Calisehttps://www.imaginuity.com/Links:Tim’s Real Estate Investor Mastermind https://www.reimasterminds.com/Audible trial promotional link: audibletrial.com/thHubSpot promotional link: hubspot.com/thConnect with Tim:Blog and More https://timherriage.com/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/herriageTwitter https://twitter.com/timherriage Facebook https://www.facebook.com/timherriage/ Business and BBQ Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/timherriage/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/timherriage/With business questions: ask@timherriage.comWith BBQ questions: bbq@timherriage.com