Excerpt from the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies

The following is an excerpt from an article by Christine Guernsey, ISA AM on marketing an appraisal practice. Christine has over 20 years of experience in marketing and promoting fine art. Her article is entitled Creating a Marketing Plan: Mapping Your Way to Future Appraisal Business Success.

An excerpt from the article:

A good solution for an alternative to traditional marketing plans is a Marketing Map – a fiscal year planned route that gets your business “from here to there” in terms of opportunities and successes, without getting your business sidetracked and lost. A marketing map is strategic like a marketing plan. Just as you would map out a road trip before you travel, you must also “map out” your plans for conducting future business. The map helps the appraiser to understand:

• What your business is all about
• Who your current customers and potential customers are.
• How you reach your potential customers.
• How you close the deal with your potential customers.
• How your potential customers become repeat customers.

With a properly executed marketing map along with strategies assigned to particular months, weeks and days, an elaborate “to do list” is formed and guides the appraiser systematically to successful end results. When this marketing map is kept on a computer (in a word processing program), the map can include results as tasks are completed. This allows the appraiser to analyze whether the task was successful and whether or not it should be repeated or tweaked.

Some appraisers would say a marketing map is just too much work. They are already too busy to be bothered, too short staffed and need to just “go out and do it”. A savvy marketer would argue that these appraisers who are “too busy” are in actuality just spinning their wheels. The time spent creating a marketing map, allows an appraiser to systematically bring in more business in a much more organized fashion. It keeps an appraiser from being overwhelmed and ensures end of fiscal year success.

The major components of a marketing map are:

• Mission Statement
• Positioning Decisions
• Marketing Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics
• Implementation
• Goals versus Results

A marketing map is usually kept in a simple outline form either on a computer or a three-ring binder and referred to often. It is a working document, meaning it is on-going and changeable in nature as will be discussed later.

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The 2009 edition of the Journal will soon be available for purchase at www.appraisaljournal.org , the cost is $55.00 and proceeds support the educational initiatives of the Foundation for Appraisal Education. The Journal consists of 20 articles with nearly 350 pages of appraisal related content. It is fast becoming the publication of record for the personal property appraisal profession. Wendell Garrett of the Magazine Antiques called the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies 2008 edition "Sound in scholarship, lively in presentation, sharp in focus. These articles bring to life the accuracy, interest and importance of judging and evaluating the practice of appraising. A must have for anyone in the appraisal field."