Making rural connections.Hobby farmers, lifestylers, ruralpolitans, large property owners, sundowners. It's anybody's guess on the appropriate name for these country homeowners. What's for certain is there are approximately 69 million people living in rural America whose needs are as diverse as the countryside itself, and the migration trend doesn't appear to be slowing. Dan Duffy, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and board Chairman of Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Missouri-based United Country Real Estate, can attest To solemnly declare verbally or in writing that a particular document or testimony about an event is a true and accurate representation of the facts; to bear witness to. To formally certify by a signature that the signer has been present at the execution of a particular writing so as to the growing allure of rural America. As the only real estate franchise in the U.S. that focuses on properties outside the confines con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. of the city, United Country recorded all-time sales volumes in the first quarter of 2007. This 80-year-old company even added more new franchisees in the first quarter of 2007 than all of its real estate competitors combined. In fact, in 2006, the Wall Street Journal published a study of more than 2,500 U.S.-based franchise systems across all industries and listed United Country as one of the top 25 franchisors in America. THE NEW RURALISM Duffy attributes this growth to "new ruralism." Factors fueling this trend include technology that allows employees to work in remote locations, baby boomers See generation X. retiring to the country, general population growth and a migration from urban to rural areas. "Country living is appealing to Americans for a variety of reasons, and United Country is one of the first places they go to start their searches," explains Duffy. "Customers appreciate our depth of property offerings, as well as the knowledge and expertise they find in our 3,500 agents spread across 44 states." MEET THE NEIGHBORS More than 350,000 people a month are actively seeking real estate through United Country, which leads to the questions, who are these people and where do they call home? Duffy, a former CEO of the 2005 Global Partner of the Year for Microsoft Business Solutions, a custom software development company and systems integrator An individual or organization that builds systems from a variety of diverse components. With increasing complexity of technology, more customers want complete solutions to information problems, requiring hardware, software and networking expertise in a multivendor environment. in Dallas, TX, is drawing on his technological background to help his team and other marketers gain more insights into the X factors of this diverse group. "It's not just about connecting customers with property," Duffy says. "We take it a step further and really learn about the buyer. For example, we enhanced the capabilities and offerings on our Web site to generate traffic while also gathering relevant data to identify what drives the actual purchasing decision. We've been successful on both sides of our approach, reaching volume records of 872,000 visitors a month and gathering new and pertinent data about our customers." Data collected by United Country identifies two distinct customer segments with unique needs and buying power Buying Power The money an investor has available to buy securities. In a margin account, the buying power is the total cash held in the brokerage account plus maximum margin available. Also referred to as "Excess Equity. . "Approximately 65% of our customers move from metropolitan areas to rural communities. We call these customers 'idyllic lifestyle relocators,'" Duffy says. "The other 35% buy and sell their properties without leaving the countryside. They are classified as 'rural-to-rural relocators.'" Duffy says some locations growing in popularity include Texas, the Mid-Atlantic, Colorado, New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , Utah, Oregon, Central Florida
Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. and coastal regions in general. The Midwest also is becoming a hot spot for recreational and hunting enthusiasts. RURAL-TO-RURAL RELOCATORS Already residing in rural America, rural-to-rural relocators typically prefer to move within the county or state in which they already reside. Data from United Country indicates customers range in age of 35 to 60. The average household income is approximately $75,000 with a net worth of $150,000. Duffy says these customers spend about $6,000 a year on goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. they need for their new home or property, such as outdoor equipment, appliances, vehicles or property maintenance. IDYLLIC i·dyl·lic adj. 1. Of or having the nature of an idyll. 2. Simple and carefree: an idyllic vacation in a seashore cottage. LIFESTYLE RELOCATORS With big dreams of living in small-town America, the idyllic lifestyle relocators have the financial means to find their freedom in the country and spend accordingly. The age range of this group is around 43 to 57 years. Most are married and have an average income of $100,000 and a net worth of $500,000. "Of our idyllic customers, 92% already own their homes and 50% own second homes or properties," Duffy says. "They are affluent and have the time and resources to thoroughly do their research before making any decisions. It might be six months to two years before they decide on certain purchasing matters." Idyllic relocators typically are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. something to do with their time and money, whether it is recreational property or a vacation home Vacation Home A home separate from an individual's primary residence that is used for recreational purposes and may also be rented out at unused times. Notes: For tax purposes, those who rent their vacation homes may result in a lower amount of allowable expense to which they'll ultimately retire. "Most idyllic buyers come from urban or urban-suburban interface dwellings, so they tend to invest more in goods and services to accommodate their new lifestyle in the country," Duffy explains. "An average customer spends about $32,000 on expenditures like a truck and other property maintenance and enhancement needs." ON THE MOVE It's an exciting time for rural America and for the companies who market to these customers. Duffy says there is less brand affinity among customers in the idyllic lifestyle relocator segment, and they actively seek information to aid their buying decisions. While this creates a lot of marketing opportunities, one of the challenges is determining how best to reach this audience in order to deliver effective messages and to build lasting relationships. A NEW MAINSTREAM MARKETING? If you're looking to make a direct connection with customers actively seeking goods and services in rural America, Duffy says real estate agents are a perfect conduit conduit /con·du·it/ (kon´doo-it) channel. ileal conduit the surgical anastomosis of the ureters to one end of a detached segment of ileum, the other end being used to form a stoma on the between companies and rural homeowners. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Think back to when you bought your home," says Duffy. "If you didn't know anything or anybody in the area, your query typically started with your real estate agent. Our agents specialize spe·cial·ize v. 1. To limit one's profession to a particular specialty or subject area for study, research, or treatment. 2. To adapt to a particular function or environment. in rural America and have a reputation of being among the most well-respected and well-networked people within their communities. They really are the 'first neighbor' to a lot of homeowners." THE FIRST NEIGHBOR PROGRAM Duffy is using this concept to launch the First Neighbor Program, a strategic partnership program designed to develop and orchestrate or·ches·trate tr.v. or·ches·trat·ed, or·ches·trat·ing, or·ches·trates 1. To compose or arrange (music) for performance by an orchestra. 2. integrated promotions with United Country and other companies. The First Neighbor Program is an innovative vehicle that allows companies direct connection and one-to-one influencer marketing Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that has emerged from a variety of recent practices and studies, in which focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole. opportunities with the most comprehensive list of qualified customers the market has ever seen. "Current marketing channels allow companies to reach rural-to-rural customers, but the real challenge is reaching the idyllic seekers, who have yet to make that country connection," says Duffy. "We're helping companies make this happen." For instance, The Warranty Group, a Chicago-based firm that is the world's largest provider of extended-service plans, partnered with United Country to offer an exclusive home warranty A Home warranty is an insurance contract that covers the repair and replacement costs of home appliances. The warranty generally covers equipment and appliances such as dishwashers, plumbing systems, electrical systems etc. program called the United Country Home Protection Plan. The plan was promoted through channels, such as United Country's Web site, real estate catalogs that reach 1.2 million readers and agent-to-customer recommendations. Within 45 days of the launch, sales of the Home Protection Plan exceeded The Warranty Group's weekly sales goal by more than 50%, and the company is still continuing at this pace. "We partnered with United Country to reach what has historically been a difficult market to reach due to the highly fragmented nature of the non-urban and transitional urban-to-rural customer base," says Stewart Wilson, Sr VP of The Warranty Group. Duffy says companies still have the opportunity to participate in the First Neighbor Program. "We carefully select long-term partners, choosing those who both share our passion for rural America living and can deliver valued products and services to our customers," Duffy says. "For more than 80 years, customers have trusted United Country to help them locate the home of their dreams in the country. We're taking that one step further by connecting them with valuable resources, products and services they'll need to truly find their freedom in rural America. We believe this kind of marketing outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. will revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. the way marketers do business in rural America." Editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : One of the first steps in becoming a rural lifestyler is to purchase property. We invited United Country Real Estate, a firm specializing in this growing market, to share their insight in how that decision is made and the factors that shape it. by Liz Suter-Van Leer, Osborn & Barr Communications |
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