Communicating Empathy in Marketing with RE/MAX SVP of Marketing and Communications, Abby Lee

When it comes to marketing, entrepreneurs need to differentiate themselves. More importantly, they need to understand people and their emotions, says Abby Lee.

Lee, the RE/MAX Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, is behind much of the messaging and marketing for the global brand.

On this week’s episode of the Start With a Win podcast, Lee joins RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos to discuss the importance of timely messaging for effective marketing, especially during unusual times.

Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee states that 2020 has not been business as usual. In the wake of uncertainty, however, 75% of businesses stopped marketing because that was a quick asset to eliminate when making budget cuts.

“When things started shutting down, [RE/MAX was] running a lot of research with consumers for our 2021 campaign … so we got to ask consumers a lot of questions about that and one thing they were saying was they were really turned off by brands who just stopped communicating,” Lee says. “They wanted to hear from brands – they wanted brands to understand what’s happening and the uncertainty and how truthfully scared people were.”

Debunking the misconception that marketing is a one-way street, she explains that advertising and marketing – especially through social media outreach – are how a brand gets feedback. Done well, it should spark a two-way conversation.

Lee also speaks on the necessity for brands to adjust their messaging based on what they’re hearing from customers.

“Real estate itself is so emotional, that if you’re not having that right emotional connection with your client right now and understanding what they’re feeling … you’re just being tone-deaf to the entire situation that’s going on,” she says.

Tune into this week’s episode of Start With a Win to learn which two RE/MAX marketing tools Lee thinks are the most productive for agents right now.