Westside DIGS | Digital Edition Online

10 DIGS.NET | 2.15.2019 Allow me to introduce you. Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who discovered one of the most important rules in the world known as the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule. In 1906 Pareto stumbled on this concept when observing that approximately 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. And the pattern kept showing up everywhere else he observed. Pareto's research also found that 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the people. The 80/20 rule is omnipresent. The richest 20% people in the world have 80% of the world's wealth In business, 20% of a company's customers are responsible for 80% of the sales. In 2002, Microsoft reported that 80% of the errors and crashes in windows and office are caused by 20% of the bugs involved People typically wear about 20% of their cloths 80% of the time The most frequently used 20% of the words in language account for 80% of the word occurrences The 80/20 rule simply states that 20% of your activities (input) will account for 80% of your results (output). The bottom line, just a few "inputs" are responsible for the majority of "outputs." The ratio typically conforms to 80/20 but could be 90/10, etc. It's really quiet an amazing discovery that can be applied to all areas of your life and business. Consider – if you have ten items on your daily "to do" list, one or two of those items are five to ten times more important to the eventual outcome than the other eight! In real estate, 20% of the agents sell 80% of the homes. That means if you're looking to buy or sell your home the 80/20 rule is a good place to start. The vast majority of real estate transactions are being done by a select group of agents and agent teams. When I launched DIGS back in 2010, I applied this rule to everything – how to prioritize my day, my tasks, and my prospects. Our goal was to focus on the 20% of the agents that do 80% of the business and create a network effect for buyers and sellers in the local real estate community so they can both discover their dream home and find a top agent to represent them. 80% of your marketing results come from only 20% of your activities. Pareto's Law is dramatically effective when applied to marketing because it encourages a focus on activities that produce accelerated and substantial improvements in the outcome desired, (new customers, increase sales, profit, etc.). This is especially true in today's cluttered media environment and infinite demand for consumer attention. Here's a crazy concept to ponder – did you know that 90% of the world's data was recorded in the last two years, according to IBM. Individuals and companies produce and overindulged in information, data and content in ways unimaginable twenty-five years ago before the birth of the internet. The current content bubble we live in today has created a new epidemic and people have already coined a new word to describe it – Infobesity. A relation to the matter at hand. Now that we understand the 80/20 rule, we need to apply relevance. (Relevance, by the way, is perhaps the most important concept in marketing.) Because of the glut of content and messaging that is being spewed online, it's getting harder to differentiate your brand and service offerings in the crowded marketplace. If your marketing content and messaging is not relevant to your target audience, your drifting on a rudderless ship and will never reach your intended destination. So, before you begin, ask yourself, is my marketing and messaging relevant to the audience that's receiving it? Always think of your audience first and reverse engineer from there. Don't waste your precious time and marketing resources on conversations that are not relevant and don't bring value to your potential customers. Look at your own business data and analyze through an 80/20 lens – see what's working, what's relevant and stay focused and committed. Chasing endless new marketing opportunities will only result in wasting 80% of your time and resources. Just remember, 80% of consumer attention and engagement is centered around only 20% of all the content that's out there. It's the most relevant and valuable content that speaks directly to a specific audience and solves their needs.The rest is waste! The great discovery. This is powerful stuff - 20% of your sales and marketing work drives 80% of your outcomes! Therefore, and I must repeat, your marketing efforts should be prioritized and targeted to a specific and relevant audience to create engagement around their specific needs. Optimize and manage both your time and resource accordingly, and don't overthink it and try to reinvent the wheel. If you're in the business of selling real estate, you should leverage existing relevant content and "conversations" that are centered and focused on local real estate. The consumer is your compass. Today's consumer is in complete control of their media experience and they will always aggregate around what is most relevant to them. Show up where your relevant and do it consistently. Repetition with relevance is magic in marketing. That's what DIGS is all about – creating an anticipated and relevant conversation and connection point that is 100% focused on local real estate. Showing up – the first secret to success. In perhaps a nod to the 80/20 rule, Woody Allen famously said "80% of success is just showing up." And in local real estate, showing up in the right place at the right time with the right people (hint 80/20 rule) greatly magnifies your ability to create "share of mind" with consumers and even gives you the ability to make serendipitous connections ("you must be someone important!"). If perception is reality, then you need to focus your perception on creating a new reality, one where you are in charge of the story. Let the 80/20 rule be your guide on where and how to focus your efforts. Albert Einstein may have said it best – "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." Until next time ~ Warren Warren J Dow | Publisher wdow@Southbaydigs.com | 310.373.0142 DO YOU KNOW VILFREDO PARETO? PUBLISHER'S MUSE

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