For my SME interview, I interview Rebecca Tippett. Becca has been marketing for a property management company (Rocky Creek Investments) for the past 20 years. She has been with the company since its inception and now handles things like a champ. Little back story, Becca was a stay-at-home mom of 4. This was a full-time job, but she needed more. Several friends and family came together to start a property investment team, and Becca was in charge of the marketing. Since she was the only one without a full-time job and she had a business degree from UGA.
Fast forward to now, and she had a lot of ups and days. Becca told me that things were rocky (pun intended) at first. She had not used any learned skills income time, and she had to jump back on the horse 100%. I asked her what the most challenging part was, and she said keeping up with the times. At that time, there was a shift into a more digital era. She had to learn how to use that to her advantage. She told me that with lots of practice and persistence, we knew what she was doing.
Becca went on to share that learning her target audience came easy to her. Because she is located in a small town and that most of the people were just like her, she knew where to target her advertisements. She went on to say that people do not always consider small-time property management marketing important, but it is. I have to know the demographics of all my property’s neighborhoods, when the best time to advertise is, and where to do so. We deal with people in all tax brackets, and how I reach them is very different.
I asked Becca what advice she has for anyone in small business marketing, and she said, get to know your people. With a small town, you are at an advantage. You can get out there and get to know everyone. Word of mouth can be the best and worse type of free marketing. We are known for being reliable and honest, and that has taken us far. In most cases, I know that marketing doesn’t always have to be big and fancy or expensive.
I enjoyed talking with Becca, and I feel like I took a lot away from our interview.
Truly Jae 