RAPB + GFLR & VAREP Treasure Coast Lunch & Learn April 10, 2018
Marketing to the Military and Veteran Consumer
Pledge of Allegiance
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WHY EXIST Let’s Get Started
WE Marketing to the Military and Veteran Consumer
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Who We Are •
Non-profit established in 2011
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USA Homeownership Foundation, Inc. – DBA Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP)
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Community organization dedicated to increasing sustainable homeownership, Financial Literacy Education, and VA Loan Awareness for the activemilitary and veteran communities
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Unique Organization – Unmatched ability to reach veteran families – Insight we bring to bear in our programs to assist them – Specialization around homeownership 4
https://vimeo.com/149089628
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Our Goal To preserve the American Dream of homeownership for US service members and veterans of all eras.
WHY
EXIST
WE
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The Need: Lack of VA Loan Awareness Survey: Veteran Homeowners who did not use the VA Home Loan •
33.6% indicated they did not know about the program.
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25.8% said their lender never discussed the VA loan option with them.
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31.8% said a conventional and/or FHA mortgage was easier to obtain or less expensive.
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8.1% said their lender and/or REALTOR® discouraged the use of the VA loan.
Solution: Host industry training events to educate real estate, lending, and housing professionals. 8
Veteran Consumers Veteran Consumers •
How do you market to the veteran consumers? o “Even in the midst of today’s digital age and web-development world, direct mail is the primary marketing channel to reach veterans,” says Tom Emmerson, vice president of sales of sales and marketing for Premier Advantage Marketing. “The old-fashioned strengths of direct mail speak loud and clear to veterans.”
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Veteran Consumers • Where to get the statistics!!! (https://va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population) The Veteran Population Projection Model 2016 (VetPop2016) provides the latest official Veteran population projection from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VetPop2016 contains projections for each fiscal year from 2015 to 2045. The total Veteran Population is predicted to decline from 20.0 million in 2017 to 13.6 million in 2037‌
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Veteran Consumers
Minority Veterans are predicted to increase from 23.2 percent of the total Veteran population in 2017 to 32.8 percent in 2037. Hispanic Veterans will increase from 7.4 percent in 2017 to 11.2 percent in 2037. Minorities are all races/ethnicities except non-Hispanic White Veterans. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Veteran Consumers • Where Veterans Live:
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Veteran Consumers The following outlines the veteran consumer market (as of February 2018): •
Veteran Population: 18.6 million veterans, 17 million male and 1.6 million female… 20 million spouses, 45 million siblings, and 55 million children
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The largest segment of the veteran population is from the Vietnam War totaling 7.9 million.
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39.1 percent of veterans are 65 and older.
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60 percent of veterans live in urban areas.
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26 percent of veterans 25 and older have at least a bachelor’s degree.
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$39,402 is the annual median income of veterans, compared to $29,559 for the population as a whole.
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1.4 percent or more than 300,000 veterans are under the age of 25. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Veteran Consumers •
Six states account for 36 percent of the veteran population: California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.
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20 percent of veterans are currently purchasing a business, starting a business or considering one of these options.
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8.1 percent of veterans are women, but that percentage is projected to double in 25 years.
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The purchasing power of the veteran consumer market is over $1trillion annually.
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Average age by war: Gulf – 37 yr; Vietnam – 60 yr; Korean – 76 yr; World War II – 84 yr.
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Military Consumers Military Consumers Alloy Media plus Marketing completed a national study of military consumers (The Alloy Military Explorer), addressing media and spending behaviors of U.S based active duty military consumers. • This consumer market of active duty military households numbers 3.3 million active duty personnel, their spouses and children. • Overall, they represent $71 billion in consumer spending power, with a significant slice allotted for discretionary spending.
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Military Consumers •
80% of active duty personnel are under 35, over one million young and active consumers and a significant segment of the highly desirable 18-34 consumer group. And they're growing in size, with an average of 185,000 new entrants annually.
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37% active duty personnel are of non-white ethnicity or race. 15% of active duty personnel are now female.
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The 1.4 million members that make up active duty personnel are 100% employed and not at risk of being laid off, downsized or reengineered.
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Military Consumers •
This large population is dedicated and satisfied with military life, highly connected, and savvy when it comes to their shopping habits and media usage.
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Military life shows personnel and households highly engaged with mass media and active consumers of entertainment, equal to the general market.
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Almost all active duty households are active users of the internet: o 93% watch network television o 85% listen to the radio o 74% engage with their military base newspaper regularly o 75% are reading local civilian newspapers.
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Military Consumers •
Auto parts or maintenance rank highest in military household purchases in the last 12 months at 76%, while home furnishing purchases follow at 62%, and toy purchases at 59%.
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Home improvement supplies and major appliances round out the list.
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56% of military consumers say they don't mind paying more for high quality.
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47% report shopping in several stores to determine the best prices.
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82% state frequent use of coupons, with food, retail, restaurant and household products topping the list of categories. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Military Consumers •
Military personnel and their spouses appear to be web-savvy shoppers and show high usage of the internet to research products, says the report. 68% of these consumers are using the internet a lot when deciding where to shop or what to buy, with that same number choosing to purchase products online: o 90% are browsing the web for sale offers once a month or more o 86% will check pricing before buying locally o 83% comparison shop online o 91% use search engines to find product information o 84% visit store websites o 73% are visiting online-only stores o 56% say they visit discount sites and auction sites
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Military Consumers Active duty personnel and their families have committed their lives to serving the nation, and they also demonstrate a solid commitment to serving their military communities. •
According to the study, 64% of military households have volunteered for a military cause or for another outside organization, while 77% reported donating money to a cause.
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Marketing Tips Marketing Tips •
If you have not considered offering the military and veterans a discount on your services, then you maybe you should consider doing so.
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We understand that you work hard for your commission, however, if any group that is deserving of credits or discount on real estate services – that would be the military and veteran community.
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Marketing Tips Be Genuine •
From franchise “opportunities” to real estate “deals”, there are so many scammers out there pursuing veterans and military retirees, it’s no wonder the military market views some special military promotions with suspicion.
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Keep it simple; offer a discount and a sincere “Thank you for your service.” 94% of present and past military personnel say they notice when companies are “military-friendly” and have a positive impression of those companies.
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To be perceived as military-friendly, your message needs to be truthful, transparent, and come from the heart. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Marketing Tips Reach them where they are. •
Active duty military are often posted abroad.
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Many military families live on bases or in small towns near bases.
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The downside to these locations? o They’re not in close proximity to malls, superstores, or your brick and mortar shop.
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The upside? It’s easier to target your marketing efforts and meet the military market where they are, whether that’s on base or online.
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Marketing Tips Here are 4 Suggestions: 1.
Advertise your services and any discount offers online. By making your military discount redeemable online, you allow them to shop anywhere at any time that is convenient for them, regardless of where they’re stationed.
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Take your existing traditional PR or marketing campaigns like print ads, radio ads, billboards, and newspaper press releases, and geo-target them towards cities that have a Navy, Army, Air Force, or Marine base.
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Advertise on base too. Did you know that military bases have their own newspapers? Not only that but surveys commissioned by the Air Force and Army indicate that nearly 90% of active duty personnel read military newspapers.
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Host or sponsor events, VFW, American Legion, etc. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Marketing Tips Expand your reach by including military families and veterans •
The military market including active duty, reservists, retired military, and employees equals 8.2 million consumers.
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That’s a lot of potential new customers. However, military spouses and veterans represent over 30 million consumers with a purchasing power of $1 TRILLION annually.
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You can increase your market size five times by extending your military discount to include veterans and spouses.
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Marketing Tips Keep in Touch with Military Families that Move •
The best way to encourage them to become repeat customers isn’t through direct mail or in-store promotions.
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Keep in touch with your military customers by collecting their email addresses and creating a monthly enewsletter.
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Remind them regularly that you offer a military discount, and be sure to give them a heads up about any special sales or promotions you’re running for holidays like Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day.
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You can collect email addresses through your online shopping cart with an opt-in.
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You can hold a special contest or sweepstakes just for service members and their families. Participants provide their email addresses to enter.
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Marketing Tips Word of Mouth •
Part of the beauty of a military discount is that it is one of the few special discounts you can offer that all of your customers feel good about- whether they qualify or not.
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Your civilian customers won’t resent you for offering a military discount, in fact, they’ll probably applaud you for being so patriotic.
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Use this rare trait to your advantage; don’t hide your military discount on a secret landing page.
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Shout about it! Put signs up in your store, slap a banner on your home page, and talk about it in your newsletter and your social media messaging.
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Remember to include at least one sentence about it in your normal print ads, press releases, and traditional marketing materials. Marketing to Military & Veterans
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Marketing Tips •
Once you’ve exhausted the obvious channels, get creative! You could offer your customers a promo code if they refer a military member or spouse.
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Create an e-card for your fans to send to their friends and family who are in the service to thank them for their sacrifices (and discreetly remind them that they get a military discount when they shop with you).
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Hold sales for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day for all your customers and offer an extra 10% off to those who bring a veteran with them.
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Next Steps… • Visit www.VAREP.net – Spend the time to thoroughly read and view the videos on the site. – Become a VAREP member for an annual fee of $99.00
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Get Involved and join Today! www.VAREP.net Thank You!
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