17.3 Evaluating Marketing & Communication Effectiveness
Key Takeaways
Define each metric, its denominator, channel and time period before comparing results. Keep impressions, detail views and distinct inquiries separate.
Locate where the listing loses engagement, then test the competing explanations with market data, listing checks and post-showing feedback.
Rule 57 requires prompt disclosure of relevant facts and full progress reporting. Use agreed review dates and communicate material changes as they arise.
Apply authorized operational changes. When a written service agreement term changes, obtain a written amendment signed by the relevant parties before implementation.
Measure each step from exposure to offer
Set a baseline at launch. Define where numbers come from, which periods they cover and how duplicate contacts are counted. Compare similar properties over the same time on market and on the same measurement basis. Exposure for a newly listed property and exposure for a relisted property can have different starting points. A count from one service is rarely interchangeable with a count from another.
| Metric | Calculation or count | What it helps you check |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions and detail views | An impression is an appearance in a result or feed under the platform’s definition. A detail view opens the listing. Check whether repeated appearances or visits count. | Did people see the listing, and did they choose to look closer? |
| Click-through rate | Detail-opening clicks ÷ eligible impressions × 100 for the same channel and period. | Are the title, lead image and displayed price encouraging people to open the listing? |
| View-to-inquiry rate | Matched inquiries ÷ detail views × 100. State whether inquiries are deduplicated. | Are people who look at the details taking the next step? |
| Inquiry-to-showing conversion | Distinct inquiries leading to a completed showing ÷ distinct inquiries in the cohort × 100. Use a follow-up period long enough to capture bookings. | Are timing, access or follow-up preventing a tour? |
| Showings and offers | Compare completed showings per week and any offer rate with a stated denominator. Track repeat tours separately where useful. | Is interest progressing to negotiations? |
| Days on market and price per unit area | Use comparable listing-service definitions and a consistent measurement basis. Distinguish list from sale price. | How does this listing compare with a relevant set? |
With 320 detail views and 12 attributable inquiries during one reporting period, the rate is 12 ÷ 320 = 3.75%. If eight of the 12 distinct inquiries resulted in a completed showing within the follow-up period, the inquiry-to-showing rate is 8 ÷ 12 ≈ 66.7%. The second rate uses the same set of inquiries as its denominator. An eight-showing count from unrelated channels would not support that calculation.
Diagnose what the numbers leave open
- Low exposure. Check listing publication, correct data, search filters, distribution and whether the lead image clearly represents the property. Compare exposure with similar listings of the same age before assuming weak demand.
- Views without showings. Verify whether inquiries go unanswered, whether time slots are practical, and whether price, monthly costs or listing information give buyers reason to stop. Ask what buyers expected from the ad and what they still need to know.
- Showings without offers. Look for repeat, specific comments about condition, layout or the perceived value of nearby alternatives. Verify what the seller can address and compare the current price against comparable choices. A handful of opinions can guide investigation without proving a cause.
Report to the seller and agree on the response
Rule 57(k)–(l) requires timely disclosure to the seller of all relevant facts known to the licensee affecting the transaction, and keeping the seller fully informed of progress. Give the seller useful positive and negative themes, changes in comparable inventory and an explanation of metric limits. Keep other people’s confidential information protected. Use the agreed reporting channel and escalate time-sensitive information between scheduled reviews.
Ask the seller to confirm their understanding of the evidence, proposed options and trade-offs. Check that prospective buyers receive accurate details and know how to book a viewing. A seller may approve a different lead photo within the existing agreement or improve evening access without changing a written term. A change to an agreed list price or another written service agreement term requires a written amendment signed by the relevant parties under Rule 43(2)(c). Then update every affected channel and record the effective date so the next comparison is meaningful.
Work the numbers on a Red Deer condo
During its first two weeks, a condo has 480 detail views, 12 attributable inquiries, and four completed showings from that inquiry group. The rates are 2.5% and about 33.3%. Comparable listings with similar exposure are drawing more showings. The agent confirms the listing appears in relevant searches and finds several buyers could only tour in the evening, when the seller had offered daytime slots only. Comparable pricing is still close and there is too little feedback from tours to infer an interior problem. The seller authorizes two evening slots for the following week. The brokerage records the date, checks whether the adjusted slots improve bookings, and returns to price and condition if the evidence warrants.
An Alberta condo has 480 detail views and 12 distinct attributable inquiries. Four of those inquiries became completed showings. Several buyers requested evening slots, but the listing allowed daytime visits only. Current comparable pricing is similar. What should the associate present to the seller?
Show that 4 of 12 inquiries converted, check evening access with the seller and measure the results after any authorized change.
Report that 4 of 480 inquiries converted and reduce the list price immediately.
Conclude that the interior is the problem because some people who saw the ad did not inquire.
Count all detail views as inquiries and report that the listing already met its showing goal.
A house gets comparable online exposure and frequent showings. No offers arrive, and several buyers independently mention a persistent odour and a similar home that showed better. How should the associate respond?
Buy more impressions immediately because the numbers prove a distribution problem.
Publish an unsupported claim that the odour has been resolved.
Omit the feedback so the seller focuses only on the strong showing count.
Report the recurring feedback, compare competing value, and discuss evidence-based improvements and their costs with the seller.
Two sellers are parties to a written service agreement setting the list price. One asks by phone to lower it, and the other has not approved the change. What should the associate do?
Change the price because the available seller provided oral authority.
Give both sellers the relevant progress and market information, and obtain a written amendment signed by the relevant parties before changing the list price.
Change only the social ad and leave the listing service at the old price until the parties agree.
Treat the original marketing plan as authority to lower any agreed price.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.