While doing the blog meeting in Dade County last week, I mentioned an article I had read called The Paris Hiltonization of Real Estate. I think the article is interesting on several levels.
1. Understanding the need to move to consumer driven marketing. Somewhere along the line in the last 10 years Realtors put their personal image out in front of the properties they were selling. The consumer quest for information, rather than a glamour shot, has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored. There is no mistaking that the age of the huge agent picture and the cheesy sales slogan is over. Your future customers will come to you because they think you know your stuff, not because you may or may not resemble the picture you deem necessary to put all over your marketing materials.
2. Keep focused on your market. We Realtors are guilty of marketing to each other instead of to our clients and customers. As a good example, let’s look at designations. Don’t get me wrong I think getting designations are important, but the string of alphabet soup after your name is only important to those who know what it is… other Realtors. We all know that the extra designations set you apart from the competition, but how do we get that point over to our audience?
3. The cheese stinks. Yes, it’s those slogans… there is no telling how many hundreds of “spouses selling houses” there are out there. As we strive to be recognized as professionals, a cheesy sales slogan takes does more harm than good. So please move that stinky cheese right out of your advertising.
4. What are we selling anyway? Look at the picture above and ask yourself that question. Is there anything in that picture that says “I know what I am doing!” or “I am a professional you can trust with the sale of your biggest asset?”. I think not. Consumers love pictures – but put up property pictures, afterall, that is what we are selling, isn’t it?
So the question is… how do I convey that I am a professional Realtor that knows what I am doing? Blogging is one way to accomplish this goal. Imagine that instead of this magazine cover, the agent would have written a series of articles entitled….
Why a GRI designation is important, describing why a consumer should look for a GRI – that the typical agent only takes 14 hours of continuing education, but a GRI has taken 100+ hours of intenses study.
Market Update… my neighborhood, July 2007, describing on a very local level what happens every month in a market area – what sold, is for sale, average price, average days on the market and best buys.
Donate to the ASPCA, in other words, I love animals and if you do don’t forget to adopt a pet or donate to the ASPCA.
Get the idea? I hope so. Get your blog on!
5 comments on “Monday Morning- Time to look at your Marketing Efforts”