ONE

TAG:  real estate marketing 

Published Time: -

Filetype: pdf

Filesize: 241872

P A R T ONE ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU TAKE YOUR MARKET BY STORM 3 C H A P T E R 1 Eight Technology
Truths That Could
Kill Your Business OLD RULE The Internet changes everything. NEW RULE The Internet changes everything
except the rules of business. Truth #1: Most Customers Contact Only One
Real Estate Agent Online or offline, there is one fundamental truth about the real estate
industry: Most customers use the first salesperson they contact. Read-
ers of my previous book, Real Estate Rainmaker®, will recognize
how this fundamental truth has not changed over the years. In 1997,
my company, Gooder Group, sponsored a question on the bi-annual
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) survey of thousands of re-
cent home buyers and sellers, Home Buying and Selling Process. The
question was: “How many real estate agents did you contact before
you selected one to help you buy (or sell) your house?” Every two 4 Essential Strategies to Help You Take Your Market by Storm Figure 1.1 Number of Agents Contacted by Prospective Buyers and Sellers Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, Prof ile of Home Buyers and Sell-
ers, various years. Used with permission. Eight Technology Truths That Could Kill Your Business 5 years since and now annually, the NAR has repeated the survey ques-
tion and the results have been consistent, even during the early adop-
tion of the Internet by consumers. As Figure 1.1 shows, the amount of agent shopping varies slightly among buyers, who shop more, and sellers, who shop less, when se-
lecting a real estate salesperson. Yet, the fundamental truth is that
consumers view all real estate professionals as pretty much the same.
We know there is a wide variance in competence and experience, but
consumers don’t know that—until after they’re under contract. A con-
sumer’s needs are most often serviced by the first real estate salesper-
son they contact. Two out of three times if you are the real estate professional prospects contact first, you will get the customer. Conversely, if cus-
tomers contact your competition first, two-thirds of the time you’re left
out of the deal. The secret is to build a marketing system that guaran-
tees customers contact you first. Truth #2: Tomorrow’s Internet Customer
Will Drive the Train Much hand wringing occurred in the late 1990s about the coming
“cyber-customer.” This unknown—and thus scary—creature was going
to click a mouse and buy a house. This was to be a new breed of cus-
tomer—young, tech-savvy, hands-off—who was the direct opposite of
the “average” real estate professional—age 49, tech-averse, hands-on.
Reports came in about the first home sales done completely over the
web. Then Bill Gates published Business@ the Speed of Thought in
1999 and predicted the Internet would “disintermediate” real estate
professionals by bringing together buyers and sellers directly . . . elim-
inating the middleman. Yikes!
Now that the postbubble dust has settled on the dot-com era, the re- ality for real estate professionals is less dire but still dramatic. Today’s
real estate customers have not mutated into separate species—tradi-
tional versus cyber-consumer. Instead, the reality is a convergence into
a hybrid customer that I call a Tech-and-Touch customer (TnT). In the
final analysis, TnT customers use the Internet for real estate the same
way they use it for other purchases: 6 Essential Strategies to Help You Take Your Market by Storm 68% research online, buy in store (or use in-store pickup); 54% research in store, buy online; 47% research by catalog, buy online; 38% research online, buy over phone, according to Jupiter Research/NFO, May 2000, Amer ican Demograph-
ics, December 2000. In their groundbreaking book Convergence Marketing, authors Jerry Wind and Vijay Mahajan give an example that clearly defines the hy-
brid customer. “Charles Schwab found that while about 90% of all
trades are handled online, 60% to 70% of new accounts are set up in
branch offices,” they wrote, quoting from remarks by Neal Goldstein,
Wharton Fellow in e-Business program, San Francisco, January 2001. Just like the stock brokerage customer, today’s real estate brokerage customer is a hybrid who uses the Internet to gather information
about process and properties and often appreciates e-mail as the pre-
ferred channel of communication. When TnT customers are ready,
they turn to a real estate professional in person for specialized expert-
ise to find property, negotiate a contract, and close the transaction. The new convergence customer will not kill your business. But now that the TnT customer can drive the real estate train, if you don’t
know how to get them on your train, competitors who do know how
could leave your train stranded and empty at the station. Truth #3: Only 6 Percent of Customers Find
Their Real Estate Agent on the Internet Only 6% of home buyers and 2% of sellers in 2003 found their real es-
tate agent through the Internet, according to the National Association
of REALTORS 2003 Prof ile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Yet, that same
survey reports 71% of consumers used the Internet to gather informa-
tion during their home search. (The previous time the NAR published
the survey in 2002 the figures were 3% for lead generation and 41%
for Internet use.) Why do the NAR figures put the Internet near the
bottom as a lead-generator? How can this be when the Internet is near
the top as a widely used property resource during the home search? What are our prospects telling us? Put simply, most consumers have adopted the Internet as a home-finding tool faster than real estate Eight Technology Truths That Could Kill Your Business 7 professionals have adopted the web as a marketing tool. Table 1.1 gives
the raw numbers of how consumers report they found their agent. Today, there is a tremendous untapped opportunity to capture home buying and selling prospects—before they contact the competi-
tion—by effectively fishing in the same website and e-mail channels
prospects are already using. Now that the dot-com meltdown has
cleared the 1990s hype of online marketing versus traditional market-
ing (read: old fashioned), real estate professionals need to know what
is really working in today’s e-marketplace. One answer is clear: If
your website doesn’t capture them on the first visit and your e-mail
follow up doesn’t lock them in as a satisfied prospect, don’t be sur-
prised if they are forever lost as customers to the competition. Truth #4: Brokerages and Mega-Teams Have
Declared War on Your Customers In the late 1990s, when the Wall Street analysts and media stories pan-
icked the real estate industry into a mad rush to “get on the Internet,”
real estate professionals fretted over how to get something—anything—
up on the web and into e-mail. Brochureware websites mushroomed Table 1.1 Method Used to Find Real Estate Agent Buyers Sellers Method (%) (%) Referred by friend, neighbor, relative 44 40 Used agent previously to buy or sell house 14 27 Visited open house and met agent 7 4 Walked into/called office and agent was on duty 6 5 Internet/website 6 2 Yard sign 6 3 Personal contact by agent (telephone, etc.) 5 7 Referred through employer/relocation company 5 3 Referred through another real estate broker/agent 4 3 Newspaper/Yellow Pages/home book ad 4 3 Direct mail (newsletter, flier, letter, postcard, etc.) 1 2 Advertising specialty (calendar, magnet, etc.) 1 1 Note: Detail may not add to 100% due to multiple responses. Source: National Association of REALTORS®, 2003 Prof ile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 8 Essential Strategies to Help You Take Your Market by Storm and locating any technology that sent mass e-mails was the order of
the day. Since Y2K, with the proliferation of websites and the flood of mass e-mail, what was novel in the 1990s is passé today. Most important,
e-marketing brought results—some dumb luck, some first-adapter
cherry picking. Successful results spawned sophistication built on ex-
perience and trial-and-error experiments. Savvy eRainmakers moved on to the next level and asked them- selves how they could get more for their e-marketing dollars. What
exactly did they want their e-marketing investment to deliver and in-
crease? Image? Services? Sales? Efficiency? Profits? In today’s environment of a gazillion websites and inbox clutter, only the best thrive. Many of the successful eRainmakers now run
mega-agent sales teams (two licensees) or company-size groups (three
or more licensees). They have declared war on the customers of less
sophisticated practitioners and brokerages. Today, your customer is
someone else’s prospect. After all, in a marketplace where every cus-
tomer is served, the only way to increase market share is to steal
clients from another real estate practitioner. Thriving eRainmakers
have gone beyond asking themselves “How do I get on the Net?”
and beyond “What do I want to increase?” They now ask themselves
“Where can the Internet take my business?” and “How can this tool
improve my bottom line?” The outcome is a growing gap in production among real estate practitioners between the “Haves” and the “Have-Littles.” Truth #5: Six Mythunderstandings That Stand
between You and High Achievement In his best-selling book The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, Gary Keller
outlines the six most common myths that keep real estate professionals
from achieving success. Keller, founder and CEO of Keller Williams In-
ternational, understands the false barriers to success that can kill a real
estate practice. He also understands the reality that lies behind these
perceived barriers. Here are Keller’s Six Myth Understandings from the
first part of this must-read book: 1. Myth : I can’t do it. Truth : Until you try, you can’t possibly know what you can or can’t do. Eight Technology Truths That Could Kill Your Business 9 2. Myth : It can’t be done in my market. Truth : Yes it can, but you may need a new approach. 3. Myth : It would take too much time and effort—I would lose my freedom. Truth : Time and effort are not the deciding factors in success. 4. Myth : It’s too risky. I’ll lose money. Truth : Risk is in direct proportion to how well you hold your incre-
mental costs accountable to producing incremental results. 5. Myth : My clients will only work with me—only I can deliver quality service. Truth : Your clients aren’t loyal to you; they are loyal to the standards
you represent. 6. Myth : Having a goal and not fully realizing it is a negative thing. Truth : Having a goal and not trying to achieve it is a negative thing. Every one of Keller’s truths applies double to e-marketing. First, because e-marketing is a “new trick for an old dog” for many real es-
tate professionals who have been on the scene longer than the Inter-
net. Second, because online marketing is a dynamic new aspect of
real estate marketing that has an emerging track record but hasn’t
been around the track enough times to wear comfortable ruts. Ultimately, the secret to learning about technology is exposure. This fact is so important, it’s worth repeating. Everyone learns about
e-marketing by doing, by repetition. Nobody gets it the first time.
People, who know more than you, just got started before you. Take
heart. Avoid Keller’s six “mythunderstandings.” You can take your
e-practice to the next level and leave much of your competition—
whether intermediates or comfortable top producers—hopelessly be-
hind in the eyes of today’s demanding consumers. Truth #6: The Internet Pressures Every
Website to Be Better Today than Yesterday Online competition is tough—and relentless. As of this writing, more
than 30 million web domains have been registered worldwide. Google
continuously searches more than three billion web pages—and count-
ing. Gone are the early days of brochureware websites and classified
ads online. Gone is the effectiveness of superficial content and “I’m 10 Essential Strategies to Help You Take Your Market by Storm the Greatest” personality websites. In May 2003, the National Associ-
ation of REALTORS’ Center for REALTOR Technology reported almost
all real estate professionals use e-mail in their business and more
than 60% of all REALTORS have a personal website, either their own
or through their brokerage. As more and more agents launch e-marketing, real estate profes- sionals need ever-more sophisticated website content, more appeal-
ing “look and feel,” and smarter presentation to stay ahead of the
competition—and stay up with today’s consumer. All these choices
make online consumers savvy comparison shoppers. Today, as more
and more consumers shop online for properties as a first step, real es-
tate professionals who were early adopters of online marketing in the
1990s—but haven’t kept pace—risk having uncompetitive websites
that underwhelm prospects, risk declining search engine rankings,
and risk losing their Internet business market share. Online market-
ing is changing and, to be successful, every real estate professional
must change with it. As Satchel Paige, the great Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, once said, “Don’t look back; something may be gaining on you.” It is. In fact,
competitors in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear. The
next real estate downturn will weed out those who have not learned
to be smarter e-marketers than they were yesterday. Truth #7: The Honeymoon Is Over—E-Mail
Is Not for the Unsophisticated Anymore The dramatic increase in e-mails has created a fundamental challenge
for real estate professionals. Jupiter Research, which tracks Internet
activity, claims the average e-mail user received 2,200 spam messages
over the past year, according to PC Magazine February 25, 2003. On
average, consumers in one study received 254 e-mails in their inbox
each week in 2002, compared with 159 per week in 2001—an increase
of 60% (2002 Consumer E-mail Study copyright DoubleClick, Inc., a
New York-based online marketing firm). Today real estate profession-
als are faced with a double-edged sword. On the one hand , e -mail is the “ killer ” application of the Inter net: 75% of consumers who receive permission-based (opt-in) e-mail
say that it is their preferred method of communication, compared Eight Technology Truths That Could Kill Your Business 11 with 25% preferring postal mail and 0% who prefer telemarket-
ing (2002 Consumer E-mail Study, copyright DoubleClick, Inc.). Low cost of delivery (compared to printing and postage for direct
mail) can minimize marketing expenses and maximize world-
wide reach. E-mail is fast, convenient, leaves a written record, and is inter-
active like no other communications tool even the telephone. Successful open rates, click-through rates, and sales figures prove
permission-based e-mail is a powerful and effective tool. On the other hand , the honeymoon for e -mail is over: 90% of consumers in one study said unsolicited promotional
e-mail is their number-one consumer concern (2002 Consumer
E-mail Study, copyright DoubleClick, Inc.). About 60% of all e-mail in 2004 (up from 40% in 2002 and 8% in
2001) and 40% of all direct mail is business marketing messages
(Gartner Group, USA Today, October 2, 2003; Brightmail, Inc.,
Washington Post, March 12, 2003). Consumers have 2.63 e-mail addresses on average, using personal
and work accounts to separate legitimate offers and private
e-mail from unsolicited e-mail (2002 Consumer E-mail Study,
copyright DoubleClick, Inc.). Between 20% and 40% of all e-mail addresses go bad or “churn”
every year (Assurance Systems, Avoid the Spam Filter Trap, Octo-
ber 2002; NFO InDepth Internative, Business2.com, July 30, 2001;
NFO WorldGroup, ClickZ.com, March 28, 2001). Of all sent e-mails, 12.5% bounce back undeliverable (Q1 2003
E-mail Trend Repor t, copyright DoubleClick, Inc.). E-mail filters (also, “spam killers”) block more and more e-mail
from being delivered. That includes desktop software filters that
block 2% to 8% of all e-mail and Internet Service Providers (ISP)
that filter 6% to 8% of all e-mail sent (PC Magazine, February 25,
2003, and Assurance Systems, Avoid the Spam Filter Trap, Octo-
ber 2002, respectively). The nondelivery rate of legitimate e-mail falsely identified as
spam (false positives) to permission-based lists was at least 17%
in first half 2003—up from 15% in Q4 2002 and 12% in Q3 2002
(Return Path, First Half 2003 E-mail Blocking and Filter ing Repor t). 12 Essential Strategies to Help You Take Your Market by Storm Today, just because you sent e-mail—and did not receive a bounce- back—doesn’t mean your e-mail was delivered or read. Simply put,
mass spammers with unwanted e-mails are soiling the e-mail inbox
for genuine e-marketers with true messages for their legitimate opt-in
customers and contacts. After all, what is spam? Not just unsolicited
e-mail, but e-mail you didn’t ask for and you don’t want. That distinc-
tion is critical. Our contacts, prospects, and customers may want the
real estate information we send, even though they don’t “ask” for it. The e-mail challenge facing every real estate professional is two fold: First, how do you build a permission-based opt-in e-mail data-
base that welcomes your messages? Second, how do you penetrate
the inbox clutter of annoying spam with valuable information sent at
an optimal frequency that your customers read? The alternative is
bleak. If you do not use sophisticated e-marketing that meets the ex-
pectations of increasingly sophisticated customers, your legitimate
messages will be irretrievably lost in the deluge of aggressive mass
marketers. Thankfully, there are proven techniques for doing this. Truth #8: The Rules of the Online Marketing
Game Are Constantly Changing You are no longer in the real estate industry. You are in the marketing
business. Your first job is marketing—generating leads, capturing cus-
tomers with follow-up, cultivating clients for life—not sales. Do your
marketing job right, and sales will follow. In fact, marketing done
properly will produce all the sales you can handle. Never has the need to market effectively been greater thanks to the Internet. Not only must real estate professionals be technologically
savvy to work with Internet customers, but now you also must add
value to the experience by bringing knowledge to the customer, not
just information. As a group, real estate professionals have adapted
steadily to technology—computers, faxes, cell phones, digital cameras,
PDAs—and adjusted from an information gatekeeper role that controls
access to the transaction to a knowledge provider who negotiates and
makes sense out of the real estate jigsaw puzzle. Yet the rules of the online marketing game continue to change. How can anyone keep up with the Internet ocean where you can drift
forever and not reach any destination? Who has time to figure out
every available product and service for online marketing that seem to Eight Technology Truths That Could Kill Your Business 13 change as fast as a mouse click? How do you adapt quickly enough to
make your marketing do what it never had to do before and maintain
a competitive edge online? Today, real estate professionals are in the marketing business where the key to success in online marketing is: 1. A website, 2. An e-mail database, and 3. Technology assistance. That much is straightforward. The real secret to success is exactly
how these things are assembled to satisfy today’s online customers. Busy prospects size you up and form lasting judgments within a few seconds of opening your website or scanning your e-mail. That
means within a few seconds your marketing must create a positive re-
action—or you may never get a chance to close the sale in person.
What’s more, today’s comparison shoppers test you to determine if
you can provide the knowledge they need to save them time, money,
and headache—or they turn to one of your competitors hovering in
the wings. In short, real estate marketing today needs new solutions
to the ever-changing technology truths that can kill your practice. Fortunately, proven strategies to success have emerged.