Mark Schaefer seems to think so in his recent post “The world’s most broken marketing process,” from which I quote:
Here’s my vote for the most clueless group of marketers in the world: real estate agents.
Now before you get upset with Mark for these comments, take a moment to read his article in its entirety. Here’s an interesting excerpt:
Marketing is all about the consumer. Realtors make it all about themselves. What other industry routinely plasters their faces on business cards, billboards and print advertising to sell a product? This is like marketing a new Internet service by publicizing the computer. Instead of ads and messages that promote truly helpful services and information, realtors proclaim “I’m a “million dollar seller” or “who’s who in Paducah real estate for 2005.” Is this going to sell a home? Serve a customer? WHO CARES?
Where are most of their ad dollars spent? Print. Where are most customers? Internet. In fact, 90 percent of all real estate searches begin there. One local real estate conglomerate just started a new full-color glossy magazine for home sales. What marketing genius is making these decisions?
Ask yourself: do my marketing efforts focus more on my needs than on those of my client? What could I do differently today that will help me better serve my clients? As you know, we think one of the most important things you can do to help your online marketing efforts is to adopt the new real estate marketing paradigm. Align your focus, re-think your strategy, know your audience and meet their needs. Get these things right and you’ll naturally make the most out of your marketing efforts. Don’t catch up – get ahead!
I couldn’t agree more. The idea of real estate agents “making it about themselves” is true in more than just their approach to advertising. It’s one of the fears the public has about working with agents – that an agent will only show them houses the agent thinks they should see or ones that will result in a larger commission. This is one reason buyers, particularly, have embraced viewing properties online so enthusiastically.
I still believe real estate agents, the true professionals at least, provide very much needed guidance and perspective in a transaction that is emotional and scary and nerve-wracking. And that’s the roll we should play.
As for the advertising piece, print is just not where it’s at any more. Rows and rows of tiny photos of houses (and large photos or agent’s faces) don’t provide any information to the public that isn’t better found online.