It’s 2010.
Real estate is an odyssey.
It’s time you took your Web users for the ride of lifetime.
How it was, still is
In the old days, you picked a real estate Website off a vendor’s shelf. Chose a color palette. A layout. Slapped on a logo. Got the IDX paperwork signed. Switched the DNS and you were good to go.
These boilerplate solutions were never optimal. What they told the world is how much you don’t understand the Internet, how little you care about your image, how you can’t effectively market yourself, let alone some stranger’s home. They screamed cheap. Unprofessional. Directionless. All the things people too often associate with real estate.
Read »
Yesterday I participated in a session at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World conference on “The future of technology.”
I thought about this a lot before the event and decided I didn’t want to talk about technology, for two reasons:
Read »
In a recent post I waxed on about the type of agents I would recruit if I started a brokerage.
As someone who believes branding results from the conscious decisions you make about what you want the world to remember about you, well, I’d create something memorable. And a brokerage filled with salespeople isn’t memorable. It’s commonplace.
So why duplicate that?
Especially when it appears that isn’t working out for most brokers.
Read »
Ed McMahon: A pulse, a passing grade, and a business card
Carnac the Magnificent: Name the three things required to become a real estate agent
Inspiration
Lots of talk these days about the brokerage of the future. The brokerage model is under intense scrutiny. This is a good thing.
In fact, I’m inspired by those who seek a better way.
Still, a dark cloud hovers.
One that continues to rain on their progress.
Read »
We’ve worked with a lot of brokerage companies over the past two and a half years. We’ve done radio campaigns; we’ve done print creative; We’ve done complete re-brandings. Our work has been quite variable.
But in one area – Website and and digital marketing strategy – we see the same things over and over again. Or, to be more specific, we see the the same problems.
I thought I’d share just a few of these, in no particular order. Maybe you’ll find them useful in plotting your next move.
Read »
In real estate, stupid scales.
Excellence lives in small pockets.
That’s how it’s always been. And it will be this way until, someday soon, a rising tide of technology and consumer frustration reaches flood stage, breaches the levee, and sweeps forty years of toxic sediment out to sea.
Read »
The secret to becoming #1 is simple: tap into the public consciousness and relentlessly deliver what it wants.
It helps to make your own list of the brands that accomplish that for you.
My listed includes: The Clash. The Yankees. Howard Stern. Apple. Porsche. Alembic. Vox Amplification. Peets. Paul Smith. Butch, my guitar tech. Junior’s Cheesecake. And…
Read »
1
Weeks prior to the roll out of his company’s new website, Mike and I spoke about a launch campaign. A plan was prepared keyed to the eyes and ears we needed to reach – those of Mike’s agents internally, competing agents externally and, of course, the public.
Read »
ZipRealty never bought into the Web 2.0 free-for-all. By taking the VOW route, the company has steadfastly required registration to view properties and (gasp!) assigns those who register to a ZipRealty agent.
This rather businesslike approach to search has been extended to the handset with the release of the ZipRealty iPhone app (warning: iTunes link).
This app is excellent. Zip has managed to create a feature rich experience that does not feel complex. That’s a significant achievement.
Read »
Friday
The NAR show. I could have spent the entire week there. And immersed myself in the chatter and prophetic waxing laced with controversy about real estate’s hottest acronyms. I didn’t. I flew in for the day, enjoyed a bunch of clients and friends, and then left.
There were other things, more pressing things – special things – I needed to attend to.
Read »
15 Ways to Make Your Marketing Mobile
A mist of difference
10 Tools for MLS Awesomeness