Marketing Logic

Changes in the Industry like no other
It can be argued that no other profession has been so affected by the internet as Real Estate. I count myself lucky to have been in the industry right when it “crossed over” into the Internet age. When I got into Real Estate the agents were the true gatekeepers of information. Every two weeks, a book of listings within your county was published, and every Realtor received one. Buyers were primarily reliant upon their agent to communicate new listings to them in a timely and efficient manner. The only other source of Real Estate information was the circular in the local newspaper, published once a week.

Enter the internet, which enabled forward-thinking brokers to start placing listings online. As early as 1996, buyers were using the internet to find homes, especially if they were relocating to new areas. The advent of the internet was amazing, as it transformed the industry in a few short years. I saw amazing results from advertising properties online, and it didn’t take much for me to make the decision to pursue a career in online marketing rather than Real Estate.

Stagnation?
Unfortunately, while the accessibility of property listings has increased, the level of knowledge and online marketing has not grown with the times. In fact, from shopping for homes the past few months, I am convinced that the learning curve for online marketing among many Realtors has stagnated. When Realtor.com came on the scene in 1997, they sold to Realtors, using ploys such as: “the average listing on Realtor.com receives “x” views.” I felt like the lone ranger trying to explain to my fellow Realtors that a lot of the sales lines were bad data improperly applied. It showed me a lot about the lack of understanding of technology in that industry. Some have only recently accepted that the Internet is here to stay.

Here is my recent experience from the past few months of searching for a home. They say that doctors are the worst patients. It may also be true that former Realtors who are now online marketing veterans may be the worst sellers or buyers.

Bad Photos – are you kidding me?
In this day and age of inexpensive, high quality digital cameras, you post low resolution photos that are pixilated and hard to see? Worse yet, you show laziness buy simply uploading everything you took a picture of?

If I had my house on the market, I would be going ballistic on my Realtor, as there are no excuses for :

• Low res, pixilated photos
• Blurry pictures
• Pictures of toilets and mirrors
• Less than 3 pictures uploaded for any listing
• Cameras held at an angle, making everything look like it’s on a slope
• pictures of beds, which I am not buying
• No pictures of the items listed in the description. If there is a workshop – take a picture!



• no labeling of photos that have been uploaded
• No interior pictures!?!?
• Snow on the ground – and it’s late May
• The same three photos – repeated 2-3 times.
• Misspelled adjectives – “Emaculate Condition!” (really?)

Each one of these things is something that can easily turn off a buyer. Not taking the extra time to take a good picture, not considering presentation, and not labeling photos will negatively affect the buyer’s decision as they shop online. Not enough information is one of the worst problems an online listing can have.

Realtors and Responsibility
Pictures are meant to present the sellers home in the best light. Can a little thought be made about the selection and the quality of pictures that are used? The responsibility of the listing Realtor is to represent the seller. This includes the responsibility of the online listing. EVERY part of that online listing should be attractive, explanatory, and sensible. Anything less is a disservice to the seller, who pays your commission. I am very surprised that more sellers do not get online to check their listings. I think more Realtors would be fired if sellers checked their listings.

Expectations
If the listing description highlights certain areas of the home, such as an in-law suite, over-sized garage, pond or other feature that can be a potential selling point – please, add a picture. There are so many homes that had excellent descriptions, but then no photos of any if the items described in the listing. The description is the first area we read, and it sets up the expectations, but then the lack of pictures is more than disappointing, it lessens the property.

When there are an almost unlimited number of pictures that can be uploaded, only loading two to three outdoor shots is inexcusable. If there is an in-ground pool, please add the picture. Someone may want to see it. If you have green or lavender bathroom toilets, you may want to go ahead and add it as well, just to keep expectations in line.

Anything less than 10 photos is a crime against the seller. For newer homes with more than 2000 square feet, 20 photos. Three or less is negligence. Negligence not only towards your seller, but to any buyer who is comparing properties.

Real Estate 2.0? When?
I am waiting for more social aspects of marketing to be implemented. While real estate was one of the earliest adopters of the internet (not without resistance) it has not grown out of a 90’s mentality of online marketing. The only things I can do are email the realtor, email the listing to a friend, or make a printable brochure. Some sites allow me to create lists of the properties I like with registration, which I liked, but I was still disappointed with the lack of flexibility in ranking, saving, excluding, and comparing properties.

I for one am waiting for the ability to add comments to listings. I would love nothing more than adding what I liked or didn’t like about homes, and I am sure that it would help to make some homes more attractive. I am also sure that the comments would also shock some sellers into reality when buyers can be directly honest about the home and the outrageous prices that some are asking for what they are offering.

Some comments I would have left:

The house photo is at a weird angle because of the mobile homes and cars on blocks in the neighbor’s yard.
This home advertises 2 full baths. The second bath is in the basement and has no walls.
The separate 3 car garage and workshop makes this house well worth the asking price.
The pool and the outdoor chimney are amazing, but the yard was too small for us.

URL Addresses
At my previous company, we went to extraordinary lengths to create search friendly URL’s in order to have the database of homes spidered by the search engines. Ultimately, each property had its own short, unique URL, based on the MLS number. We celebrated. Simply searching by using the MLS code in Google would result in the property page showing up in the rankings. Unfortunately, the client had no idea how great an accomplishment this was, nor the implications. Now, the average URL that I cut and past from real estate websites are well over 50 characters . . . Check this out (if you can):

http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?cmid=1004584%2c1004586%2c1004591%2c1004601
%2c1004613%2c1004616%2c1004622%2c1004707%2c1004708&typ=1&sid=7d172c178d3044dda9d976
e2757d111a&sdir=0&sby=2&pg=6&lid=1087789449&lsn=57&srcnt=1721#Detail

These tend to break. I send these URLs by email, Instant Messaging, and SMS. My wife and I share URL’s incessantly, as it seems we change criteria every week. Sometimes, our friends help out, but rarely does anyone use the “Send to a Friend” option. Could it be that they are not visible or too cumbersome? My opinion is that people do not use these forms because the policy is not clear about using email addresses gleaned from the website. Every send to a friend form that I viewed had no clear policy or explanation of how the emails would be kept, used, or maintained.

Final Thoughts
Having been in the real estate industry and cutting my teeth on real estate websites in the 90’, it frustrated me beyond belief to see the lackluster attempts at online marketing. I would dare say that the majority of buyers are looking online before they ever contact a Realtor. How a Realtor sells a property, the pictures they use, and the description they provide, are all keys to how well they will do their job. It’s a business card. It’s an opportunity for the Realtor and their seller to shine, yet most do not seem to take the time to learn the tools or create effective presentations.

Sellers Need to Demand More
Maybe it’s the area where I live, that many Realtors seem to uncomfortable with a digital camera and creating well-crafted, marketable property descriptions. I am sure that there are Realtors out there who take the time to build an amazing online profile of the houses they list. As a seller, I would demand nothing less than a professional listing with clear, hi-res pictures that present my home in the best possible light. Anything less would be unacceptable.

A friend pointed me to a Realtor’s blog where he has created the Bad MLS Photo of the Day. I like his style, and I am sure that he will have a never-ending source of content.

Related Articles:
Are You Creating a Customer Experience?
Make your Website Content Explode
What’s the Customer’s ROI?

Anyone who has worked for or run a small business knows how hard it can be to get good marketing advice. Everyone from the high priced consultant to the guy you buy your laptop from has advice on how to get ahead online. Most of them are wrong. It can leave a small business owner so desperate for advice, they’ll take it from anyone. Even the guy sitting next to them on the plane…

This week, I happened to be “that guy.”

On a late night flight to Cleveland, I found myself sitting next to a woman and her young daughter. We were having a nice conversation when she mentioned she had started her own business but was frustrated with her website. Of course my ears perked up and my attention was captured. I’ve heard my fair share of stories of bad advice, but this woman’s story was right up there.

She spun a long tale of woe, recounting bits of advice she’d endured during her short career with this website. I sat amazed as she shared with me the advice she’d been given and the thing she’d been told to do.

I realized that many people offering advice about website marketing read an article or two and feel as though they have it all together. Others seem to be coming from plain ignorance. And the person who pays for the bad advice? The business owner, who is usually on a shoestring budget and just wants to run her business.She doesn’t have time for unfounded, groundless advice that could potentially destroy her business.

Unfortunately, I cannot educate those who feel that they know everything already. People who are well don’t need a doctor. But I can do everything in my power to be sure that small business owners have the information they need to correctly build and market their website. All they want are straight answers in a language they can understand.

Moving to GoDaddy
One consultant told her she needed to move her website to GoDaddy’s platform. She transferred the domain registration, her email accounts…everything. Unfortunately it took a few weeks of frustration before GoDaddy support realized she was Mac-based. GoDaddy’s sitebuilder program is incompatible with Mac OS. GoDaddy’s advice? Buy a PC. Needless to say, it took just as long to get everything off Godaddy and back to her original registrar as it did to transfer things over in the first place. The result? Countless hours and dollars wasted from really bad advice.

Search Engine Submission
The next thing she was told was to pay for a submission service to search engines. This is where I had to bite my lip to keep from exploding. No one has had to submit a site to the search engines since the year 2000. Search engines have programs called “spiders” that will find your website and download a copy of your site to their servers. Submitting your site to search engines is a thing of the past. It’s not necessary and usually a rip-off offer. $29.95 to submit your website to 100 search engines? Name six of them.

Search engines will naturally find your website. Read the Google guidelines. In fact, anyone who has anything to do with creating, programming, developing, and marketing a website should be made to read those guidelines. Search engines want your website, and they work hard to get it. Just by picking up a few links to your website, you can ensure that the search engines will find your pages.

Domain Registration
Amazingly, all of the advice to this point was enough to make me scream out in frustration, but that wasn’t the best part. Her Mac guy, who helps her computer run smoothly, tells her that the “trick” to getting into Google . . . . wait for it . . . . is to register her domain for 10 years.

[blink]

Seriously.

No wonder the internet is such a mystery, and business owners make what they think are good decisions based on advice, only to have zero results. With this kind of advice, zero result would be preferable to the lost hours and ill-spent money.

Registering your domain for a few years; whatever you think will make sense is the best advice I can give. There is an element of the algorithm that is debated about the length of time that it is registered. Anecdotal evidence suggests that domains registered for a year are not as reliable as domains registered for 10 years – based on the ideas that the owner has made a commitment to the domain.

I can understand that – it makes sense. However, this item alone is not the primary part of the algorithm! It is a very minor part, and there are so many other intricacies that are much more important than the years of domain registration that you purchase. Logically, if everyone went out and re-registered their domain for 10 years, what then? Who is most relevant?

Straight talk.
The basis of website visibility in the search engines is your architecture, content, and incoming links. Those are the fundamental principles of building a website marketing strategy. Everything else supports these principles. The rest is details. For a small business owner, here are the basics:

1. Build a site that is focused on your goal.
2. Provide a clear goal for the visitor; contact form, phone number, clear directions.
3. Write keyword-focused summaries about each page in the Page Title and Meta Description.
4. Get website links from business associates, directories, local memberships.

. . . and then read the Google Webmaster Guidelines. I am surprised how many people have not seen this document. It is a true road map for any business owner who has questions about how your website should be built.

Related Articles:
Are you Creating a Customer Experience?
The Three C’s of Marketing: Content, Context, Community
10 Ways that SEO is Like Sales

When it comes to blogging, I find myself on both sides of the coin. Here at SiteLogic, we heavily advocate blogging for business as a great customer service/link/traffic resource. We also know how valuable it can be to have an influential blogger talk about your company or product.

On the flip side, I am also a hobby blogger with a decent following and increasing influence in my niche.

Even if it’s positive, don’t talk about us
On my hobby blog, I frequently write about my experiences as a volunteer with a local non-profit organization. I believe wholeheartedly in what we do and the benefits of our service, and my goal in sharing my stories is to spread the word. I want people to know this service is out there for their family members or as a volunteer outlet. And I’ve had great responses from my readers.

Until the organization discovered my site and asked me to stop talking about them.

While they appreciated that I said good things about them, they were worried that they could be hurt. And they were especially concerned that, heaven forbid, I had used their organization’s name. Somehow, all that great stuff I said was going to come back and bite them.

I’ll certainly respect their wishes, but I’m disappointed that their views of the internet, blogs, and online marketing are so misinformed. Even if someone is giving you negative press, it’s a bad idea to ask them to stop. It only feeds the fire. But why get in the way of someone who talks glowingly about you?

The single PR spokesperson is out
I studied public relations in college, and one of the points the professors drilled into our heads was that an organization needs ONE spokesperson. That ONE spokesperson knows the company and its core message, and is adept at handling media and other people invested in the organization. The idea was to avoid conflicting messages that would reflect badly.

And years ago, it worked. But now, people no longer trust ONE representative advocating a unified, and perceived inauthentic, company marketing spiel.

Hail the unintended spokesperson
With the advent of the internet, everyone with a connection now has a voice. If someone loves—or hates –your product or service, they can talk about it and have lots of people listen. When they feel strongly enough to write about it, especially positively, they are staking their reputation on you. When their reviews prove trustworthy, other people start to listen.

Your customers are reading reviews and blogs and forums and making their decision to buy based on what other customers say. They aren’t making decisions based on your corporate about page or how great you say your customer service is. They are listening to online “friends,” many of whom they’ve never met but have come to trust. Sometimes these influencers are customers, sometimes they’re employees, sometimes they are just brand evangelists. They are men and women of all ages, backgrounds, careers, education, and interests. And they have a lot more to do with how you are perceived than you do.

Embrace those who want to talk about you
Countless organizations have embraced their “unintended spokespeople.” And plenty haven’t, doing themselves and their most loyal customers a great disservice.

Jared of Subway fame is a classic example of embracing an unintended spokesperson. He lost over 240 pounds eating turkey and veggie Subway sandwiches, talked about his experience, became a brand evangelist, and then was brought on as the official Subway guy. When Subway discovered him and the story he was sharing, they encouraged it wholeheartedly. Jared had a great experience with this company and talked about it before he ever appeared in a commercial, which is what makes him so trustworthy. Subway didn’t respond by saying “How dare you use the phrase Subway Diet! Our marketing director didn’t endorse that.” No, Subway went out on a limb and provided more outlets and actually paid Jared to keep talking.

If you find people blogging about how great you are, find ways to encourage them.

• Send them samples of new products, give them a free membership, offer whatever service you can that will show your appreciation (and give them reason to talk about you even more).
• Ask their opinions on your customer service, marketing campaign, whatever you think might interest them and their readers.
• Give them exclusive information, interviews, or breaking stories.
• If nothing else, at least say thank you!

These are just a few ideas of ways to appreciate your unintended spokespeople and to encourage them to keep talking. Keep in mind, though, that your focus should always be providing value to them and their readers. The positive efforts you make will spread like wildfire online and will help your bottom line more than any on or offline marketing campaign. Poor handling will spread even faster.

While the old adage “any kind of press is good press,” doesn’t necessarily ring true with the internet, good internet press is the best kind of marketing you can get. And even better, it doesn’t cost you a thing beyond being willing to give up a little control.