April 26, 2008: The challenge for Realtors and lenders in the future: How do you sell to consumers who don't want to be sold?
We represented a cute couple in the purchase of their first home late last year. That much is not news: First time home-buyers are the bread and butter of the real estate business. What was interesting to me was how internet-focused they were.
The husband, Michael, is an internet adept, but his wife, Danielle, is a true wizard. Her primary interface to the commercial world is the world wide web.
They found me on the internet, of course, and I referred them to a lender that I know through the nets.
Consider this: There are 30,000 Realtors in Phoenix, and at least that many lenders. All of them are advertising at a furious pace -- newspapers, real estate magazines, supermarket shopping carts, bus benches, billboards, radio, TV -- plus balloons, free pens and scratch pads and coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, flower seeds, recipe cards and Halloween pumpkins.
Real estate professionals spent millions of dollars trying to get Michael and Danielle's attention, and all of that money was wasted. They are not paying attention to advertising.
To the contrary, if Danielle cannot completely research a product or service on-line, she won't have anything to do with it. They never once went into the home they were buying without a digital camera. I watched Danielle crane around in impossible contortions so she could read and write down the model and serial numbers from the washer and dryer so she could research them on-line.
Looking forward, nothing changes as fast as we expect it to. But looking backward, the world seems always to be changing like dreams. Danielle is immune to advertising. She recycles her junk mail unread. She doesn't want to be pitched, she doesn't want to be sold, she doesn't want to be wheedled or needled or cajoled. She doesn't want to be closed on.
All those old school gimmicks still work -- on some people -- and they will continue to work -- for a while. But Danielle is the future of real estate marketing. Realtors and lenders are going to have to learn to sell to consumers like her.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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