The Advertising Age has Ended, the Edutizing Era has Begun
Consumers simply do not want to be “sold” anymore. They have become cynical about advertising claims and “its all about me” advertising. They dont want to hear an agents claims of greatness. They want to understand what you can do for them. They want to know that your claims are backed up by legitimate experience and insights you can bring to them. They want you to prove why you are the best agent or broker for them. Simply making promises of greatness is not enough to attract consumers anymore.
Customers trust brands in the same way they trust other people. When a company performs consistently against its stated values and follows through on commitments consumers generally trust them. Those that say one thing and do another are those who are abandoned after their one chance.
According to the recently released 2009 California Home Buyers and Sellers Survey from the California Association of REALTORS®, consumers are asking REALTORS® to provide more relevant information and support throughout the real estate transaction. They dont simply want a nice marketing campaign and promises of greatness. They want true support throughout the entire process. They are looking for better information to help arm with the tools they need to make a sound real estate purchase decision.
They are particularly dissatisfied with the quality of local market statistics and housing conditions. 42% of Internet buyers were dissatisfied with the information provided to them about market conditions. This provides REALTORS® with a huge opportunity to provide better insights to help a consumer more comfortable about their real estate purchase. They can use their deep local knowledge to help a consumer feel comfortable that the home they purchase will be not only a sound investment, but a joyful, satisfying experience meeting the physical needs of their whole family.
Today, consumers are looking for service providers that support them and educate them about the most important elements to make an educated decision about their purchase. They will be attracted to agents who are not “selling” to them. Instead they are looking for potential vendors that demonstrate expertise, professionalism and guidance about the real estate process. Consumers are attracted to agents who seek to provide insight and information that will help better prepare them to make an educated real estate decision. Real estate professionals have a ton of interesting insider knowledge they can share. WAV Group has just published a paper called Edutizing – Dramatically increase the effectiveness of your marketing approach. This paper will help outline some ways to deliver information to attract consumers without overtly selling to them Edutizing.
If you wouild like to learn more about how use can use edutizing to improve your markting efforts you can also attend a pre-Inman Conference Session on August 4th from 1:30 – 4:30 pm followed by a cocktail reception at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Event is now closed.
