Home : Blogs : Sara Bonert {Real Estate Internet Marketing} : Sara Bonert's Real Estate Internet Marketing Blog (Zillow Industry Relations Manager))

Top 9 Things Customers Don't Care About- From A Gen Y-er's Point Of View

Today RIS Media ran an article entitled The Top 9 Things Customers Don't Care About. The list was pretty on Who's filling Gen Y's shoes? target. But I thought what would make it more helpful is comments about each statement from a real, live Gen Yer, who this year went through the process of hiring a Listing Agent- ME! RIS Media's list is below. Followed by my comments.

The Top 9 Things Customers Don't Care About:

9. How good you are at what you do. They only care about how good you are at who you are and how you can help them get what they want. [SB] I DO care about how good you are. Obviously I want to hire a GOOD agent. However, I will not decide how good you by you telling me. I will decide based on how I feel about you when I meet you and what other people say about you. The 'other' people's opinions on you will not come from a testimonial sheet you bring in. I will read what people are saying about you, unsolicited, on message boards or any 2.0 site that I can find.

8. Your education, your certifications or your designations. They only care about how what you know can help make their lives more enjoyable, simple and prosperous. [SB] I have been seeing these designations for 10 years now and still have absolutely no idea what they mean. If you can show me how your designation now affords you some skill that others without it may not have, then mention it. The only designation that means something to be when I see it is EPro. From this my guess would be that you are somehow more Internet savvy than others, which means you will be more likely to communicate with me via email, my communication method of choice.

7. Your brand. They only care that the experience of doing business with you is sensational. [SB] I go 50/50 on this one. Initially I lean towards a national brand because I think a larger corporation is going to have more Internet partnerships in place and more resources. But I could be sold by someone under an independent label, if their marketing plan was stellar.

6. You saying you have great service. They only care about getting great service. [SB] You don't have to tell me about your great service. I will already know what type of service you provide the minute I send a request for more information. After I do that, you have about an hour to show me your 'great service'. If you call me the next day, no service statement in the world is going to convince me otherwise.

5. How much you charge. They care about getting value for their money. [SB] This is true, to a certain degree. You will have an opportunity to present to me, tell me your plan and tell me your rates. If I think you are the best and will get my home sold the fastest, commission is irrelevant. If I like two people equally as good, I will probably go with the lower commission. So two points here, 1) Be the best and 2) At least be in the ball park of commissions your market is baring.

4. How you feel today. They care about feeling good themselves and having a positive day. [SB] Not saying you don't earn your commission, but at the end of the day, that is still a large chunk of change out of my pocket. If I am paying someone that much money, it is going to be about me, me, me!

3. Why you can't do something. They only care about fast, easy solutions. [SB] However you deal with me, is how I assume you are dealing with other agents. If you tell me you can't do something, I am going to assume that you are telling other agents you can't make things work for them, which doesn't get my house sold.

2. How long you've been in business. They only care about how you can solve their problems under today's conditions. [SB] This is very true, especially because how homes are marketed has evolved so much over the last few years.

1. How cool or slick your marketing looks. They care about how your product or service can save them time, relieve them of pain, help their family or put money in their bank account. [SB] 100% true. Show me all the cool and unique ways you are going to market my home. Show me the back-end systems that are in place where I can get information about what is going on with my home at all times. Regularly show me Internet statistics as to how my home is performing online and how you are adjusting the plan based on these facts. I need to hear from you regularly, even if you have nothing to tell me. Once a week minimum.

Picture courtesy of www.brandchannel.com

Like what you're reading? Then subscribe to my blog and be notified when I post something new.

Connect with me on:

Posted by Sara Bonert {Real Estate Internet Marketing} on 12/13/2007 12:23 PM

Comments (79)

internet advertising, national brokerage, local brokerage, gen y, listing agent

Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Rainmaking - Internet Marketing Strategies
Post is included in group: The Lounge at Active Rain
Post is included in group: Online Marketing Help Center
Post is included in group: Social Media Marketing

79 Comments on Top 9 Things Customers Don't Care About- From A Gen Y-er's Point Of View

DEC

2007

Good article I will say most of this is true to our generation. One reason they are part of my niche I can relate with their needs. Your Orlando & Lake Mary Real Estate Expert, Heather Joubran

Sara, this is a good post and helpful to all. Perspective is an important element of servicing the client. Nice work!

Sara, from a Baby Boomer, thanks for your GenY perspective.

Sara, this is great and dead on with Gen Y...when I'm targeting a younger audience, I always ask the opinion of my kids in their 20s. They are brutally honest :)

Thanks for putting this out there. As a fellow Gen Y-er I see your perspective. I think that's why I went into Real Estate at such a young age. My perspective is deliver good service and that makes up for being new to the industry.

I agree they could care less about me as an agent they are concerned about if I can get the job done. Thanks for the thoughts.

Sara, I appreciate getting your perspective. I have just one question however. Isn't commission really more of an issue than you stated? Don't you see the Internet as basically free? Isn't it more efficient than previous marketing systems? Shouldn't my service cost less because of these efficiencies and lower costs?

I really want to know what you think. Thank you.

Bill Roberts

Great post. Based on my experience with Gen Y, I agree.

From another Gen-Y-er, I agree totally.

You're damn skippy. If I feel I can't trust you (to a certain extent of course) I don't want to deal with you.

People have to feel comfortable; if they're comfort level of off the wayside or (like me) their B.S. detector goes off, they're not going to want to have anything to do with you. It'll be a smile and a handshake and that's it.

Good point. Point taken.

:o)

Great article Sara -- I've actually had a draft regarding the topic of what's important to a gen y 1st time home buyer on Zillow Blog for quite some time. Maybe this is the kick I needed to finish it!

Sara,

That could almost be a listing presentation. Good post.

Good article. Thanks for sharing it. The points are so true. I am glad to see the comment about ePro, my next goal. I think eco Broker is also a good point with these clients.

Sara, Great article! I am a BB but my kids have kept me up to date on the Gen Y's ! I love that you gave us your perspective!! A Great Feature!!!

Sara, I'm 42, and all of what you write here fits in with how I feel as well. I hate being "sold" and I don't do that to other people. I don't attach the alphabet soup after my name, or feel the need to broadcast how great I am to the world. My actions speak for themselves. This is a really great post. Thanks for sharing!

Sara, you've turned the rules upside down vs. traditional thinking. I love it. Very open and honest. You really diss the designations which I think are great education but can be overrated. I do like the CRS one though. Some of those REALTORS are really on top of things.

Sara, great points thanks for sharing. It is not about the agent it is about what you are going to do for them.

I didn't think anyone used the gen-y phrase anymore, but I do agree with and for the most part I feel those points aplly to all markets.

Sara,

Thank you for the good tips, as a newer agent, I was under the impression that designations are critical.

Sara - This is pretty on point. There are a lot of agents that spend far too much time puffing themselves and not enough time on their clients.

What a great examination of the difference in the generations ... Economically speaking Generation (by sheer size) has more pull then Gen X. Gen Y is roughly 72 million ... that is almost as big as the baby boomer generation, yet 62% larger than Gen X ... the generation between Boomers and Y.

Sara, great post. I think Gen'Y'ers come with a great base of knowledge that other buyers. They have done research on the internet before they talk with you.

Sara,

As an older Gen Xer, I have some baby boomer characteristics and a lot of Gen Y tendencies, I say that you are right on the money. For many boomers, it is like culture shock. Thanks for the post!

Katheryn

Say, I really appreciate this perspective. I am so damn old, my generation does not even have an alphabet label. I can say that many of my clients are members of the different alphabet soup groups and most of them only ask that I do my damn job.

Of course, now it is nice to be in the position of "pops". Longevity has it's rewards. Young folks actually want to hear the truth and how they can move from point a to point b.

I think a lot of folks get caught up in attempting to reduce clients or prospects into distinct pools, each with their own ripples. If you start seeing the need and hearing what folks say, you can be successful with any age or ethnic client.

Folks just want us to do what we do. Not tell them, but actually do it.

Bill- Good questions. After hiring my current listing agent, I wrote a post about how relevant I think commissions are. If you are interested- http://activerain.com/blogsview/110768/You-DON-T-Always.

Yes, I see the Internet as free, to a certain degree. However, I know that even if the site is free, it still takes time to upload the information. And even more so, I personally don't want to be bothered with the inquires. That is the beauty of having an agent. Yes, I see it is as more efficient, that is why I want as agent with a heavy internet mkting plan. But there are costs associated with Internet marketing, outside of just listing fees, like in the newspaper. You now have to have a great camera or virtual tour provider. You have to invest in systems to manage internet leads. You need to have a internet handheld devise to manage inquires fast. I don't know that your costs haven't gone down, they have just shifted. If I thought all you did was put my house on the MLS, then I would pay someone $599 and sell it myself. But I know that is not the case.

Sara,

Excellent analysis and I appreciate your time in expanding on each point. Often the local newspaper will feature an article but provide no"meat" to the story and I'm left wondering why they even bothered. This is good stuff.

Although, I'm a generation older than the Gen Y crowd, it all seems to apply to me so I suppose I'm generally lost in the generations.

Good post Sara. It is really important to know what generation your clients are, as their needs will be different depending which group the belong to.

Stereotypes....The marketing tool of the new millenium (gen Y also called echo boomers because they echo their boomer parents)

Very good points that all agents should remember. There is such a vast difference in the way each generation is raised and we must be able to understand how they think, feel and act in order to be successful with them. Thanks again!

Great post! Bookmarked for future study. Thanks

This "boomer" can also relate to everything you've said.

Are you sure you are apart of Gen Y? Gen Y is anyone born after 1980. Gen X is from 1965 to 1980. You have 10 years of real estate internet advertising experience. You must of started at a really young age.

Amen Sara! Awesome post and I could not agree with you more! I have written many post about designations and Realtors that focus on themselves. This is why Realtors are still rated below car dealers! Once we raise the bar we will raise our image. Have a wonderfu holiday.

Angel - I was born in 1975 (guess everyone knows how old I am now) which is sort of a grey area. I have read this mean gen x and gen y. Because I have always worked in the internet industry, I relate to gen y more, and that is what I call myself.

I'm on the cusp between GenX and Baby Boomer... I consider myself way more of an Xer. Even with being a little closer to GenY, I need to take a littletime and digest this info.

Sara, Maybe I was born in the wrong decade. I am a baby boomer but I identify with the same list. Am I wrong in thinking that most people feel the same way. Most people want to know "What's in it for me?" That seems like marketing 101.

Dan- You are right. But because of the technology that is available today (mostly in the form of web 2.0) the customer is the driver's seat more than ever before and are in more of a position to call the shots. Which makes vendors (of any product) have to adjust to these desires, verse the other way around which it was 20 years ago.

You are absolutely correct about the need for using the latest technologies in marketing clients' properties. This is sometimes overlooked by Realtors because in good times, you don't need to, and in bad times, you don't feel like you can afford to. Thanks for the post.

I'm a late boomer.. 1961 (I feel a Blog coming on) and I'll tell you I can tell I'm getting older when things like texting (is that a verb?) and such things seem odd and are hard to see the point of.

We all better warm up our thumbs though.. these guys will be buying (are they already) and will be expecting us to keep up.

As one of the oldest of the baby boomers, (damn, my daughter is older than you) and someone who considers himself internet savvy, thanks for this post. Except for two things however; Id say most folks don't care about the same things that gen y dosen't care about.

the two exceptions are when you say:

you have about an hour to show me your 'great service'
and
They only care about fast, easy solutions

My advice to gen y (if you are right and I think you are) is slow down and smell the roses and be careful what you ask for...you may get it.

If you want my help in an hour and if all you care about is a fast an easy solution you may get it, but I can offer you so much more.

Bottom line... if you dont want someone that will take the time to give you a well considered, well researched answer to your question or take the time to listen to and really understand your problem and then craft a creative solution that works, than Im not your guy. Good luck to you.

Great Post Sara!

It's so true. I am a gen Yer myself. ^^

I recently was on the phone with a solicitor who was obviously reading from a script. After 30 seconds of listening to him rambling and not finding out where is this phone call going, I quickly interrupt him and ask him what does he want and what can I do for him. I don't really care if you can do it or not, I want to know how you will fix it, deliver the results and do it soon. Other than that, all these "I provide great services" stuff are just white noise! Actions always speak louder than words!

Cheers,

Cindy

I saw this earlier today and thought it was right on point. But it's not just aimed at one gen, it's everyone. They all have the same expectation of what's in it for me and how do you solve my problem. It seems to me the line is very blurred in age since the tools cross all boundaries. I figure everyone wants quick resonse and everyone wants to communicate via text or email. At least the ones I target do :)

To answer Bill above..... The Internet is far from free. In fact, it's probably one of the more expensive uses of your time because it takes you away from any other income producing activity. Free yes in that it doesn't cost you budget $$ but when you factor in what you make per hour and then charge that back, it's an astounding cost. One we all pay freely or get assistants for! Add to that the educational component so you are aware of all the rapid changes that are occurring in the web world.

Ron- Thanks for the comment. I just want to be clear that I don't expect all the answers in an hour. But I do expect some type of acknowledgement of my question/request.

I think it is more than slowing down to smell the roses. I think we even need to be reminded to get outside (away from behind the computer screen) to where the roses are!

Fred- For some humor here, in response to warming up your thumb..... http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/explore/chi-1213_bodytreat_crackberrydec13,1,1294878.story This article ran in the Chicago Tribune today about a spa that is now offer Crackberry massages. For $1 a minute you can get the knots in your hands rubbed out from texting. What next!!

Sara,

The big picture for the customer seems to be to get his problem solved as fast as possible. Some customers are very conscious about the cost, some appreciate your designations and so on, but overall, those are interesting observations.

Great post Sara. Coming from a Gen-Xer, I want the best of both worlds - techonology & service. I want top-notch service, experience and you'd better be able to email me about it. ;)

Sara, this is great and so true, we need to remember this on all our listings presentations. It is not about US, it all ALL ABOUT THEM.

Hmmm, I never thought about it this way. Thanks for the heads up. I'm a baby boomer and thought you Gen Y's would be similar to us.

great post. i need to retool my web site today. most of my biz comes from gen y & x.

Very good points, it only matters what our clients want, not what we think they do.

Most of your points are right on. Thanks for posting. All the best for the holiday season.

DEC

2007

I'm on the cusp of gen y & gen x, like you Sara...I feel that this post is right on. I am constantly trying to get into the minds of my clients, like: How do they want to do business? What do they expect from me? What will catch their attention? This answers those questions! I DO see a listing presentation in this.

Now where do I find these Gen Y clients? :-)

Great post!

Hi Sara: I think the article all by itself was not very worthwhile. With all of your comments and opinions, you turned it all into something very worthwhile. Thanks for sharing.

park

The thing with designations is that the individual that earns them considers this their profession and is willing to spend the money and the time in order to learn more and more about what they do. A lot is learned from the day to day practice of being a REALTOR but those with designations go the extra mile. The CRS designation or instance has some of the best courses about marketing, relocation, handling buyers, finance and in order to get the designation you also need the volume of sales. This adds value to transactions because the more an agent knows the better able they are to handle objections, problems and have the resources at hand that if they don't know they know where to find the answer. The Senior Real Estate Specialist course addresses reservse mortgages, taxes, teaches realtors about pitfalls that Seniors can fall into again more knowledge more experience more effective. Does the public care? yes I think they do expecially buyers and sellers who have had problems that could have been avoided had the agent they used been property trained. So, if you are an agent and do not get what the designations are about or how it adds value to your profession, knowledge base and ability to negotiate and perform with better skills, perhaps if you took a course you could see what it is about and whether or not you learn from it.

Great post, Sara. Great getting some first-hand insight and reminders from you!

Brian Wilson, Zolve.com

Sara, great list and insight! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading this and completely agree with you!

Nice post...great points. I do not agree with the branding....but everything else seems dead on!

I'm going to staple your post on the wall in our office. I have been telling these same things to the older generation folks for years now and they still are not buying it. You hit it right on the head. Great post!

You hit the nail(s) right on the head(s)! Our business is just not about us...it is about our clients, and that should be the focus.

Sara, great post.

As a GenX/GenY straddler, I can totally relate to what you're saying.

I'm getting my E-pro ASAP as I'm already doing these things but hey, if you can have the designation to back it up, more power to ya.

Thanks for the info!

~Susannah

DEC

2007

I enjoyed reading this article. Interesting how the designations are of little interest to them. I agree completely they are very service oriented. Take the VIP lounge in any club- they will pay a premium to be in there. Thank you for the look into the mind set of a Y-er generation

DEC

2007

Agree with most of your thoughts...

RK
http://www.rentalandrealestate.com

DEC

2007

Sara, I think it is important to understand the GenY perspective. Being a Baby-Boomer, we just don't get it sometimes. Thanks for the post and being brutal.....we need it.

Great post and so true all the customere cares is can you deliver , how you do it ,does not matter

DEC

2007

Sara, fabulous post. As an aging Gen-Xer I've printed it out for future reference. Some comments:

#8: Interesting, I never bothered with this designation because what could it possibly teach me? I grew up on the web.

#6: I guess I might lose you on this one. Until I get a 24/7 call center/email response system under my belt, I may lose you when I'm out all day with other relo clients looking at houses. Sorry, but I'm not going to interrupt my appointments with them until the end of the day or next day if we run late looking at houses.

#2: Good thing, as I've only been in the biz for three years now.

#1: Another good thing, as I can deliver all of this.

Sara, again, thanks for the insight!

Diane

JAN

2008

This was eye-opening, Sara. Very intuitive. I need to go back and re-read and relate to my business.

Hi Sara,

Thanks for this post. It will help me in my RE business as well as in running my office. I am a Managing Partner for a local agent-owned company where most agents are "experienced" in real estate. What that really means is that most of them have been licensed for 10 or more years, but first of all that they are older (50s and up). So, I always look for ways to present this kind of information to my agents to open their eyes on the reality of life today.

Have a Wildly Successful 2008!

I just ran across today a marketing piece from an agent that kept on repeating "Jim" can do this, "Jim" has the knowledge... "Jim" will send you, I was cracking up. Never did I feel like it was about the seller or the buyer. ~Rita

JAN

2008

Omg - thank you thank you. You said it all.

JAN

2008

Thanks for this post as I can use it in my business...construction.

JAN

2008

As one of the first Gen Xers (Feb 65) I want to say that you, Sara, added tremendous value to the original RIS Media articel. I'd also like to comment that this would have been a completely different artice just 5 years ago. If any of you, as Realtors, take only one thing away from this blog, it's that EVERY generation is starting to expect what the Gen Yers want (specifically proven referrablity - not just marketing yourself). More and more Boomers are learning about the Internet and even 2.0. I think this article applies to Gen X as much as it does Gen Y - not a big difference when it comes to expectations.

Bottom Line: Show your clients who you really care about - if it's not them then you should find another business.

JAN

2008

This post was an excellent tool to use to rewrite my listing presentation materials. Maybe Realtors need use different 'versions' of marketing proposals for different age audiences?

APR

2008

This is a really great list. I think I will condense it and put it somewhere to remind me on a regular basis! Thank you!

JUL

2008

Great list, but I disagree with #1. Good, cool, professional ads sell!

Christina

AUG

2008

FANTASTIC post and FANTASTIC detailed comments. As part of the Gen Y group I agree 100% with your statements.

Regarding item #1 - I think being technical and showing how the marketing is going to work is HUGE. If I saw all the back-end functionality of my house being marketed online, and was constantly fed the statistics I would be one happy seller! GREAT stuff. So on target!

You are so right. I think it'e more of a me only attitude. I recently worked with two highly paid software people who just wanted to tell me everything they knew about everything.

It was not really that bad as I am rather curious and I actually enjoyed listening. WQe found greta properties for both and they have both recomended me to others. I am learning to just let it go, give as much information and advice that is willingly accepted and that i feel is my obligation as a professional and just do it.

MAY

thank you artichect and also i have idea

i m student of computer science now but after a time i want to study architectoral fields so i expect some interesting ideal to share with you .from now on wards i will search my email account to read your contribution

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?