Most, whether they realize it or not, expect both. Is that something we real estate agents can truly deliver?
When a home buyer Googles real estate, they usually want to see homes for sale. Right now. Loads of them in the neighborhoods in which they want to live. But when they go to buy the home of their dreams, they feel - and are - entitled to protection and representation. They've just usually skipped the step involved in finding out how to get that.
Jack Markham, of Active Rain, offers an excellent demonstration of what buyers want when they go on the internet in his Fall In Love With Online Consumers post and video. One of his main points is that consumers return to websites that give them what they want the minute they hit the landing page.
What does the consumer want? They want to see houses for sale complete with photos. (Or condos, townhomes, duplexes, REO's, or commercial property for sale.) They want to be able to click for more details on a particular home. They want information about the neighborhood and nearby shopping. They want local school information. They want data and statistics about recently sold homes. They like to see charts and graphs and numbers.
As real estate professionals, we know that as much as 50% of the information found on site aggregators such as Trulia and Zillow is inaccurate but a consumer has no way of knowing that. All the consumer knows is that those sites appear to have everything they're looking for in a real estate website. Does my company site have all of that? Sure! Is it more accurate than the aggregators? Absolutely! Is it specific to practices in my local market? Of course! But the consumer does not know that or even that there are different laws and procedures for buying and selling real property from one state to another.
Joan Cox wonders which of her professional sites would be best to send consumers to in her Buyers Have Too Many Choices post. Like most of us, she maintains multiple real estate websites for lead generation. They each probably have some, perhaps all, of what the consumer is looking for; different presentations will attract different clientele.
Some consumers intentionally avoid the broker or agent owned and branded websites to avoid real estate agents, mistakenly believing that the site aggregator websites like Trulia and Zillow are free. Consumers do not realize that those sites are free to consumers but paid for by real estate agents who pay those sites to send them leads.
Could consumers reduce the cost of real estate transactions by going directly to the agent websites? Would doing so reduce the cost of doing business for the real estate professional? That's a question for another blog post.
How do you get consumers who might become clients to revisit your website? Ron and Alexandra Seigel reinforce the importance of fresh content in their Luxury Real Estate Marketing post about Tired or Original Content Marketing. As Shanna Hall notes, frequently adding content can move you up on the AR Leaderboard as well as catch Google's bot's attention.
What happens when a consumer wants to actually see a home IRL? What if they want to make an Offer to Purchase Real Property? That is when the typical consumer realizes they need a human being with a real estate license. That is when the consumer has questions about protecting their investment.
As a consumer of anything, when you have complex questions do you want a general email response, a phone with "press this button" response, or a real human being to answer your specific questions? Most of us want a real human being who is knowledgeable about whatever it is we're considering.
Consumers who are ready to actually buy or sell a home appreciate in-person conversations. They want to look me in the eye as we talk about their plans and needs. They want real life answers to serious questions.
In this high-tech world full of instant gratification, people are looking for more. They want the personal touch. They want someone who actually listens to their questions, needs, and concerns. As Kim Norton points out in her The Secret to Massive Success: Walk Slowly Through The Crowd, people want to be treated like the real human individuals that they are.
When buying or selling real estate, real people want and deserve your time and full attention. They don't want an agent busily texting during their consultation. They don't want an agent who views them as a number to be diverted into some 'system'. They want our full attention focused on them. They want you to slow down for an hour or two and give them the information they need to make wise decisions.
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