Real estate websites are not a substitute for hard work. To have a successful online presence takes dedication and a personal investment of time or money, to have someone else manage it for you.
I recently had a customer call to say that she wanted to cancel her real estate website with us. This rarely happens and I asked her if she would tell me why she no longer wanted our assistance. She said, "I don't think I have to blog to get results. I just have to have a site that works and is up to date". When I asked her what she meant by "a site that works" she told me "one that gets traffic and shows up in the search engines". She was completely frustrated and felt overwhelmed and just wanted to cancel her website with us.
We do tell our real estate website template customers UP FRONT, that in order to compete in the search engines they basically have two options: Blogging or Pay Per Click (PPC) advertsing. Creating a real estate website does not ensure that you will get traffic. We had conversations about blogging from the very beginning and how it would be a great tool to drive traffic to her website. When we launched her customized MLS search tool, we created "hyper local" saved searches that she could blog about and capture leads from her visitors. So, where did it go wrong for her? From the very beginning. There was never a level of commitment on her part to do the things necessary to promote her website.
We have taught numerous blogging classes in her office and we have several other Agents in that office on the same system, that are having great success. The situation got me thinking. Can you imagine opening up a business with no location and no advertising to attract potential customers? It wouldn't work, would it?
When I realized that it was my ego alone that did not want to lose this customer, I understood that we were not the right solution for what this customer needed. She did need a customized IDX solution, which we provided. She did need a lead capture system and the ability to create customized forms, which we provided. She did need a website that she could log in to and update with text, images and video (without having to know or understand coding), which we provided.
It comes down to this: "Are you willing to invest the time or money in to a website that is going to produce results?" Because real estate websites are not a substitute for hard work. This question could have saved her some time and money, and some peace of mind for me. I hate losing a customer!
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