Over the last few days I have been entertaining my father-in-law at my home. Our conversations have ranged from internet questions to conversations on cell phone dependence. In one short conversation we found he had more then enough to do everything he wanted and it was right in his hand. His cell phone of choice is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
The Samsung Galaxy Note4 is not only a large phone but packs enough processing power to host a tremendous amount of apps ranging from music recordering devices to movie stuff and beyond. Quite simply the thing is powerful.
Ohh yeah did I mention it has a stylus pen attached? Signing paperwork is now a breeze and not some dreaded long arcane process. Now the idea of paperless actually makes sense. Did I mention the screen size is huge?!
So it hits me out fo the blue that if someone wants to reach my father in law, it's going to be by telephone text or email. All of which come in to his life on the same device. He no longer uses his laptop as he says himself "I no longer need too, this thing does it all".
The large screen type is going to resinate with an older client. It's also going to be a bit out of the norm for the "whats cool" and older folks don't really care about that. Also its got a nice price tag of running him about $100 bucks per month. This price and size combonation is going to prevent it from being a "teenager phone".
"So What's The Point? Ok well as Realtors we are constantly working our butts off to make sure our message lands in the right hands. Short version is that teenagers don't buy houses. We are trying with our wallets, our brains and our effort to make sure the right people know we exist and can help them with Real Estate Needs.
Yet when developing a website many Realtors don't make sure it's mobile compatible. Many people surf the web doing research from their phone rather then a computer. It's so frequent that Google is working on search patterns based on voice requests vs typed request (yes we ask questions differently then how we type). Perhaps it's wise to make sure our landing pages are looking nice and easily filled out from a mobile device.
After all there are entire groups of people just like my father in law. Tons of people have all but abandoned the computer for the "hi-tech" super geared up telephones (The Smart Phones are sooo much more then just a phone). Quite honestly it's hard to blame them. The speed is there, the screen sizes are fantastic with color quality that rivels most monitors. The on the move ability to take ones entire mobile life and just travel is very appealing especially to senior citizens.
I'm saying that by not focusing our marketing to also include the mobile world we lose out on target markets of homesellers and homebuyers. This means that everything from ad copy to design should have a thought about mobile. After all we as realtors know how crazy life can get when a house is being sold. People about to either buy or sell a house often have a larger then life amount of stress happening. Many retreat into the mobile world of their phone and use it as a lifeline.
Who can blame them. Need to talk to someone we use the phone. Gottal look something up? We use the phone, Need directions? Again the phone wins. There's almost no need to even use a nasty old computer anymore. Then again here I am typing away at one of my few loves ( My Macbook Pro).
As a Realtor I want to help people that have real estate related questions. I want to help people who are interested in buying a home. I want to help people who are interested in selling a home. If you have a real estate related issue that needs the help of a professional then I want to help you.
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