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A Cluetrain to Remarkability: A Banana, A Gorilla, and A Time Travel Machine

Reblogger Danny Thornton
Services for Real Estate Pros with R & D Art

 

Rebecca makes some great points here in this post. Keeping your website updated is as important as changing the oil in your car. If you have not had a chance to read her article, then please take a few minutes.

For you that are familiar with my reblogs, the comment section is blockes. This way, you can comment directly to Rebecca.

 

Knock Knock.  Who'sThere? Banana.

Banana Who?

Knock Knock.  Who's There? Banana.

Banana Who?

Knock Knock Who;s There? Orange.

Orange Who?

Orange Ya Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

Consider this.  A knock-knock joke about a banana is akin to a website built in 2001 and never updated.  Both try to be timeless, but are only entertaining the first time around to a newborn babe whose never experienced any other jokes before. 

This is not your audience online today.  They aren't newborn babes they are savvy internet explorers and if your website is a bore they will spot it from a mile away.

If you haven't decided to make your website web 2.0 consumer compliant let me share a story in pictures. 

 

When Monkey Business Makes Good Business Sense.

 

Joine me for  a trip through the Internet Archives.   All aboard for a ride on a cluetrain to remarkability: A Banana, A Gorilla, and A Time Travel Machine.

 

HomeGain Circa June 21, 2000

HomeGain Circa June 21, 2000HomeGain Circa June 21, 2000

 

Value Proposition to the Consumer:  It's Free. 

Temptation to the Real Estate Agent:  Are you Worthy?

 

HomeGain June 22, 2003

HomeGain Circa June 22, 2003

 

Value Proposition to the Consumer:  Easy Navigation.  Easy on the Eyes.

Temptation to the Real Estate Agent:  A membership huh? My competitors might be here....Should I Be?

 

 

HomeGain June 22, 2005

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Value Proposition to the Consumer:   Lots to explore, lots of pages, get deeper, deeper, deeper inside the site.  Let's get sticky.

Temptation to the Real Estate Agent:  Consumers must like this site because there's a lot of information here.  Where go the consumer should go I.

 

HomeGain Today December 18, 2008

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Value Proposition to the Consumer:  Nice Clean Layout, Home Page Welcomes Me, Contemporary.

Value Proposition the Real Estate Agent:  More promotion of their skills....Hmmm. "It's not ABOUT HomeGain, Its ABOUT me".  They are looking for a partnership and have brought in Max as a mascot and some guerrilla marketing.

 

Among it's lead generation competitors, HomeGain's offerings are more remarkable.  A purple cow where others are still trying to figure out this whole Web 2.0 thing.

Make it your goal to offer a remarkable real estate website in 2009.  The template and Web 1.0 offerings date you on the web and undermine your brand.

Don't worry about what your peers are doing.  Let them zig while you zag.

 

 

Think about the basic human drivers that apply to  real estate.

• Social acceptance
• Connection
• Money
• Security and comfort
• A good future for their children
• Social status

Think about your internet front door offerings. Do they satisfy any of the basic human drivers?  Is your site engaging, informative, flattering (not crammed with gimmicks that belittle your consumer)?  

Who do you want to be?  An old knock knock joke with a tired old banana or a guerrilla marketer whose not messing around with that monkey business.

A Cluetrain to Remarkability:  A Banana, A Gorilla, and A Time Travel Machine.

 

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