Helping people buy and sell residential and commercial properties is a rewarding
profession for the gifted and skilled. A realtor must have expertise in an amazing
array of disciplines, ranging from civil engineering to law. Intense physical
activity is also involved, for keeping pace with the latest market developments,
and coordinating multiple appointments could leave even a professional sports
person breathless!
The exceptional qualities which go in to making the best realtors do little
to keep competition under control. This is a vocation which virtually anyone
may profess to follow! Potential customers may not have ways of recognizing
the best realtors from the also-rans and the amateurs, and it is entirely possible
for the best people in the business to remain unnoticed.
The principles of Services Marketing can help every realtor put his or her
best foot forward. Though this is a subject of top business schools, everyone
can follow the key guidelines of Services Marketing, and make a growing success
of wherever a realty business is located. Some people like to work things out
in their minds, but a written Marketing Plan will become a permanent asset,
and help realtors expand to new territories.
It all starts with Segmentation and Targeting. The point of this exercise is
to define typical customers, and to choose between available alternatives as
well. People who are about to retire, and young professionals with high disposable
incomes, are the most common business types. Most realtors work within tightly
defined areas, normally in and around major cities. A segment, in Services Marketing
lingo, has to be homogenous, so the 35-45 years age group of people with salaried
jobs in and around Las Vegas could be a typical example of segmentation.
It is important to be as creative as possible when segmenting the total market.
Women who have just entered the work force, or people who have just returned
from military service abroad, are examples of unusual segmentation. The latter
tends to be less competitive than the obvious segments, and may suit the particular
strengths of a realtor. There is a catch though: your business might taper off
if you define your segment too narrowly. You do not, for example, want to define
your segment as dealers from the gaming tables on the Strip alone!
Clustering, is a technique of putting disparate segments together around a
common objective. You could, for example, decide that you want to serve all
people, wherever they may live, to invest in high-growth realty projects in
and around Las Vegas. This means that you aim to become the Las Vegas expert
of everyone in the world who wishes to invest in Las Vegas realty. Such a cluster
can include people from all over the United States, and some rich Sheikhs from
the Middle East as well.
Why go through all this segmentation trouble? The answer lies in the limits
to your resources. You may work alone, or with just a small team. There are
limits to how many Multiple Listings you can check, and the numbers of lawyers
and banks with who you can build strong working relationships. You do not want
to spread your resources too thinly, and this is where clever segmentation helps.
You can choose to specialize in one part of the market which suits your strengths
and likes best, and become the best in that domain. Targeting a particular segment
or a cluster can be a testing time because it is only natural to try and be
all things to all people, but the competition will not allow you to succeed
with such laxity. You must bite the bullet, and declare, for example, that you
will focus exclusively on industrial areas, and put all distractions of other
opportunities aside. It can be hard to turn down revenue opportunities but the
specialization which comes from targeting a segment or a cluster will pay off
in the long run.
The next step is to begin studying your target. How do such people think? What
do they expect from realtors? How can you service them better than others? What
steps can you take for all of them to know about you? It is best to use a mix
of primary and secondary sources, meeting with typical customers, and reading
all you can about them, so that you gradually know their habits, needs, and
preferences better than they are aware of themselves! You may also have to invest
in new skills to meet specific needs-it always helps to learn their languages,
for example, in case you decide to cater to foreigners.
Having targeted a segment and understood the customer profiles involved gets
you in to position to design your Marketing Mix. The latter has 8 elements,
which you must assemble as you would for a great soup, to serve your chosen
target, as close as possible to perfection. Each of these 8 elements starts
with a P, making it easier to memorize the concept: Product, Promotion, Price,
Place, People, Process, Physical evidence, and Preferential Customer Services.
The Product, in the case of any realtor, is a class of property, with the attendant
services needed for its purchase or sale. Condominiums, farm spreads, malls,
and industrial sheds, are rather obvious examples of different kinds of properties,
but it never hurts to keep in mind that chasing commercial projects is wasting
time, if you are after Senior Citizens. Corporations will not want budget lodgings
to serve as transit accommodation for their top executives, while friendly banking
services may be most helpful when dealing with young folk just starting out
on their careers. Remember that almost no one buys property frequently, so everyone
wants to deal with a domain expert.
Investors from Dubai would not read the New York Times every morning, and busy
doctors may not have time to attend your trade convention. Use your advertising
dollars like a miser, parting with budgets only when you are sure that your
targets are very likely to see and to remember your communications. This does
not mean that you hide in a hole and avoid being seen: a web site full of the
right key words is an example of aggressive but highly focused promotion of
your realty services.
Pricing is a tricky issue. People with swollen 401(k) nest eggs will not worry
about interest rates and repayment terms, but may worry more about maintenance
budgets and legal fees. Various customers see pricing, including your commission,
in different ways. It is up to you to tailor deals and properties so that they
fit chosen customers like kid gloves.
Place refers to distribution, or to how customers can access your service.
There is no beating having alliances with banks because they are generally the
first to know when someone decides to buy a property-either through a loan,
or by liquidating a substantial deposit. Firms of lawyers, engineers, and manufacturers
of durables and fittings, can also extend your network of contacts.
The People element refers to your habits, dress, and skills, and to those of
any helpers and employees you may have. No one likes to admit that they may
have attitudes which put other people off, so the best thing to do could be
to invest in a professional sales training course. Dress no better or worse
than your customers, and remember that you might not trust a dentist to work
on your root canal, if he or she turns up in shorts and a loud top!
Process is what trips up the average realtor, so it is a great area on which
to build a competitive advantage. Know the relevant laws at least as well as
you are aware of the latest rate trends, and have all the forms and papers customers
need in plenty, and at the ready. Even simple aids like flyers can go miles,
because most customers will see so many properties in a day that they are confused
and forgetful by the evening!
What would you think of a realtor in Zimbabwe who does not way the routes to
projects? What if the person does not know what an EMI is? Can you trust someone
with a property recommendation, if that person does not know the basics of drainage,
landscaping, or rodent control? Physical evidence, like process, counts for
a great deal in the realty business, because customers must trust you to take
major decisions, though they have met you perhaps for the first time. Put your
self in a customer's shoes, and present a reassuring image of knowledgeable
expertise like a kindly nurse in an Emergency Room!
Bill Clinton has a property in Las Vegas. He could buy more, and certainly
carries a great deal of weight in terms of recommendations for new customers.
Every customer matters to a realtor, but some are simply far more important
than a crowd. That is why your Marketing Plan should end with an identification
of preferential customers, and how you plan to hold on to them for life.
You have been warned at the outset that Services Marketing is no pushover!
It is rather like planning an expedition to the North Pole, but the exhilaration
on getting there, and basking in glory for life, makes every drop of sweat worthwhile!
The best realtors will update their Marketing Plans annually, and you could
even ask for professional help the first time around.
