Have you ever noticed that many of the catalogs you get in the mail from, say, Pottery Barn, are the same catalog with a different cover? I got the same catalog from Williams- Sonoma last week but with different covers. The insides were exactly the same.
And how about products in the super market that have the same formula and manufacturer, but the bottles or boxes say the contents are for different applications?
And then there's the toilet bowl cleaner/disinfectant made by Clorox that costs about a buck a bottle, but the exact same formula is packaged by another manufacturer as a mold cleaner. His product sells for three bucks. Same stuff inside, same quantity.
So I started thinking today, what lesson can Realtors and home sellers learn from this? There is a very valuable message here...an idea that has been tested over and over at someone else's expense. Are you using it?
I have my ideas, but I'm far more interested in yours.
Bill Cherry, No, I don't make use of this "concept." I'm kinda old fashioned in that regard. I think that the substance is what counts, not how it is packaged. Deceit is not honorable.
Bill Roberts
Seems to me Re/Max, Century 21, Exit Realty, Coldwell-Banker and on and on have repackaged what I've been doing for many years under Bill Cherry, Realtors...they have fancy names and logos and talk about Team Smith and on and on, but when all's said and done, they have done nothing but repackage the business. It works the same. On the other hand, my package looks the same as it has for more than 40 years.
What they've done doesn't seem to me as unethical, but maybe it is.
Bill
Bill, Good way to get me thinking about one of my weaker areas.....branding. Marketing makes all the difference in the world when it comes to who a prospect decides to go with.
Given the choice between Coca-Cola or a generic brand, which would most people choose (even though they had never had a cola in their entire life) ?
Compelling posts, you write...
Jo
Bill, branding, marketing, awareness, whatever you want to call it -- that's what this is about. Whether with a big company or small, if your name is synonomous with good service in real estate that's all that matters. Photography -- you think Kodak. Copies are Xerox. I'll have a Coke. Buy a house in Dallas -- that's Bill Cherry.
Making sure that people know you are better than the generic version. People buy the brand names even if they cost more, because they know what to expect. But people are willing to pay an even higher price for premium service and quality.
I was talking to an agent today who wanted to know if he could copy and paste information into his blog. I tried to point out that his competitive advantage is his own personality, perspective, and knowledge. If you take on someone else's voice in your marketing, what happens when you meet prospects and your voice doesn't match the voice that attracted them to you in the first place? What happens when you can't walk the talk? I'm a firm believer that people should find their own voice. Sure, we may end up talking about the same concepts, every field has best practices and almost none of us invented any of them, but we'll be discussing those concepts from our own point of view in our own voice.
Unfortunately there are plenty of people who simply want "plug and play" marketing.
Frank Jewett
FrankI'm one of your fans. I enjoy checking out the computer lessons that you blog. Your last sentence (above) says it all. In today's market, sellers and co-op Realtors can no longer afford to let these plug and play people be involved.
Miss Carole, you may have noticed my "Little Man" logo. He's been with me for at least 30 years, and he's pretty much what I looked like when he was drawn. Here I am gray haired and with some miles across my face (Route 66 -- "If you'll get hip to this kindly tip....") yet I've never had the little man updated. I'm probably not very updated myself. I'm thinking maybe it's time for a chiropractic adjustment.
Brian. If they can stand doing business with a Realtor who doesn't own a Lexus or Rolex, they will get one who knows what he's doing and does it with great integrity. You are absolutely correct about that. Great observation.
Miss Jo. You are right on target with your analogies. Good thoughts!
Gilbert I refuse to have a team. I've always had a cache of people who work for me and support my efforts, but I'm the Guy. There is no committee. I can't pass the buck and I don't want to. But it seems that a lot of the world likes this new approach. I may have to join up or crash and burn.
And finally, Miss Joan we do operate our business alike. I hope we'll always be able to...that there will always be enough business out there who appreciate and like what we do.