Real Estate Websites...Washer-Dryer Story

January 30, 2008
Volume 2 Issue #7

Well, it finally happened, our washer died.  It died on New Years Eve. This added to the fun of having our dishwasher die two days before Thanksgiving and the garage door opener die the day after Christmas. It seems like our appliances have a holiday death wish. Im not even going to talk about the battery dying on my wifes VW Beetle or the coffee maker.

What does our appliance graveyard have to do with real estate? It seems that every purchase we make these days sends us to the Internet as part of the process. Real estate is no different. It seems every buyer and seller visits real estate websites at some point.

The appliance shopper may not exactly be the same as the real estate shopper but often has certain things in common. They talk about the purchase long before they make the actual purchase. They look at ads and visit Internet sites to collect information. In the beginning they may not be interested in having much interaction with a salesperson.

The first visit to the web site is a fact finding mission... price, features, dealer location, etc.

What they are really looking for is information (listings), not pictures of the top salesperson at the company. They want to be able to find info quickly and easily.  They may want to download information (Model 470 steams the dirt out in 13 different ways and helps the environment too blah blahblah). Or, they want more information sent to them.

Say, for example, you visit three sites your first time around. All three sites have information, some present it in better fashion than the others but they all have it. They are all visited and hopefully the potential customer gets information. A month later, things change. The buyers go back to the site that was easiest to use or remember and had the information they really wanted. The buyers get an email or a mailing from one of the sites- it could be news about a new model, price drop, sales, special financingThe other 2 sites send nothing.

Two months later, same scenario repeats itself. They are getting closer to buying but not quite ready. They visit the website that has kept in touch with them and start to develop warm feelings, in our case, toward their washers. Well, as warm of a feeling as you can have for a washer or dryer.

The scenario repeats itself again for a couple more months and finally they buy that brand that kept in touch or had the best website.

Our washer adventure wasnt quite like that but we did visit websites to compare information. We also used print ads and bought almost immediately. What would you do with two kids home from college and the laundry piling up?

The points:

Most buyers use the Internet to find property.

Most buyers don't buy right away (but even if they do, they often look online first.)
A more appealing website brings people back

A relationship builds over time if you stay in touch.

Most buyers actually buy from someone sooner or later.

Questions:

Can prospective clients find you on the Internet?

When they find your site, what do they find? Is it usable and memorable?

Do you keep in touch with your leads?

The conclusion:

Potential clients start their search for property or products on the Internet. They originally just want information. In the case of real estate sites, they want easy access to listings. You have to have the information they want readily available so that clients will come back to your site to use it again and start to develop a relationship with you. You also have to build a relationship with visitors to your site by sending them something of value.

Bonus conclusion:

If your site is like every other site, chances are they won't come back to your site. Look at your site through the eyes of a visitor and you will know what needs to be done.

Monthly Tech Tip

If you are not getting emails or people are not getting emails you sent, they may have ended up in a spam filter. Spam filters are supposed to keep junk and viruses out of your email but often they keep out legitimate emails. Most companies have spam filters as well as your Internet provider and most email programs will also let you set up filters. There are various words, events and pictures that can end up sending email to the spam filter. The subject of setting up spam filters and all the whats and whys would take up several newsletters. The tip for the month is check your spam filter and find out how it works.