Why Most Real Estate Websites Are Money Wasters
Most real estate websites don’t work. By not working, I mean that they don’t make money.
In fact, I would venture a guess that 8 (or even 9) out of 10 of them produce little more than red ink.
Why do so many of them fail, despite all of the bells and whistles that are designed to make doing business online better and easier?
They fail because they don’t deliver a compelling message to a specific target market.
After all, that’s all a website is designed to do. Deliver a message. Deliver YOUR message.
And for that message to be compelling, it needs to be unique and offer something that your visitor can’t do without.
What is that something?
Who knows? That’s your job – to come up with that something. But part of coming up with that something is being able to answer a question like:
“Why should I do business with you over anyone else?”
Most real estate websites have every possible bell and whistle designed to help deliver “the message.” From autoresponders to contact forms to property searches. You name it, you can have it at your disposal.
But the message. That’s what sets you apart from everyone else.
And a message like, “You can count on me.” or “I’ll work hard for you.” just doesn’t cut it. These messages aren’t unique, specific or compelling.
Without a message for your website to deliver, all you’ve got is technology. And that’s just not worth much by itself.
The internet does not fix bad marketing. In fact, the internet is nothing more than a new type of media. Just like classified ads, radio and tv, a website is just a tool to deliver a message to a market and (hopefully) get a response.
The ingredients of a profitable website are no different than the ingredients of a successful mailing.
If your marketing is bad then the world’s greatest website isn’t going to help you much.
In my recent travels across the internet, I found over 200 real estate websites with the exact same buyer and seller articles on them. Word for word…
Granted, these are template sites and the content is probably being provided as an extra “service.” Unfortunately, this service is a marketing disservice because it turns you into “just another real estate professional.”
What happens in markets where customers can get what they want from several places and there is not much differentiation between the choices they have? Prices (your commissions) go down. Customer power goes up. You lose.
What happens in markets where customers compete to get what they want from someone who doesn’t have enough of it to go around? Demand goes up. Prices go up. Your commission goes up. You win.
Most real estate websites are losers because they are missing the meat – the message is nowhere to be found or it is the wrong message for the market. And the punishment fits the crime. They produce little if anything except a monthly bill to be paid.
So what’s the message YOU are delivering to your marketplace?
I agree that most websites out there are just a waste of money and time. Before I got my own website, I spent weeks researching other agents’ sites to see what I liked and didn’t like, what I thought would work and what was just not worth it. While my site was being developed, I constantly send out links to friends, relatives, and people I’d randomly met online asking them what they thought of it, what I could do to improve it, what else they would like to see. Based on their feedback, my website went through several revisions to get where it is today. I constantly recieve positive feedback from other agents and clients about my website and I also make note of anything they particularly liked about it or any things they said they would like to have seen. As a result, my site is constantly evolving to keep up with consumer demand. Also, my site is very personalized. People have commented that they “got a feel for me” by looking at my site and that it really seemed to be a reflection of me and how I do business. My signature color is pink. I wear it every day. My site has a lot of pink because once people get to know me, they associate the color with me. Not wanting to get completely away from my company’s logo and colors, I also had them incorporated into the design. The RE/MAX balloon logo is displayed in numerous places throughout my site as well as being the background image on every page. Nothing bugs me more than seeing an agent’s website and not seeing any information about their company affiliation. I am proud to work with my company and want to make sure that people know it. I believe that to truly be a player in such a competitive field, it’s not enough to just “have a website” but to have one that truly reflects you, your business, and gives people a reason to call you rather than the next person.
— Dorinne Apr 12, 06:56 PM #