From the desk of 2019 RRC President Michael Burkhard, CRS
Marketing in today’s environment is more challenging than ever. We’re so busy with the small, daily victories and struggles that we don’t step back to see the view from space. This can make us put blinders on, preventing us from seeing the big picture and making us unprepared for the future.
In my pre-real estate life, I ran a one-hour photo lab and then a video rental store. In both places, I learned that if you don’t pay attention to what is going on around you, you can lose yourself in the day-to-day activities—and get eaten alive. I saw the transition from silver halide to digital photos and then from videos to Netflix. The handwriting was on the wall for years, and yet many companies, big and small, didn’t pay attention.
Now, we see how much of an impact the internet has made on real estate. To compete, we all need to have an omnichannel online presence. We need to have sophisticated websites, foster reviews on third-party sites and post on every social media platform. There are a lot of boxes to tick to pull off a modern marketing plan—and a lot of ways to get lost in the day-to-day.
But the handwriting is on the wall here, too: The role of the real estate agent is changing. We are not the gatekeepers of listing information and lockboxes anymore. We are the trusted guides, experts and confidants. Relationships are now the most important part of this business and the foundation of any good marketing plan.
Keep yourself in front of your clients and let yourself get personally involved. That will make the difference and set you above all the other options consumers have to make real estate decisions. Be the educated advocate you know they need to guide them through these bumpy, complex transactions.
The best way to do that is to take all the RRC classes you can and use that advanced knowledge to stay out in front of the pack.
Then you can effectively manage the daily marketing grind without missing the view from space.
