Bruce Cole has begun a great conversation about Web site "stickiness" elsewhere on Reliberation. I would like to take exception to the notion that stickiness is important. The end goal of a Web site should be converting visitors to clients, not stickiness. Would you rather have a Web site visitor who spends an hour digging around in your Web site or would you rather have a visitor who is so taken by your home page that he or she simply calls you on the phone?
That's what happens when a Web site is so emotionally engaging that the visitor immediately realizes that this is THE Web site for that visitor. All that's required is one great Web page. Who needs "sticky" when one page will generate phone calls?
I encourage my prospective clients to take a workshop with "Mr. Internet(R)" Michael Russer because he helps his students figure out how to make a Web site emotionally engaging. The key is target or "niche" marketing: figuring out specifically who you are talking to -- which target audience -- and using a Web site to engage and interact with that target audience. The answer is different for every agent, because each has different interests and passions and because each geographic market is different.
Successful advertisers use target marketing techniques all the time, because they work. For REALTORS(R), the approach is actually rather simple: find a niche that you are interested in, knowledgeable about, and passionate about, then position yourself as a specialist in that niche.(Chances are it will be something that you are already heavily involved with.)
Here are some examples of how niche targeting works. To take the high tech mystery out of it, let's talk about simple classified newspaper ads instead of Web sites. First, stop thinking like a real estate agent and put yourself in the prospective client's shoes:
Next, imagine yourself as a "horse person" looking to buy an equestrian property in Kentucky. You look in the Louisville newspaper's classified ads and see two small ads:
Ad #1:
"Louisville's Top REALTOR(R)". I sold $10 billion last year and can help you find your dream home."
Ad #2:
"REALTOR(R) Specializing in Equestrian Properties. 2005 Kentucky Show Jumping Champion."
Or imagine you are a golfer looking for property in Pinehurst, NC and you see these two ads:
Ad #1:
"Pinehurst's Top REALTOR(R)". I sold $10 billion last year. I can help you find your dream home."
Ad #2:
"Pinehurst's Golf Course Homes Expert. Call to receive your in-depth video guide to Pinehurst area golf course homes with interviews with Pinehurst's top golf pros."
If you are a golfer, who are you going to call? If you have horses, who are you going to call? In either case, the decision is a no-brainer, isn't it? The problem with each of the first ads is that neither addresses any target audience and, as a result, chances are that neither ad will result in many calls. Instead of focusing on the prospective client's interest, each focuses on the REALTOR(R). And frankly, Miss Scarlett, who cares about the REALTOR(R)? Prospective buyers and sellers aren't buying real estate agents! They are buying or selling homes, so to engage their interest, you've got to convince them that you are the most qualified to meet their specific needs.
Why don't more REALTORS(R) do target marketing? First, because many are simply not aware of it or of its potential power. Second, because many are afraid that by addressing one specific audience, they will miss out on all those elusive "other" people. Or as Linda Jeffersion of GoArmyHomes.com eloquently stated, "I was afraid that if I targeted the military, I would miss out on all those other clients I wasn't getting anyway." Since her targeted Web site completely turned around her business, Linda has gotten over her fears so well that she is now planning to change the name of her brokerage from Jefferson Bentley to Go Army Homes.
Linda's military focus is just one example of successful target marketing. The options are only as limited as your imagination. Another example is a broker who is opening a new office in Portland and whose BIC contracted with me for a new Point2Agent Web site. The broker and, until recently, just two other agents, focus on ranch and hunting properties. They operate in Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and North Dakota in association with Cabela's Trophy Properties. With only 3 agents, the brokerage has $80Mil in listings!!! I haven't finished the new site design for the Portland office, but you can get a sneak preview here:
http://steventarnovsky.point2agent.com/
Keep in mind that usually you can only address one target audience with one Web site. Trying to address more than one audience with one site will always dilute your message. When choosing a target audience, think narrow, not wide. "Baby boomers" are NOT a target audience! Atlanta Metro is NOT a target audience!
I feel so strongly about the benefits of target marketing that I offer a sign-up form that allows real estate agents a discount price for Michael Russer's great "Clicks to Closes" 10 week teleconference. Visit my Web site to contact me if you would like me to email it to you:
www.SuzStephens.com/contact.shtml