What do buyers think? Does the sign matter?
As a successful real estate professional and entrepreneur, Greg Tracy of BlueRoof blog offers his insights on the real estate industry. I found his recent post, Real Estate Marketing–Good, Bad, and Ugly, quite interesting. Greg gives his opinion and cites examples.
There is no question that certain ads and logos are not particularly attractive or eye-catching and may not serve to enhance the brand identity.
Since we are big believers in brand identity and marketing, we wonder — what effect, if any, do bad real estate lawn signs, ads or brand logos have on buyer perception and sales? Is it like a bad headline, causing readers not to inquire further? Do buyers look at a cheesy sign and think you’re cheesy? Does it affect what they offer on a house? Or do buyers overlook the ugliness? Hmm…
We welcome consumer feedback on this question.
Technorati Tags: real estate marketing, lawn signs, logos, branding
I think you can’t ignore the value of a sign. As so soon as it goes up, it becomes part of the curb appeal of the house, and we all know how that affects buyers.
I also noticed the other day that there are a lot of signs in yards - landscapers, pest control, church announcements, etc. - none of which had to do with buying or selling a house. This gives the RE company with an easily recognizable sign a big advantage in our over sensory stimulated enviornemnt.
Answer: Of course! Anyone in any business should have a professional identity system. It should be created by identity professionals and implemented/protected just as diligently as any corporation would. Sadly, the real estate industry is one of the worst when it comes to this all-important marketing issue.
I’ve always been told that the sign really doesn’t matter to a buyer. The person driving by the property basically just wants to see a phone number. They don’t care if the property is being sold by you me or Donald Trump and they don’t care if the sign has flowers on it, is purple, or is upside-down although that would make for an interesting marketing campaign…
I’m not so sure about that theory lately and I do like Bloodhound Realty’s marketing program with their unique signs. I think they’re onto something…
I think the sign, the logo, and the overall theme of the marketing is what sets you apart from every other real estate company.
It matters and it does not matter….is that ambiguous enough for ya….
Will a crummy sign keep a buyer from looking at a home?
A certain type of buyer - yes. And they may not even realize that’s why they don’t want to look at a house.
Then you have buyers where there can be drunks on the porch, trash in the yard, and three months of pizza boxes in the house - and they see past it all…
If I could pin point all the things that made different buyers tick, I would make Trump look like the bag lady.
I think overall branding makes a significant impact on the quality of agents a brokerage attracts, which of course impacts business. I also think the image of marketing campaigns can impact the business you attract and the overall willingness of consumers to contact you.
Marketing is a billion dollar business because it works. Look at the imapct marketing has done for Corona beer. I remember being in Mexico years ago and the only beer most people had was Dos Equis and Corona and neither were that great. Enter a great marketing campaign and ten years later Corona has gone from being a crappy cheap Mexican beer to now being considered a “premium” “exported” beer. It’s the same product- but the perception is completely different.
I like the example of Alain Pinel in the bay area- this company consistently attracts top agents and high-end clients with it’s branding. It is positioned as the top tier of real estate brokerages in the area, at least in the public’s mind. When I was the managing broker for Prudential California in the area I was alwasy impressed with their brand. We had more sales, but they had a higher average sales price and their brand brought a lot of business to them.
I think we do better business when we are proud of service and brand. Working at a company with odd, cheap, or distasteful marketing would not make me feel confident about my brand and it would be more challenging to sell.
We agree Greg. Agents are drawn to brands they see as successful in their market.
Perhaps your market will influence a brand’s effectiveness. Will a luxury brand do well in a lower middle class market? Will a discount brand do well in a luxury market? Which real estate brands, if any, cross-over to cover all markets?
On the beer front, Bud was once a cheap beer brand and now, thanks to head-numbing repetition, Budweiser is the King of Beers.
Is brand quality built on reality, or is it mostly perception?
What do you guys think about my site.
1. http://www.santiagoestates.com/videogallery.cfm
2 www.santiagoestates.com
Any changes I ought to make….?
Apparently you have not seen my virtual bus bench. My clients love it. One of my clients sent it to everyone in her address book. I guess it works for me because I don’t hold public office. Who elected this guy anyway?