“R” is for “Relevance”
September 23rd, 2006 by Dominic Canterbury
According to the National Association of REALTORS® and their new ad campaign, REALTORS® get “Results” and have “Reliability.”
But do they have “Relevance”?
If you’re like 90% of the population (the other 10% are real estate agents) you’d think these ads are all about encouraging you to hire a real estate agent. Oh, but you would be WRONG WRONG WRONG! They’re actually encouraging you to hire a genuine REALTOR®. What’s the difference? REALTORS® are a special breed of real estate agent, with thier own fees and a code of conduct. (and a secret handshake?)
So what’s this ad campaign all about? It’s about repositioning the REALTOR® in contrast to the ordinary real estate agent. The implication being that if you want reliablility and results, don’t go to an ordinary agent.
Will it work? Well, it depends on who they’re talking to. For those who care about the balkanization of the real estate world, this campaign will probably help deepen the divide. But the only people who care about that are already real estate agents. For the rest of us, the home-buying public, it’s irrelevant.
That’s not to say that there isn’t some profound differences between the two camps. REALTORS® mght be superior. And if they actually articulated the difference, we all might be chanting, “REALTORS® Uber Alles.” But they didn’t. Instead they presumed we all already cared about them and thier world.
What went wrong? They were seduced by the allure of Self-Referential Marketing. Rather than talking to their target markets, they’re talking about themselves to themselves.
“Silly REALTORS®,” you might say. But don’t be too quick to judge. Self-Referential Marketing is epidemic. And chances are you’re doing it too.
It’s an easy trap to fall into, especially if you’re working with a vague target. In other words, if you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’ll end up talking to yourself. And your potential clients will be more than happy to let you do it.