customer service – The Property Writers

How to get attention in real estate marketing – light it up!

July 8, 2016 No Comments

How long is the average person’s attention span?

This is what I found on Google:

How long is the average person’s attention span?

If your audience is still paying attention after the first 8 seconds, you have approximately 4 minutes and 52 seconds until their attention spans are exhausted. The average adult attention span has plummeted from 12 minutes a decade ago to just 5 minutes now, according to a Fortune.com article.

Wow, not long! And what has caused the plummet?

We could certainly take a wild guess. The (rising) influx of technology and tidal waves of services that are designed to make our lives easier are perhaps contributing factors. No one has any time any more.

From when we rise in the morning, until our heads hit the pillow at night, or even the early hours, we have information directed at us, choices to make and information to process.

It certainly is tiring.

When it comes to marketing, specifically real estate marketing, the key is standing out, while not demanding too much from weary home-seekers or investors.

My husband is an electrician. He has always said that lighting is everything. We’ve renovated numerous houses together and he has always done the lion’s share of the major changes, including lighting. I must say, his choices have been spot on.

Modern lighting has a way of evoking different vibes and moods, depending on the look you are going for. And is such a value-adder.

At The Property Writers, we just love fawning over a lot of the stunning lighting that we see in property photographs that come through our inboxes.

Indoor lighting, outdoor lighting – even candlelight! To be able to see anything, the first port of call for our eyeballs is processing light. Our eyes are drawn to light. It’s instinctive.

Perhaps one of the best examples of utilising lighting for advertising and marketing is Times Square in New York City. I remember I visited in 2006 (Ten years ago?! It’s been way too long between visits) and I felt just like a character in a movie. Cliche, but true. I was totally smitten as I took in the immense lit-up signs. I bet they’re even more spectacular ten years on.

So it was only a matter of time until these mammoth, illuminated billboards trickled down into real estate/realty marketing.

I know they’ve been popping up all over the country lately and have been showcased at trade shows. But I must say it was a real treat to recently spot an illuminated sign at night, out the front of a property.

I spotted it whilst driving, around a week ago. It was a listing for Ray White, in Largs Bay, South Australia. And it looked magnificent!

This lit-up sign made me slow and pull in to the curb to read it.

The image and words were perfectly and crisply illuminated, the darkened street around it providing the ultimate shadowy backdrop, much like a stage.

These solar powered and otherwise real estate signboards are only going to become more prevalent and accessible – that’s our prediction.

Fast forward a year from now and I’m thinking they will be absolutely everywhere.

An image from "Digital Central", a company offering illuminated signboards. Copywright lies with Digital Central Real Estate Signage Company. — *An image from “Digital Central”, a company offering illuminated signboards. Copyright lies with Digital Central Real Estate Signage Company.*

It’s awesome to see the industry utilising such technology to stand out and do the absolute best for their vendors. It would be great to see costing eventually become accessible across a spectrum of price ranges.

I think these signs should capture up to the 4 minutes and 52 seconds allotted for average adult – plenty of time to note the name and number of the agent and phone them!

Does anyone else have any thoughts on these innovative signboards? Or are you a business who offers them as a service? Let us know on Instagram or Twitter.

Note: this post is NOT sponsored or endorsed by any company or business, it is our expressed view on a product and service.

Business, Copywriting, Tips

What is copywriting?

June 17, 2016 1 Comment

It doesn't have to be an awkward conversation when you are asked what you do!

As copywriters, it’s safe to say that we’ve encountered that slightly puzzled look when we answer that question:

“What is it that you do?”

Which is completely fine, because we have been the ones who give that look, when occasionally encountering someone whose own profession is way over our own heads. But these conversations are fun to have.

I think the confusion is typically because the terms copywriter or copywriting can easily be mixed up with ‘copyright’.

To set the record straight; copyright is a form of intellectual property, so a way of publicly and legally safeguarding original creative works. Here is the wikipedia link for more clarification.

Copywriting – what we do – refers to the action itself of what our role is, but you just need to do a little switch-eroo with the wording. We write copy. And the ‘copy’ part refers to content. You’ll find the wikipedia link for copywriting here.

So… we write content!

Engaging words are SO important.
(Image Copyright Gary Larson)

We tend to go on about how much we love what we do, because that’s the truth – we do love our job. We love how we each bring different strengths to our professional partnership and we love that we have a genuine 100%, authentic belief that what we do is valid, useful and value-adding for our clients.

It’s also demanding, often performed in a high-pressure environment and each day brings variety, as well as obstacles. But we take all of that in our stride.

Another question we are often asked is:

“How do I become a copywriter?”

The answer to this isn’t very straightforward, which is also encouraging for those who seek to get started in copywriting. That’s because there is no pre-requisite for commencing a copywriting role, at least not if you work for yourself.

It's okay to have a fictitious mentor, right? — It’s okay to have a fictitious mentor, right? Image Copyright Weiner Brothers/AMC Studios.

There are so very many areas in which copywriters are required, including medical and technical copywriting and specific, strategic SEO copywriting/consulting.

Essentially, copywriters can be “hired guns” on a permanent or freelance basis, or work on retainer or salary for companies across literally hundreds of industries.

As a copywriter, you can create a business or company, based on your own strengths or interests. This would allow you to provide a specific, unique service that caters to appropriate clients, who have a use for your service. Where there is a demand and value in what you do, there is work.

We have several university degrees between us, but neither of us went to university to study copywriting.

Our work today is the result of wonderful, sometimes random opportunities, that set us on a path in which we sculpted our work to suit the real estate industry.

We would however recommend that as a writer or prospective copywriter, you engage in and join a combination of communities and support networks. So, for example, you could join your local writer’s centre and (if you’re in Australia), the Australian Writer’s Guild.

And then, the information, opportunities and support you receive from these can be complimented further by joining your local Business Network, which in our case is Business S.A.

The combination of having access to information both as a creative writer and a business owner should set you on a course of (relatively) smooth sailing as you charter the waters of content writing.

And please hit us up for advice, any time you please!

This post is not sponsored or endorsed by affiliating membership bodies, it is simply based on our own experience and preferences for running a copywriting business in Australia.

Business, Marketing

A customer in the hand is worth two in the bush

October 28, 2015 No Comments

Or, why repeat business is good business

A lot of agents focus on getting the listing. After that, you sell the house, and you move on. Home buyers aren’t very good repeat clients compared to, say, technology consumers. By the end of 2013 the average Australian home owner held onto their house for 10.1 years (or 8.4 years for a unit), so once the contract is signed and the commission collected, that’s the last you’ll have to do with that customer, right?

Maybe not.

Here are some statistics every business owner should know.

A dissatisfied customer will typically tell 9-15 people about their bad experience, with one in six telling 20 people or more. A satisfied customer, by contrast, will mention it to only five;
For every customer complaint you know about, there are another 26 dissatisfied customers who have remained silent. 25 of those will leave and not return to your business; and lastly
It costs six to seven times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one.

Your vendor might not sell again for a decade, but their family and friends probably will. And if they’ve raved about you, that’s new business that you haven’t had to spend a dollar to attract. If they felt that you were dismissive, only focused on the money or outright trying to rip them off, however (and remember, the perception of real estate agents is pretty low to start with), they’re likely to tell everyone they know. That’s a lot of potential business down the drain.

So given all of that, why do businesses continue to ignore the importance of a consumer-centric approach?

Consumer-centrism is the idea that customer service is central to a successful business model. They don’t just aim their marketing at getting customers to buy their product; they find out what the customers want and tailor the product to those needs. They focus on retaining customers and gaining repeat business, often by initiating user surveys and interacting with customers on an ongoing basis. As contrasted with customer focused businesses, who take a short term approach to gaining and providing for customers, consumer-centrism looks to the long term. These businesses interact with their customers before, during and after the sales event. They don’t wait to receive feedback; they go out and solicit it. And if it’s negative, they set up the pathways to be able to fix it, and they let the customer know that they’re changing their approach. Customers dealing with consumer-centric businesses feel heard.

While these are examples of retailers, not service providers, it’s useful to compare and contrast two big retailers in this arena:

Bunnings, a huge DIY/trades warehouse, doesn’t just concentrate on great customer service and decent prices. They offer DIY workshops which empower people to use the products they’re buying, they hire people with knowledge of and passion for their trade, and they keep people coming back. By doing those things, they create an ongoing demand for their product, and they establish themselves as an authority in their field. Contrast that with Harvey Norman: with a huge advertising spend, regular discount cycles and a floor stocked with products and staff, the company puts a lot of effort into attracting customers and persuading them to buy. What they don’t do is generate ongoing custom.

What’s the result? In 2012 Choice published a report on customer service. Bunnings was a stand out performer, while Harvey Norman trailed at the bottom of the pack. Not surprisingly, that year Harvey Norman posted a huge 39.2% loss over the previous year.

Remember those statistics we started with? It’s easier and cheaper to retain existing customers than attract new ones. If you aren’t consumer-centric, you will spend more money on marketing and experience a higher turnover of customers compared to the companies who have a solid, loyal customer base and can concentrate on what they do best; running a business.

Next week we’ll look at some practical tips on how to create a consumer-centric business model. Until then, remember that your relationship with your clients should be a conversation, not a broadcast.