4 Questions about the PurpleBricks
1. What have Purplebricks done to the UK Estate Agency market?
The biggest problem that the UK estate agency industry has, is that we all look and sound the same, to the members of the general public. Our websites are identical (apart from changing the font and the colour), our brochures are the same, our boards are the same, and we all go on the same portal websites.
It is a fact UK estate agents, in the early 2000’s created Rightmove. All of us went out of our way to push it and put 6ft banners in our estate agency windows. We created the ‘RM creature’, we nurtured it, fed it from its embryonic stages, through childhood, the dominate person in the relationship. The creature we created has now become our master.
… and even when we had the chance to set ourselves free from the ‘RM creature’ with Agents Mutual, most of us sat on the fence waiting for the ‘other guy’ to jump first. Issue is, everyone else was waiting for everyone else to jump first – so nothing happened.
Now the all-powerful ‘RM creature’ has indirectly allowed another set of creatures to be created. This new breed of creatures has been spawned, the ‘born out of wedlock love children of the tinterweb and Rightmove age, and those fatherless children are the ‘national hybrid/online estate agents’ …. and they are coming to your town to destroy your High Street estate agency.
.. but here is the worse pill to swallow …. I believe UK High Street Estate Agency has only themselves to blame if Purplebricks and their National Call centre estate agent mates take hold in the coming years.
This is tough love people so suck it up and I hope no offence is intended.
Most High Street agents have become lazy glorified Free Val order takers with out of date marketing from the 1990s that don’t work anymore. Their idea of actively marketing is dropping a few business cards through the doors of a few competitor’s sale boards at 410pm on a few Friday afternoons, yet by 430pm cradling a nice refreshing cold pint at the local public house.
The world has changed, that is not our fault, but as an industry but it is our responsibility to change our techniques to match that world.
It’s no wonder Purplebricks are getting decent market share with their fun and groovy TV adverts. UK estate agent marketing relies on marketing techniques that haven’t evolved since the 1990’s, with their crap leaflets saying ‘Properties Wanted’, no sale no fee and A5 leaflet with the list of bullet points saying how marvellous you are as an agent… its no wonder two blokes standing in front a Purple screen have done so well.
It is my opinion that the Purplebricks model isn’t that special. It’s just Purplebricks were there at the right place and right time and just happened to be the estate agent that caught the wave of indifference to the commoditisation of the UK estate agency market with their exceptional marketing.
We, as a High Street Estate Agency industry, need to change and change now and that doesn’t mean necessarily turning ourselves into hybrid agents, with cheap fees…. but being more relevant interesting and intriguing to the home owner masses of our country.
How do we do that? I will answer that below
PS Note I use the word ‘national’ hybrid/call centre estate agent. Just for the record I am not anti-hybrid as I strongly believe there is a distinct place for local hybrid agents offering a very personalised service in their town
2. If Purple Bricks disappeared tomorrow, do you think it would have left a lasting impact on the property marketing industry?
Purplebricks get paid on the listing, not the sale. But vendors don’t care because they believe their house will sell overnight. PB marketing uses comedy and entertainment to attract the attention and interest of potential house sellers – and its done very well
UK estate agency can either outdo them by being even more comedic and entertaining or even cheaper ……or start using a tried and tested 2,000-year-old marketing technique that has worked since Adam was a boy.
People do not like to be sold to but that is how UK estate agency performs its marketing.
We should stop talking about our estate agency, our estate agency services or our fees and start talking about the homeowner and the landlord, so we become interesting and relevant to them.
… because human beings are naturally attracted to things that they find interesting and relevant to them (everyone says we are in the people business – not the property business)
3. What marketing tactics do all estate agents need to throw out right now?
Your customers don’t care about you, your estate agency products or services. That is what you should stop doing right now.
They only care about themselves, their own wants and their own needs. I believe estate/letting agents should create interesting information that our potential clients are passionate about so they pay attention to us.
So often we as estate agents believe that our estate agency services are so special, so amazing, and we think if more people knew about them … our lack of stock issues would be solved overnight – nothing could be further from the truth.
4. …And which ones are must-dos?
I am a very passionate advocate of a marketing technique that has been around since caveman days.
The type of marketing that I strongly recommend all estate agent and letting agents should the use is content marketing.
Content marketing is the art of communicating with your potential house sellers and landlords without selling.
Instead of trying to sell your estate agency services, you are delivering intriguing and educational information that makes your potential landlords and house sellers more intelligent or perhaps entertained, to build an emotional connection.
The essence of this content marketing strategy is the belief that if we, as an estate or letting agents deliver consistent ongoing information which is intriguing and valuable, House sellers and landlords will ultimately reward is with the business and loyalty
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