Is Your Brokerage Changing With the Times?

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution applies just as much to real estate as it does to science. As our environment changes, so must we. And, right now, our industry is experiencing a tsunami of changes.

Real estate firms must take stock sooner than later in order to be effective in today’s real estate market. This will require broker-owners to look at everything associated with the firm. Not just the visuals, the name, or the agent, but the vision of your firm as well. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

1. You and your leadership need to take stock of your
   1. brand position, values, culture, and promise
   2. target market
   3. name, tagline, logo, color palette, style, and images
   4. messaging and voice
2. You and your leadership need to soliciting feedback from your staff and agents to determine what can be improved in order to become more effective.
   1. Ask everyone who’s part of your firm to describe your brand, logo, messaging, and voice.
   2. Ask your agents what improvements are needed and how to go about them so that the firm becomes more effective in today’s marketplace.
   3. Ask your agents how the firm can deliver your brand promise to today’s buyers and sellers.
3. Get feedback from your clients.
   1. Ask your clients how they found you.
      1. We already know that 90 percent of all home searches start online, so ask clients what media sources encourage them to connect with your firm.
      2. Use opinion analyzer tools to learn what's being said about your brand online.
      3. Use analytics tools to find out who’s linking to your website and from where.
   2. Ask clients about your firm’s specific strengths and weaknesses.
   3. Ask clients what makes your company stand out.
   4. Ask clients whether or not they would consider working with your firm again and why.
   5. Ask clients whether or not the firm’s logo, messaging, brand, voice, and promise are consistent and effective.
4. Do a competition analysis.
   1. Research other brokerages: What are they doing? How have they been doing it? Are they effective?
   2. Does your firm offer anything different; anything more or less effective?
   3. What audiences are other firms servicing?
   4. What are some takeaways from other brokerages that your firm could or should be doing?
5. Sales numbers do not lie—use them.
   1. Use data to reveal patterns.
   2. How do your current sales compare to previous years?
   3. How do your numbers compare to your competitors?
   4. Have you lost or gained market share?

After you’ve taken stock of your firm, now create a SMART (smart, measurable, accountable, realistic, timely) plan for implementing and monitoring the progress and improvement of your firm. Also know that one size does not fit all … multiple real estate strategies can exist underneath one brokerage’s umbrella.

This evaluation will be time well spent. Consumers, competitors, and technology change in a blink of an eye, and if you aren’t keeping up with those changes, your firm will be left behind.