Get Your Spy On

Inman News published an article called “Spy on Your Real Estate Competition.” Well naturally, we are entertained by the underhanded tactics some people will use to generate sales and grab clients. In reading this article, we discovered to our dismay that the tactics they suggest aren’t that cutthroat at all; so unfortunately for us, no horror stories about bloodthirsty agents (but that IS a great book idea). We did discover however that some of the tactics they suggest are just part of the real estate game, and further, that they relate to EstateVue somehow…Why they say you should spy: we thought maybe they’d suggest stealing ideas and snatching clients from the competition. Nope. This kind of reconnaissance just happens organically with any business, take a look at who you’re competing against so you can differentiate yourself and go one step further than your competition. We totally agree with this point. Better to use your spywork to come up with your own positioning strategy than to poach someone else’s. Using good ideas you come across is one thing, but to completely replicate your opponents makes you look underhanded and is just bad form.What they say you should do:

Well most of this stuff you should already be doing: Googling and checking out your competitors in the social media. Do they have a Facebook and Twitter account? Do they blog? Do they perform magic tricks at parties? If they do and you don’t well obviously you’re severely lacking in marketing techniques that your competition is taking advantage of. So jump on all those bandwagons. Put in the legwork of seeing what other agents are doing so you don’t fall way behind.What they say you should look for: Be on the lookout for the ‘marketing messages’ your competition is sending out. What kind of strategy have they used to reach out to clients? Are they young and fresh or experienced and professional? Do they have gimmicks? Have they honed in on a certain demographic or niche market? Once you’ve gathered this kind of info it can help you make any decisions (if you haven’t already) about your positioning.Where EstateVue becomes relevant: This spy-game is all about taking a look at the marketing strategies out there that your competition is using.

For example, a client of EstateVue will likely have a website that will make other agents cower in fear (we can dream right?) Okay back to serious stuff. As a marketing firm, we’ve seen people learn from other people’s mistakes (which is better than making your own). Collecting marketing information will allow you to see faults in the competition and make sure you don’t make the same errors.