I’m glad you found my article useful for your readers. Many of my readers are in real estate. Some are members of Active Rain, and many are doing their own independent blogs.

What you’re saying about a single-vendor solution has merit, and there aren’t too many other industries I know of where such a strong group collective spirit exists. It’s a pretty cool thing to observe from my vantage point outside the industry.

Posted on Jul 04, 2008 by Michael Martine

pat, I heartily agree with you that online lead conversion and the practice of real estate aren’t collectively the same.

but, this is dangerous ground – the one-stop shop you mention. while it offers convenience and access to those that “know what they’re doing” when it comes to online marketing the danger is that not every marketing method is right for every agent.

every agent is a business owner and just because they work in the same industry (real estate) does not make their businesses the same. their needs, positions, specialties, characters – all of it is different.

when you start handing agents “marketing in a box” you’re handing them generic stuff that has no real appeal – i’ve seen this first-hand in a number of different industries – and boring marketing never gets noticed.

good, results driven marketing makes the agent stand out, highlights the differences, and provides compelling reasons to do business.

is it a bit more of a task than opening up a boxed solution, sure it is. but when we’re dealing with people’s livelihoods and dreams, well, there’s no boxed solution for that.

Posted on Jul 05, 2008 by Mark Eckenrode

Michael, glad to hear you confirming that you see the real estate bloggers as a unique group… I’ve always thought that the RE.net really pushed the envelope in making blogging and Web 2.0 practical for business life. Most social media-ologists seem to focus on the technology/SEO and traffic building aspects of Web 2.0 and don’t provide enough solutions to daily business life. The RE.net will follow Remarkablogger for simple, practical solutions to online marketing.

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Pat Kitano

@Mark
Generally “best of breed” wins the day. But as we’ve seen in other industries, consumers do sometimes migrate towards one integrated solution.
Microsoft’s suite of products are an unfortunate example.

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Louis Cammarosano

@louis: “wins the day” in terms of market infiltration, yeah. due to pure convenience. does not necessarily mean “wins the day” as far as best results.

your microsoft example being a good one – many consumers have become more educated as to what they really want from a computing experience and are migrating away from the “convenience” of microsoft.

another example being the all too common website in-a-box for agents. ugh!

as far as helping agents get an education, a service that provides a menu of options is great. it’s just a very fine line that can either help or hurt an industry… and the individuals trying to make a living in it.

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Mark Eckenrode

@Mark

Realizing that no one company can provide all real estate marketing needs, was why we created the homegain real estate blog.

The primary focus of the HomeGain blog is to provide tips and help to realtors so they can become more successful using homegain products, and also by any other non HomeGain means available.

That is why we welcome guest bloggers who can offer other successful methods (many which can be used in conjuntion with HomeGain products).

HomeGain products have helped agents close tens of thousands of transactions over the years so we are confident that our products work. In many instances using homegain products is a better more cost effective alternative to the “DYI” methods.

We have many agents who have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions directly attributable to using HomeGain products.

There are of course also even more examples of realtors making money who never use homegain and have never perhaps even heard of homegain.

Our main goal for our realtors is that they become successful.

There will always be segments of the market
-those that will go for cobbling together best of breed
-those that stick to one or two tried and tested methods and use nothing else.
-those that opt for one stop shopping etc

Given that there are over 1.5 million real estate professionals there is room for many different marketing styles.Your post on how realtors ignore proper niche marketing is a good example

While there may be a movement “away from the convenience of MSFT” they still do billions of dollars of business!

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Louis Cammarosano

@louis – i have no doubt about the success of some homegain agents. you and i have talked and you’ve shared some awesome stats with me.

my point is more that agents looking for boxed solutions can tread onto dangerous ground. more often than not, the box solutions won’t be right for them – and they won’t even know it.

will there be/are there now solutions that can work – most definitely. for an agent to choose what tools to work with, though, requires some understanding from the agent as to what they really want to achieve… which sort of brings us back to square one – the real solution is education as to not just how to market, but what they’re really marketing.

for example, i know how to fix simple stuff on my car and know enough to understand how some other things on it work, but not enough to work on them myself (nor do i want to). but, this simple knowledge alone has saved me a grip of cash from mechanics selling unneeded stuff countless times.

BTW, the notify of comments via email doesn’t seem to be notifying me.

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Mark Eckenrode

“the box solutions won’t be right for them – and they won’t even know it.”
@ Mark
Therein lies a challenge for any seller of solutions whether it be software, subscriptions, clicks, seminars – how to make sure the customer has the proper expectations of what they are buying AND to make sure they are given the proper training and support if required to use the product/service effectively.

“will there be/are there now solutions that can work – most definitely. for an agent to choose what tools to work with, though, requires some understanding from the agent as to what they really want to achieve… which sort of brings us back to square one – the real solution is education as to not just how to market, but what they’re really marketing.”

And that is one of the reasons we have this blog,a monthly newsletter, scheduled client services calls, Homegain Nation etc – to make sure agents gain that understanding either from homegain, other homegain agents, or other non homegain agents. Unlike other blogs that appear to focus purely on marketing, the HomeGain blog, as does yours, also covers issues like what realtors should do AFTER they manage to attract a potential customer to their site.

Thanks for the heads up on the notify- I wouldn’t know as I don’t use it. I’ll check into it.

Posted on Jul 06, 2008 by Louis Cammarosano

@louis – “make sure they are given the proper training and support if required to use the product/service effectively.”

did you read my post on consumption strategy? ;)

Posted on Jul 07, 2008 by Mark Eckenrode

I hadn’t-good reading
Here is Mark’s post on consumption strategy http://www.homestomper.com/email-marketing-consumption-strategy/

Posted on Jul 07, 2008 by Louis Cammarosano

In an ideal world, realtors would recognize the value of having an online presence and then go about establishing one themselves. As well all know, however, the world isn’t ideal! And certainly, the boxed solution has an appeal. But a more successful approach might be the long-term one in which agents are trained, encouraged, and supported with regard to become familiar with marketing themselves on the Internet. That’s pretty much how things work here at Long & Foster Real Estate (www.longandfoster.com), whether you’re talking about agent web sites, or blogging, or even something as basic as emailing. Agents are encouraged to step up and take the technological reins into their own hands, thereby ensuring that their online presence is both unique and personalized.

Posted on Jul 09, 2008 by DCL