I have wondered why people pay £3.20 for a Starbucks coffee, when if they wait until they got to work or home, they could make one for pennies?
No coffee shop proprietor would define their drip- fed filter coffee as 90% hot water with a dash of milk. In its place, they communicate the story of where the coffee beans came from, (picked by Virgins on riding on the back of Unicorns no doubt!) and the unhurried and deliberate drip –drip-drip concoction method that intensifies the flavour.
The barista generates retail drama while you wait in line…and come to think of it, the waiting in line is also part of game .. the story of your coffee.
When we go to Starbucks or any other decent coffee shop, it isn’t just the coffee in the paper cup .. no its more than that .. its the drama, its the story .. everything that goes to make up the coffee. We observe great storytelling of people’s brands every day and yet we still find it hard to communicate our estate agency value to our potential clients.
Here are three reasons why....
1. Starting at the End
A lot of agents focus too much on telling potential clients why they are different before getting to understand what matters to them.
2. Cheap Fees with lots of bullet points to back it up
Those agents who prefer to market themselves on fee are good at explaining the features and benefits of their service with lots of bullet points – but surely that reduces their estate agency services to the summation of their commoditised parts?
3. Failing to Notice that people buy with their heads AND their heart.
As agents, we need to appeal to both their hearts as well as their heads
If you want to prove the worth and value of your agency, my intuition tells me that is best communicated when the design of your agency’s branding and marketing is to be believed, not just explained