I just read a great article over at Copyblogger on Generational Marketing.

Really, go read it now, here is the link; 

Are You Talkin’ to My Generation?

Are you back? Okay, great, lets move forward.

Here is my question for the real estate agents out there.

Who is the customer for the homes you are selling?

Not all of the homes and don’t say everyone is a customer. Each   Individual   House  .

If you believe or have said that everyone is a customer to a seller you have failed the test and turn in your real estate license. Seriously, that way of thinking is dead and buried.

But we have the answer and you have heard it if you read the article above.

EVERY HOME SHOULD BE MARKETED TO A SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC.

Did you hear me? Let me repeat it.

EVERY HOME SHOULD BE MARKETED TO A SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC.

• If your home is in a starter neighborhood, write the copy for a twenty something.
• If your home is in a luxury retirement golf community, write for the Silent Generation or Baby Boomers.
• If your home is in a upscale neighborhood filled with young families odds are you should target Generation X.

You now have the answer that can change your real estate business. The reason you need to market differently to each group is:

• Each one of these groups talks differently.
• Each one of these groups thinks differently.
• Each one of these groups triggers on different keywords.

The key to success is to target a market and develop your marketing around them. What worked 5 years ago does not work well now and will work worse in the future.

Lets look at your marketing material and ask yourself these questions:

• Am I are creating generic marketing material to sell the homes you have listed? Odds are you are failing.
• Am I writing in Real Estate Agent Speak and think that buyers appreciate my superior knowledge? Odds are you are failing.
• Am I always counting on my style and personality being dominant and not the concerns of my potential clients? Odds are you are failing.

But you can be successful. You can. It is not hard.

For the real estate agents out there, look at your listings.

• REALLY LOOK AT THEM (Nice McMansion in great suburb)
• Figure out what demographic would buy them. (Gen X)
• Now figure out what group in what demographic will buy this home. (Professionals with young families looking for good schools.)
• Once you have the target market figured out:

RE-WRITE ALL YOUR MARKETING MATERIAL  FOR THE DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WANTS TO BUY EACH SPECIFIC HOUSE YOU ARE SELLING.

More work, sure. But much more profits are in store for you.

In this day and age, work should not scare you. Paying for and marketing your listings to the average buyer should scare the hell out you.

Because if you target Joe Public in this age of specialization you are most likely to Fail. Failure is marketing dollars down the drain on a listing you will lose.  

And you are better than that.

(Did you read the post on generational marketing? If not, you failed. It is one the of most important things you can do today if you want to be successful as a real estate agent. Here it is again.)

(Of course, if you made it this far you did learn something, but really go read the article, re-read this post, and this turn off all lights, computers, and anything else that will distract you and think about it for 15 minutes.)

(Feel energized and back in control again? Good, I know you would.)

Congratulations, you are now on the road to being very successful marketing homes as an real estate agent. Now go re-write your copy on all of your listings and buyers literature and sell some houses!

PS My target for writing this post was the cutting edge real estate agent who understands the rules are changing quickly. Is that you? I thought so…

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