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Enamored. Gobsmacked. Utterly transfixed: You’re a buyer, you’re in love, and you have a marketer to thank.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]You walk into the room and it hits you. It’s hard to describe, but something just feels right about this place. You can’t put your finger on exactly which feature has made you fall so hard. (Dark-stained floors, maybe? Floor-to-ceiling windows?) Yet somehow, you know: This is it. It’s not just a crush, it’s the real thing. You’re in love — with a home.
We’ve all felt this way at one time or another; smacked over the head with a notion of attraction to something or someone we can’t deny. It happens when we run to the pet store for goldfish food and walk out with a labrador puppy. It hits us when meet our future spouses. We realize it when we set foot onto the property of our dreams.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
Why We Fall
The fact that emotional connections can be blissfully blindsiding is why we blame cupid for such events: Who else but a mythical, rosy-cheeked, chubby flying baby with an enchanted arrow could inspire such instant magnetism? More often than not, though, attraction of any kind isn’t a result of magic, it’s science; a subconscious series of biological or physiological confirmations we aren’t even aware of. Studies have shown this is as true with personal attraction as it is with attraction to objects.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
Just a Fling …Or Something More?
So, what does this mean for real estate marketers? If real estate marketing exists to attract potential buyers to the right home, does the notion that we’re physiologically drawn to certain things (properties included) no matter what, render marketing obsolete? The short answer is “no.” Though certain elements of attraction happen at a subconscious level, even when it comes to real estate, there’s still a lot marketers can do to make the right home buyer fall in love with the right property. Think of real estate marketers as less like the mythical Cupid and more like your lovingly meddling mom or best friend: they play matchmaker. Here’s how the courtship works:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” bg_position=”left top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” class=”matchmaking-list”][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
1 Their Eyes Meet
Great marketers do research. They discover where potential buyers in the home’s target demographic shop, engage with others, and consume media online. Then, they place ads in those locations. But that’s not enough: Matchmaking marketers also use social-media messaging, editorial publications, event strategy and curated email blasts to get the word out. The result: Some enchanted evening, like a stranger across a crowded room, an ad, a tweet, or a Facebook post regarding the home catches a buyer’s eye. And voila! Instant attraction.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
2 The First Date
An expert marketer designs a custom website that turns the home into an immersive experience. The site features a narrative video, gorgeous photos, a virtual tour and a creative property description. Like a beautifully set table complete with a white tablecloth, champagne on ice and just the right lighting, the marketer sets the mood with the website and draws the buyer in. On its surface, the buyer thinks this home has potential. Though she remains cautious about wearing her heart on her sleeve, she wants to know more.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
3 A Deeper Connection
As the buyer continues to peruse the website, she notices the home’s branding: The marketer has invested careful thought into every element of the home’s logo and color palette. The home’s features list goes into great detail, pointing out every fine element that sets the property apart from any other on the market right now. This place doesn’t just have style, she decides, it has substance, too. There’s no doubt: she’s falling.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
4 Getting Serious
At a certain point, the buyer decides it’s time to take the relationship to the next level. (Who wouldn’t, with marketing that good?) So, she picks up the phone and calls her agent (the marketer has included the agent’s contact info on the home’s custom website and art book). Touring the home is a fantastic experience: It’s tastefully staged, the agent presents a high level of service, and sense impressions abound, thanks to open windows that let in the breeze, textured flooring that feels great underfoot, a light citrus scent that’s proven to increase the likelihood of purchase, and well-lit rooms. The buyer’s relationship to the home has gone beyond formal dating ritual and become something much more comfortable and easy. There’s no doubt about it: she belongs here. This is the home for her.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
5 Will You Marry Me?
The buyer can’t get the home out of her mind. She finds herself going back to its website to admire its structure and finishes. She shows pictures to her friends, asking their input. Of course, they love it. After a few weeks of deliberation, she realizes it’s time to make a move. After all, the home has everything she could ever want. And who knows when another home this perfect could hit the market again? The marketer has convinced the buyer of the home’s emotional and financial value, both now, and in the long-term, and she knows, deep down, the property is worth every penny of the asking price. With nothing left to question, the buyer makes an offer.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][vc_column_text]
6 Happily Ever After
After a 30 day engagement, the home and the buyer are officially joined at closing. Though the marketer may never know which marketing feature subconsciously sealed the deal, he can relax now, knowing all of his efforts to craft an integrated marketing strategy have resulted in one beautiful relationship.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
❤
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