Are Your Agents "Fluffernutter" Marketers?

Why am I bringing up Fluffernutter and what does that have to do with YOUR business, you ask?

According to Wikipedia, "The term Fluffernutter has sometimes been used disparagingly to describe something that lacks substance and has minimal to no cultural value." For those of you who don't know, Fluffernutter is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme, usually served on white bread (typically Wonderbread.)

Lately I have had a lot of conversations about what a lackluster job most real estate agents do with post-close marketing. For those unfamiliar with the term, post-close marketing describes ongoing efforts by agents to keep in touch with their clients, using relevant and timely information that is important to the homeowner. In other words, no cookie recipes.

I don't think anyone can disagree with this assessment; we're all familiar with the NAR stats. To make matters worse, brokers don't help much either because they don't want to spend the money or agents won't give them access to their database.

And we all know that most consumers would use the same real estate agent again but they don't. There are two main reasons for this:

• Most real estate agents don't do anything to stay in touch after the close; or,
• Those agents that do stay in touch only send forgettable fluff nobody cares about.

Fluffernutter... Something that lacks substance and has minimal to no cultural value.

Let's think of the effort real estate agents do make as Fluffernutter. What do Fluffernutter post-close marketing practices tell us?

Anyone who would try to get me to eat Fluffernutter today (though I did like them as a kid!) clearly has not been paying attention to child obesity issues, current health and eating trends, and the savvy nature of today's consumer. Furthermore, unless someone can tell me otherwise, Fluffernutter is a thing of the past, like sending cookie recipes or the classic "happy anniversary on the purchase of your home" direct mail piece (that goes straight into the old circular file).

Consumers want substance and relevance (think good food that's good for you too) not irrelevant marketing fluff and junk mail they don't care about and gives nothing of value to them. Today consumers know their worth, and are highly critical of businesses attempts to engage with them. Consumers know what they want... do you?

What is this costing us an industry? What if we did stay in touch with our homebuyers, and got just one more deal per month, one per quarter because of a sincere, solid, and real effort?

We are not going to get there with Fluffernutter. We'll get there with relevant options that get your homeowners to pay attention—and eventually come back to you with their next home sale, or refer you to a friend.

To view the original article, visit the PCMS Consulting blog.