Innovator, Early Adopter or Laggard?

So where are YOU and your company on this Bell Curve when it comes to using new technology on the Sales and Marketing of your Company/Real Estate?

If your not sure what the Rogers Innovation Curve is all about maybe the below bullet points will provide a bit more clarity. (Or you can always Google it or Wikipedia it - like I usually do ;-)

• Innovators - the risk takers willing to take the initiative and time to try something new when it comes to building their business/project /property development
  


• Early Adopters - tend to be respected group and industry leaders, the individuals essential to adoption by whole group.
  


• Early Majority - the careful, safe, deliberate individuals unwilling to risk time or other resources until the trend is already irreversibly under way.
  


• Late Majority - those suspect of or resistant to change. Hard to move without significant influence and effort.
  


• Laggards - these are those who are consistent or even adamant in resisting change. Pressure is needed to force change and even then it is done reluctantly.

I find it's interesting to also see that there is a correlation between what developers build in regards to Green Building/LEED Certification and where they are on the Innovation Bell Curve with their marketing and sales programs.

What do you think? Am I on to something with that observation?

My opinion is this -Innovators and Early Adopters are always looking for advantages, looking for new ways to do "it" better than they have done previously and gain a competitive advantage - regardless of what part of the program we are looking at.

They are always trying to compete whether it is against someone else or their previous personal best.

So where are you on the curve?

What are you going to do differently to get a competitive advantage?

What is Web 2.0?

And how does that apply to me?

Well first off I like this definition which I have "lifted" from Wikipedia which is:

"Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, folksonomies and blogs."

Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, folksonomies and blogs.

Watch this video - it is a little bit techie but it is going to give you some more background to this wave of change that is happening to our businesses.



This applies to you because people(your customers) have access to more information than they have ever had before, they are talking about your project, they are voicing and sharing opinions and they are making decisions before you or your people ever get face to face with them.

Do you know what they are saying?
Are you involved in the conversation?
Do you have an active voice in the marketplace with these customers and prospects?

Or are you of the mind set that "We have a website, and we have the brouchure and thats all they need to know" AND the Sales People should just be selling it - because my project is "unique" !

I've got news for you - those days my friend are gone - and to paraphrase from a a popular business book from last century - that cheese has moved.

YES you still need to execute the basics well i.e. the Corporate Identity of the Project, Branding, Marketing Collateral (Physical and Digital) Launch Event, Media Strategy, P.R., Have a strong Sales Program with Great Sales People BUT you need to do more if you want to break free of the competition and be an innovator and not just another follower.

Specifics you say? We are getting there......but we need to have the foundation in place first and to mix metaphors - so we can be all on the same page ( at least to start with)

And yes we are getting to the Real Estate Specific stuff real soon ;-)

Why 2.0

Why Real Estate 2.0?

Why do we need a different approach to how we market our Real Estate Projects?

I'll get to that in a second but first off would you agree that the Real Estate Market in NYC is in a state of flux? and that there is a lot of different perspectives about what is happening out there? And most importantly where we are headed.

Here are some of the latest facts regarding the secound quarter of 08 in NYC.
These numbers come from Jonathan Miller of the Real Estate Appraisal firm Miller Samuel:

• Prices were at or near record levels: Median Sales Price $1.025M, up 14.5%.


• After excluding 15 CPW/The Plaza: Median Sales Price $995K, up 11.2%.


• Number of sales fell 21.8% from 2Q 07. 2Q 07 had the highest total recorded sales for this report.


• Current sales levels are 27.6% above 5-year quarterly average of 2,413.


• Listing inventory 6,869 units, 31.2% higher than last year.


• Inventory is 10.9% below same period 2 years ago.


• Luxury inventory 31.5% below same period last year.


• Days on market was 135 days, 2.5 weeks longer than last year.


• Listing discount was 3.6%, up from 2.2% last year


• The full report is below:

http://www.prudentialelliman.com/NYCPhotos/retail_reports/mmo2008q2locked.pdf

So if the market is in a state of such dynamic change locally (let's forget about the national scene for a moment) Then why is practically everyone doing the same thing when it comes to their Sales and Marketing Program?

Why is everyone Marketing and Selling like it is 2004-07?

(like my picture above - which is dated but classic - Fine for photography not so hot for strategy)

How many Agency's and their Agents's get the quantum shift that is happening in Marketing with the rise of the Web 2.0 Approach?

Well having been on the front lines I could probably count on my fingers (OK maybe I might have to take of a shoe ) and count how many:

A. Get it and

B. Are actually doing it for either themselves or their clients

That is a pretty huge statement considering that there are over 75,000+ Real Estate agents in the greater NYC area.

So what should they also be incorporating into their S & M programs? and what do they need to do to evolve their game?

Well stay tuned and in my next post i'll tell you.