Comments on: Does Brand Matter? – Dear Ginny WTH

By: Tre Pryor

Tre Pryor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:04:38 +0000

Thanks for sharing Ginny. I've been searching for info on this topic. Do you happen to know of any national survey results on this topic?
Thanks!
-Tre

By: Greg Barnhouse

Greg Barnhouse — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:57:39 +0000

@Doug Benz – Search YouTube for “does brand matter” you will see 2 videos showing the NAR data done by Keller Williams, but using the NAR data.

By: Doug Buenz

Doug Buenz — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:41:46 +0000

I might be mistaken, but I believe it was CAR or NAR that did a study of consumer attitudes regarding national brokerage companies versus small independent operators. As I recall (caution.. I am relying on my memory here, which is a recipe for disaster) one of the findings that struck me was that consumers thought that agents who worked at big brokerage firms were less competent overall than brokers who operated their own company. I will see if I can find that survey.

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:46:58 +0000

#agnow I think you're right Ginny when you say that all things being equal, the brand can be a tipping point. I pe... http://cli.gs/X8n76

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:22:21 +0000

#agnow In what way does this confuse the consumer? With the demise of print advertising, where does the broker bran... http://cli.gs/HLdq3

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:59:21 +0000

#agnow I think I need to clarify what I meant by the following: 1.It is NOT the time to create your own logo id... http://cli.gs/Shzmt

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:37:32 +0000

#agnow IN NYC, the Corcoran brand would make a difference, but not in San Diego. Your argument is very market spe... http://cli.gs/JEghY

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:19:31 +0000

#agnow Bob, yep you compete with other agents who are operating under a different brand name than you and maybe som... http://cli.gs/2P9Es

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:52:34 +0000

#agnow I think the solid brand name definitely can't hurt and probably helps a lot when going after listings. Bu... http://cli.gs/WHpjr

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:51:48 +0000

#agnow Good subject for discussion. My view is the agent is the brand because that is where the clients with compa... http://cli.gs/ANL6b

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:05:56 +0000

#agnow IIn the case of the big broker brand, we are not competitors. They dont list homes or show buyers. My compet... http://cli.gs/zHZ2S

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:22:18 +0000

In what way does this confuse the consumer? With the demise of print advertising, where does the broker brand come into play any more? It is the agent doing all the marketing these days.

By: Ginny Cain McMurtrie

Ginny Cain McMurtrie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:59:16 +0000

I think I need to clarify what I meant by the following:

1.It is NOT the time to create your own logo identity and fight against your broker. See previous Dear Ginny WTH.

Don’t stay with your current broker and try and build a brand within the brand…the two brands end up competing against each other and confusing the consumer. If your name becomes stronger than that of the broker, then it IS time to hang your own shingle.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:37:30 +0000

IN NYC, the Corcoran brand would make a difference, but not in San Diego. Your argument is very
market specific.

I worked under Big Broker brands for 17 years. In 2005, Pru had a 49% market share here (from buying up the little guys). My competition was other agents within the same company. The best all had created their own brands that out shone the The Rock. Today Pru is a shell of its former self here, but those agent brands have lived on.

For over 10 years, 5-6 of the Pru top 10 nationally came out of this market. Another dozen or more made up the top 100. Today 2 of the perennial top 6 are no longer Pru, and many of the top 100 have moved on. Their personal brands have lived on though, and allowed them, even enabled them, to move on seamlessly, with no harm to their identity or business.

Hitching your wagon to someone else’s brand works well for the newbie, but if you want to control your own destiny, I would not only disagree with the assertion that now is a bad time to develop your brand, but in fact the perfect time to do so.

In many markets, Big Brands are at their weakest. It is in these tougher market times where moving forward to capture the high ground can yield the greatest results.

By: mlapeter

mlapeter — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:18:49 +0000

I think you’re right Ginny when you say that all things being equal, the brand can be a tipping point. I personally went from working for a larger San Francisco brokerage to starting my own, and business at first slowed down… of course I did it right when the market tanked, so hard to tease apart causation!

The main thing for me, though, was that all other things are rarely ever equal. Either I would get a referral, who couldn’t care less about my brokerage, Or if it’s an online buyer lead, they care more about speed and quality of information. So far I’ve actually been surprised by how few people seem to care at all.

Though, in fairness, my clients could be self selecting so I just never hear from potential clients who are concerned about my brokerage brand. But I was paying $4,500 in yearly fees to my old brokerage, with fees such as “Virus Protection: $300″… personally I’d rather just use my mac and spend the $300 on a new iphone. I wrote about a few of the services I use, which are either free or low cost, here:

http://blog.mysinglepropertywebsites.com/articles/top-ten-online-real-estate-tools/

By: Ginny Cain McMurtrie

Ginny Cain McMurtrie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:19:28 +0000

Bob, yep you compete with other agents who are operating under a different brand name than you and maybe some with the same brand. So you don’t think the consumer considers that you have the name Coldwell Banker on your card and that another agent has Bob’s Real Estate on his/her card? Yes, you have to present a compelling reason why that buyer or seller should work with you, and if you don’t do that, the brand can’t save you. But all things being equal, I think big brand can be a tipping point.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:05:54 +0000

IIn the case of the big broker brand, we are not competitors. They dont list homes or show buyers. My competition in that situation is the other agent, not the big broker. They compete with each other for agents. I compete with their agents for buyers or sellers.

I would bet if you took a poll and asked agents what factors are important in obtaining the listing or a buyer lead, mind share wouldnt make the top ten.

By: David Sandusky

David Sandusky — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Good subject for discussion. My view is the agent is the brand because that is where the clients with company ‘A’ get the experience. The company needs to identify the type of people (personal brands) they want to associate with and vice versa. Why culture and brand comes from the inside. Not a logo…that is marketing and I agree to not have separate marketing materials. Merge the brand, that is a good match and the clients win.

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:39:52 +0000

#agnow Ginny, I made a comment but it got stuck in spam. Can you go approve it. Thanks, Rob http://cli.gs/djq9d

By: Brian Higgins

Brian Higgins — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:43:51 +0000

Consumer Confidence Does Brand Matter? – Dear Ginny WTH | Real Estate Opinion MAG ... http://bit.ly/47Wdl