Realtor.com (and NAR’s) new ad

I like it. They are starting to dial in their new messaging.

I see two issues facing Realtor.com

Issue #1

Most consumers like to going to third party sites, like Expedia, Kayak, and such. They really don’t care about “accuracy” (neither of those sites have Southwest flight information as an example.) That’s why I’ve never thought Realtor.com beating the drum of “we have the most accurate data” ever resonated with consumers. But they keep double downing on it every year, and based on the rising traffic of Zillow and Trulia it hasn’t worked.

Consumers don’t want to go the Airline’s site because of a perception they can get a better deal elsewhere. And granted sometimes the experience is a lot better (UI and comparing other airlines fares for instance).

I know real estate isn’t like the travel industry, I’m not saying it is, I’m just saying consumers like to go to third party sites. It should be no surprise Zilow and Trulia are doing well.

Issue #2

I heard a story. One of the portals had done a few consumer surveys. And one of the reasons respondents didn’t want to go to Realtor.com was they didn’t want to be contacted by “REALTORS”. Ouch. This shows how naive consumers really are when it comes to real estate portals. But poses a big problem with your brand is “REALTOR” dot com. But the facts are, according to NAR surveys, close to 90% of buyers would use the same REALTOR again. So there’s a huge disconnect.

While I don’t think on its own “accuracy matters” is going to get the job done, marrying it with a positive spin on REALTORS is heading in the right direction.