An Ignoble Experiment: Helping Small Business help themselves - SolutionsArePower�

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Small Business Marketing Roundtable - Part 2: When Customers Leverage Web 2.0

Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with two independent realtors who leverage the web in big ways to build their respective small businesses. Both are affiliated with bigger companies but they are independent businesses and in most respects, on their own. We spoke with Bob Carney who is based in MD and runs his blog and web site at focusonfredrick.com and Jeff Royce who covers Northern Virginia and writes http://ourfairfax.com/. Both are very Web 2.0 saavy and use the tools to help market their business as well as educate potential clients.

In Part 2 of this two part interview, we focus on they see Web 2.0 being used by potential customers and how it makes selling easier or harder.

Steve: Since many customers are using Web 2.0 tools like Zillow in addition to going to your blog, have you found it easier or harder to sell?

BC: The challenge is the internet. There are so many self proclaimed experts out there. Buyers and sellers are more educated than they ever have been with the amount of information on the internet. You have to be able to convert their search results into face to face time. There is only some much “clicking” that consumers can do before they have to actually need a real person to put it into perspective.

JR: It is definitely easier to sell plugged in people real estate. As agents we need to know that many of our clients have more information than we do. Clients today are more likely to come to me having a very good idea of what they want and what they can afford. I generally show a buyer fewer homes than I did 10 years ago because they already have eliminated neighborhoods or types of homes before we even meet.
I can also use web-based tools to help clients make a decision on a home. For example, one of the biggest problems I saw my clients having was the inability to remember homes they had seen. Once most clients see more than about 10 homes they start to run together in their mind. So I use a personalized blog for each client. Each time a client sees a home I take around 20 photos of the home and post them, along with a link to current information on the listing (so they see price changes and other information) on their own blog. My clients can go back through their blog and see each of the houses they viewed in great detail. They can also use the blog to seek advice from friends or family, even if they don't live nearby.

Steve: Have you had customers select you as their agent because of your use of Web 2.0 and social media tools?

BC: Yes. I have local followers on Twitter that when needed will use me as their REALTOR® because I am so net savvy compared to my local colleagues.

JR: Yes.

Steve: Some small businesses might be reticent to use many tools because they think it might give away trade secrets or make them too vulnerable to competition. What are your thoughts on this?

BC: I don’t think there is a trade secret out there that you can’t find on google. In our industry there are only about 4% of the agents that utilize Web 2.0 (might have doubled this year) but it has not like they haven’t been informed by NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) or any of us that use the internet haven’t told them about it. Some people are just very reluctant to change.

JR: If an agent uses Web 2.0 tools effectively they will be copied. I know because I've gotten many, many ideas from agents that I've never met in person. But, these tools are communication devices. You cannot be successful by just copying what others are saying. You have to have something to communicate. You have to be original and be yourself. People will know the minute they meet you if you've been faking it online.

Steve: As we close, what are some Web 2.0 and Social Media tools that you think every small business should check out and at least experiment with?

BC: All of them, but the key is not to try and sell something. The key word is “Social” network not “Advertising” network. Build relations and business will come.

JR: Flickr is a great tool for communicating. It is much more than just a picture sharing site. It is a way to say something through writing, photos, video, and mapping that is hard to beat elsewhere. Flickr also has a huge number of loyal users who spend a lot of time adding to and interacting with the community there.
A business should also be on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a good way to stay connected to people you have done business with in the past and to meet new clients or employees through known connections.