Exclusivity, why is it important? Did anyone ever give you a check that bounced and the bank mailed it to you with rubber stamped stigmata on it like “Insufficient Funds” or “Dishonored”? Do you remember who gave you this infamous check? Think hard.
Of course you do, and you didn’t need to think hard about it! Well, let’s hope you haven’t got many of those, but they make a striking point. Good or bad surprises have one thing in common – you remember them. And that’s the ultimate goal of your marketing, getting your prospects to remember you (in a positive way, of course), because you are the brand. You are what they will buy. You win because people have 
become familiar with you. This is not to say that your campaigns have to be spectacular or filled with dramatic surprises. Simply put, what your campaigns need is something your competitors don’t have, and that will position you as an expert.
Conferences underscore this better than anything we know of. Just browse through the rows of exhibitors at the shows such as NAR, RE/MAX, Keller-Williams, Century 21, ERA, Better Homes & Gardens, Howard Hannah, on and on. Vendors know that real estate agents are always in search of the next big thing that will differentiate them from the crowd. Most of the offerings are uncannily reminiscent of the television commercial in the early days of the Internet: A young web designer is enthusiastically showing off his creation to the business client. “Look, look, music plays, it spins wildly, and then fire comes out of the top!” The client looks very disenchanted and says, “But does it update our inventory?” Alas, where’s the beef?
Successful Innovation is a very tough commodity and we don’t intend to short-sell ideas that don’t quite hit the mark. Many of these ideas are wonderful and can really help you stand apart from your competitors, even to the point of exclusivity in some cases. However, we’d like to offer a short litmus test to increase the odds that your marketing campaigns hit the mark, get you remembered, and build your listing inventory:
- Is the product unique? Have your prospects received anything like it from competing agents?
- Is the product of high quality in craftsmanship, composition, and other important elements?
- Does the product have a real value, not just perceived value?
- Does the vendor give you the right of exclusivity to a marketing area under agreeable terms?
- Can other competing agents reproduce your product easily?
- Is the product used by other successful real estate agents?
- Do past and current users vouch for claims of achieving substantial ROI?
- Does the product endure over time and can you use it repeatedly with similar strong impact?
We have found that product exclusivity is perhaps the most important aspect of any successful campaign, but be sure to apply all reasonable criteria to the final selection.
We hope you found this information useful, and Happy Marketing!