There is no doubt that consumers trust an expert more than they trust themselves. If you look back at breakthroughs that have lead to consumer success and major increases of consumption and adoption, it always occurs when the vendor provides a local expert.
Apple was not the first company to figure this out. There are many examples, but certainly Rite-Aid did it with an in-store pharmacist; Home Depot did it with in store builders and remodelers; and Best Buy did it in technology. What Apple did was take it all to a new level with product super heros.
The Strategy is to take the knowledge about the products and make them more interesting, and more accessible to the consumer.
Take a look at the Metrolist Genius Bar at the Colorado State convention. Agents could walk right up and get any answer they wanted. We see a lot of examples like this with expositions. They are all over the country. They all allow REALTORS® to get up close and personal with the technology tools that they use in their business everyday.
Where I believe we fall short as an industry is making the Genius Bar available every day.
In the past month, we have surveyed more than 150,000 agents as part of our MLS strategic planning process. During the month, we also performed product adoption research across 3 large brokerages. In all cases, we combine surveys with interviews and focus groups. The core of dissatisfaction is that agents do not know how to use the products that they have. As technology continues to get more complex, training and support need to increase.
If you are a brokerage, MLS, or an Association – you need to employ a Genius, a person whose job is to learn every product and be able to teach any agent. Training can be 1 on 1, in office, by phone, by webinar, by recorded webinar. If you don’t have a genius – be sure that your agents have access to retechnology.com. Contact Victor Lund or click this link and the RE Technology accounts are free. RE Technology is now available in 82 MLSs as a free member benefit, reaching 750,000 REALTORS, with more than 1 Million user sessions per month.
Here is how ARMLS in Arizona rocks their Genius communications
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