Why QR codes won’t sell your Simi Valley Home

I recently was showing a Simi Valley home and the flyer advertising the listing had every element of what real estate agents will hear out in the training seminar circuit.  QR codes have been around for a while and it has taken a while for this older technology to emerge in the United States. QR codes are still a long way from being understood and embraced. The success of the iPhone and Android smart phones just may be the catalyst that will help push this technology forward as QR codes are now starting to appear in many different places across the US.

While these codes are convenient and useful, how many people do you know, who know what QR codes are and have software on their cell phones to take advantage of the technology?

My question to you as a Simi Valley home seller, are you being oversold on gadgets and shiny objects by the Rea Estate Agents you are interviewing?  Is the push to show all these flashy items really the agent’s way to distract you from the more important questions like challenging the agent’s experience, expertise and dedication to the real estate profession?

Here are the concerns home owners need to understand when any agent pitches technology as a means to sell your home.

• Mobile Friendly – QR codes are used with a mobile phone to scan and the codes will direct you to web content on that mobile phone. Did you know that most Real Estate sites are not very Mobile friendly?  Part of the problem is that most Real Estate web developers are behind.  These developers still design for flash, they still “frame in” solutions, they still are hooked on Internet Explorer.  The fact is that the Blackberry was the predominant phone and it is still widely used, Blackberry doesn’t do flash.  It’s hard to argue the success of the iPhone and it doesn’t do flash.  Android is the other platform dominating smartphones and what is extremely important is that Windows phones are not even in the same hemisphere when it comes to user base. We have to divorce ourselves from preconceived ideas and understand we don’t control what phones or computers consumers are going use. My industry has continued to live up to it’s knuckle-dragger reputation on technology and still tries to force non universal solutions on unsuspecting real estate agent agents.  “Consumer compliant” equals universal; my industry needs a swift kick in the head to wake them up and understand there is no excuse to not develop universally.
• Tracking – I can make all the QR codes in the world I choose, but what good are they to me or you the seller, if we cannot track if anyone is using them.  The flyer I mentioned in the beginning of this article had a QR code and when I clicked it, it went to a YouTube slide show of the property. There was no way to track how the YouTube viewers got to the video. No way for that real estate agent to show if using a QR code provides any extra value to you the seller.  There is a method to enable tracking on QR codes which we can discuss when we are listing your home.
• Regurgitation –  Is the information at the other end of the QR code the same information as on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and every other property search website?  This regurgitation of the same old information will only frustrate potential buyers as they have most likely seen the information already, they are looking for something new and fresh.  Your “tech savvy” potential real estate agent that is desperately trying to sell you in the interview, probably has not told you that prospective home buyers Google the addresses of the properties they are interested in.  Why?  Because they are looking for new, fresh information that is not the same as what they have seen on every other site so far. They are Googling to find additional information not found elsewhere.
• Lack of Understanding – The use of QR codes in real estate currently shows a lack of understanding.  QR codes are primarily geared for mobile use, you scan the code with your phone; so where the code takes you is very important.

Consider the following:

• • The listing flyer – already has a ton of information about the house. The QR code needs to link to something different and fresh than what is on the flyer or on internet property search sites.  The prospective buyer is going to take that flyer home and go to their computer.  It is unlikely that they are going to scan a QR code when they are sitting next to their computer with a flyer, rather will type a website address directly into the computer.
  • The yard sign – A yard sign is typically static.  Agents buy a dozen signs that are all identical.  A QR code pointing to the agent’s website really is not doing much to showcase your home.  Remember that most sites are not very mobile friendly. What are the chances that buyers get to the agent’s site and find your home? Imagine having to navigate an agent website on the small display of a mobile phone, maybe outside in the sunlight.  Signs these days can be customized very inexpensively, the QR code needs to be unique for that property directing the consumer to content that is optimized for mobile devices (phones, iPads and tablets) and different than what is already found on the typical property search sites.
  • Direct mail or Print Advertising – Here is another piece that will be brought to the computer and the likelihood that a Simi Valley home buyer is going to scan the code when they have a computer with much larger display has to be considered.  Again a QR code on this type of advertisement needs to direct the person to something mobile friendly, different and fresh.
  • On a website –  You may see a QR code on a website, why? I mean, why scan your computer screen with your mobile device to view information that can be easily viewed on screen with an old fashioned web link? (aka hyperlink).  A QR code on a website should point to information the consumer will need to take with them on the go, information about your property they will need when they are out looking at properties. For example a Google map with the location of your property.

There are many other uses for QR codes and several for the real estate industry, but for marketing your home the above four are directly related to selling your Simi Valley home.  I cannot stress enough that the use of QR codes needs tracking. You want to be able to measure and see how many people are clicking through so you can adjust your efforts if the click through rates are better in some uses than others.

I mentioned several times above that QR codes need to be directed at content that is different and fresh compared to what is found on a typical property search sites.  So what does that look like?  Well, you will have to schedule an appointment with me to find out.  Additionally I have stressed the importance of being mobile complaint, this is just not optional, with the iPhone (rumored) coming to Sprint and more people moving to smart phones, the chances prospective Simi Valley home buyers are going to view information about your phone mobily grows every day.

QR codes are not the end all be all of real estate marketing, they are a very small part of the marketing issues that factor into selling a house. Price, Condition and Location still rule the day.  QR codes, full page newspaper ads, heck I could fly the Goodyear Blimp with a scrolling message advertising your house, but if the price-condition-location formula is mismatched, marketing your home to death will not make it sell.

Back in 2009 I commented on an article (Pictured above) on the Agent Genius website that was marveling at the technology.  In that entire article from the fall of 2008, there was no connection made to marketing real estate.  It looked better suited as an electronic business card. Recently at this year’s Keller Williams Family reunion in Anaheim California, agents had QR codes with their contact information and QR codes for their websites to be exchanged instead of business cards.  This was a big shift form the prior year where I did not see this happening.

My brother first showed me QR codes in 2008 and when I talked about them people looked me as some sort of “Uber Geek”. Well it looks as the shift of smart phones is spreading this may catch on, probably not to the extent is has in Asia, but that if used properly can assist Simi Valley home buyers in their search for their next home. As a Simi Valley home seller you will need someone who understands the technology, where it best fits in and how to implement a real estate marketing strategy properly.   Give me a call at (805) 432-7705 and I will be happy to meet with you and discuss how we can market your home.  The QR code at the top of this article goes to a YouTube video I created for a client, but the difference is I can track if anyone has actually scanned and used it and it goes to content that not found on the plethora of property search sites making is fresh and useful for the home buyer.

As you watch this clip, pay attention to the common theme. Tracking & mobile compliant. What we are seeing in the real estate industry is just a Hodge-podge of shiny object syndrome where agents are being taught about a new technology, but are being taught poorly.