Towns of Western Massachusetts

Real estate is said to be the second oldest profession in the world (no jokes please) and for much of its history the standard operating procedure didn’t change a whole lot.

When I began my real estate career in 1988 (again, hold the humor) there was no internet. We collected a book of postage stamp sized, grainy, black & white photographs on crappy newsprint paper every two weeks: that was the multiple listing book. You carried that book with you to meet buyers and sellers and tried to fathom which properties might be of interest from these lackluster and teeny tiny descriptions. Fast forward to the advent of the internet. Many real estate agents feared that by making home information available on the internet our function would be obsolete and we would be out of work. I never understood this fear. The very LEAST of what I do as an agent is giving buyer clients lists of homes for sale. I don’t actually sell anything, I facilitate the real estate transaction, but I have no actual goods to sell. For me, I thought the internet was a great way of saving me loads of time driving that stupid MLS book around (I was right).

So, over the years, as technology advances and real estate agents wring their hands in fear and confusion, I step ahead with my adventurous geek girl spirit and try some new “stuff”. Over the last few years I have created blogs, utilized my love of social media to grow my business, learned Search Engine Optimization and even some basic web site coding, all to advance my real estate services (and feed my nerd gene).

Recently I attended PodCamp Western MA 2 where we got t-shirts with this new thingymabob on the front. Called a QR Code, it looked like a square Rorschach test and I was curious as to why it was on our shirts. Event organizer, Morriss Partee explained that our friend Jaclyn Stevenson had added this code to the shirt and with a special application to your smartphone you can scan this code and it will automatically open the website for the event. Cool! Days later I got to thinking…”I think I can use this in my real estate marketing.”

I did some research and found this article by my friend (and editor at Agent Genius) Lani Rosales. I had seen her post this blog, but had no concept what a QR code was at that time. Now I re-read her post with new interest and started plotting out a marketing strategy.

First off: What the Hey Diddle Diddle IS a QR Code?

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. They are currently used for a wide array of purposes including: drivers licenses, paperless coupons, on bills and other publications. A QR code, when scanned by a smartphone (ie: BlackBerry, iPhone, Android) will take the scanner to a website.

For Example above is the QR Code for one of my listings. This code is placed on a sign rider on the yard sign. Let’s say a potential buyer with a smart phone drives by the house and is curious. They stop to write down information and then notice my sign rider. They take a scan of the QR code and ZIP! they are delivered to a webpage dedicated to information on that property. A website that is rich in information and content like video, photos and important documents…all available instantly by scanning the code. I also include the QR code in my mailings to the neighborhood, on the home flyers and in print advertising. The next door neighbor opens a just listed letter and is curious what the house next door is going for and uses the QR code to get all their questions answered in a minute. I am rolling this new tool out on every listing that I take from now on. I hope that this will be a fun new gadget for people to try at first and later will set me apart as being the area innovator in real estate marketing.

I recognize that this isn’t something that many people are using in their day to day lives (yet), but I have a feeling that this is the for sale sign of the future. A sign that answers the buyers questions, that represents the seller’s property and that demonstrates my skills as a marketing professional. If you have a smartphone you can find a QR Reader application in your application store. Go download the application and give the code above a try….I am holding a contest for a $25 Starbucks giftcard for all the souls brave enough to experience this groovy new tool!