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!
Lesley,
That is sooo awesome. I tried it and it worked great! I love it and I need to get some more information on how to get one that we can use. Thanks for telling us about it. Cool 🙂
Awesome Lesley, I like it. The site it went to was nice also.
It’d be nice to see more of these QR codes around places. Sadly, it has been more popular on Asia and Europe and hasn’t really caught on here yet, though with the magazines and other major advertisers starting to try it, maybe it will get some traction. I’ve seen QR codes on the bottom of electronic devices also which contain warranty information and automatically take you to the respective website and prepopulates the information (model #/serial #).
You should have one that contains your contact information also (like a link to your VCF file).
Put it on the signs at properties, put it on the flyers, etc. Great strategy of making it easier for people to access the information and contact you.
Hi Lesley,
Very interesting–I came across the QR code just a few weeks ago and am about to launch it for advertising buyer classes on A-boards, the back of flyers, etc. Once people have the code for a house, they can periodically check it for price and status changes. I’m thinking of having a “How’s the Market” code printed on notepads I have produced–I can have it go to a permanent page on my website which I could update with a video periodically. The next step would be codes on your vehicle wrap…. wow!
Dale
Best way for codes to catch on would be to have said reader integrated within the phone OS. Right now it’s still find app, open app, scan (hold carefully closer up), then it clicks through. Bit too clunky and cumbersome, especially for the more technologically illiterate.
Of course, like anything, test and track your results. YMMV as always.