Contrarian or stupid? Don’t be surprised if I ignore you.
Friday, I spammed over 300 innocent people. This was a first and, in the strictest sense, it wasn’t spamming at all, but I will get to that.
It all started with a little online venting I was doing about the functionality (or lack thereof) of the Trulia listing widget I have on our side bar here. I have always loved the little guy, but it seems he had something against me, or rather, my listings. The problem was that by all appearances some ornery programmer armed with a random listing generator and intoxicated with the power of his position (Widget Czar) was unilaterally deciding which, if any, of our seller clients’ homes to display there on any particular day. I now give a big hat-tip to the Truia customer service folks who proactively worked through the problem and re-earned their exalted position to your right. Go Trulia!
As a result of that little post, I also got many “helpful hints” from other vendors, dozens actually, suggesting that they had my answer, the “better way.” If you are an agent, you like I undoubtedly get many of these “better way” offers each day in your email inbox. These unsolicited offers I generally ignore. Otherwise, I would be spending 27 hours a day doing nothing but testing new products. But, as for those who responded to my online cry for help, I don’t consider this spamming; I presented a problem publicly, and they responded.
Enter Diverse Solutions. Timing is everything. Just like the home owner thinking about selling when your recipe of the month card hits their porch, I had been thinking about replacing my current Search for Homes (IDX) provider for awhile. There was nothing inherently wrong with my current Home Search feature - it was fully populated compliments of our local San Diego MLS, it provided all of the property information for each home, and offered the automatic email feature which notifies users with new listings and status changes - but it was not map-based. I like map-based, and I am certain that the consumer does too.
Today we are switching over to the new search platform. And it scares the heck out of me. We have tested and had some clients test it to confirm that it indeed enhances the search experience (it does), but that is not the issue. The problem is that I have over 300 people currently “signed up” for the old system, people who have been saving “favorites” and customized searches, and people who have been receiving regular email feeds for, in some cases, many, many months. These are people I have done my very best to ignore.
I have long believed that failure to respect the anonymity of visitors to our site would drive them away. If a search experience results in helpful, unsolicited, monthly newsletters from me on winterizing your home, changing the furnace filter, or evaluating the current market (”It’s a great time to buy!”), I have always strongly suspected you will take your search elsewhere, “elsewhere” being a place where they leave you alone.
One thing that always bugged me about my former IDX provider was that there was this little “welcome” email that went out with my name on it each time someone signed up for automatic notifications. Only, it wasn’t really from me. I just couldn’t turn the darn thing off. In one of many phone conversations with the company reps, I had one gentleman in particular chastise me. “What? You don’t want to convert these leads? Do you know what a gold mine you are sitting on? You mean you never follow-up?” No, no, no. Ick.
Is this contrarian or just plain stupid? He favored the latter, but I prefer the former. I still believe that you want to be the one to initiate the conversation. My email and phone number are splattered all over that site and this one, and each has a fully functioning chat box. If I haven’t heard from you yet, a reasonable person would conclude that you aren’t ready or don’t want to engage.
So, forgive me, but I have spammed. And, I assure you it will only happen this once. About to pull the plug on hundreds of visitors who were going to show up looking for their saved searches and find they had “been disappeared,” I sent out a blast to all last week explaining the conversion which would be taking place today. If you missed the memo, we will keep the old search feature running in parallel (but hidden) for the next six months or so. Your bookmarks will continue to work.
And, I’m sorry that, even briefly, I had to acknowledge your existence. I promise I won’t do it again - unless you ask me to.
(Note to valued vistors “Ben Dover,” “Lulu Lolo,” and “YoYo” - Your emails were returned undeliverable. I hope you read the blog.)
February 25th, 2008 at 11:43 am
[…] Contrarian or stupid? Don’t be surprised if I ignore you., by Kris Berg. […]
February 25th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Kris,
I don’t consider that spamming. Even though some subscribers might but the ones that would be upset at the email received will probably be minimal.
If I had signed up to some webpage and the link I used to have would stop working, I would want to know.
Loren
February 25th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Loren - That was my logic.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I like the new search. Speedy enough, intuitive, kinda snazzy.
I will freely admit that I had a little trouble finding the “search for homes” button on your blog. The flowers threw me off. I wound up going to your site from here (even though it is JUST above the search, I still didn’t see it). Just something to ponder. And maybe it’s just me….
I don’t think what you did was spam either. And hey! I have Mr. Ben Dover in my database too!
My anti-spam word is “wine”. Good idea!
February 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Thanks for the flower pot comment. Any ideas for a snappy, self-evident graphic to replace it?
February 25th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
How timely, indeed! I just got off the phone with a colleague in which he and I were discussing great re agent blogs, “drip campaigns” and switching IDX feeds. I recommended Diverse Solutions, he recommended another vendor.
Your post has validated my thinking on all 3 points.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Kathy,
Either I “validated” your thinking, or now we can be “stupid” together.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
February 25th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I like the new search interface
And I have to agree with Jay (sorry) about the flowers not being the best way to bring attention to the search functionality. Maybe some sort of photo/graphic with a for sale sign in front of a house?
February 25th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Drew - That’s it! Why didn’t I think of that?
February 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I have an IDX search button my my blog that is stunningly original. It says, “Search Phoenix MLS”. Boring, but seems effective.
I also have a page on teh blog itself set up with my IDX search. It was excrutiating to get it to work right, but kind of neat in that people stay on the blog, rather than going off to teh search on the main site.
I was going to suggest a house (really I was, Drew stole that idea from me). I’ve also seen neat little Monopoly looking homes with “Search” in text across them (looks better than I am describing. Or the age old (but effective) home with a magnifying glass icon kinda thing.
I wonder if given your shiny newe map based search if some sort of little map would work?
February 25th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Okay - Fixed it a little. How’s this?
By the way, my broker does not allow IDX to be imbedded in a blog. I have to redirect to the web site, as archaic as that might sound.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Jay - By the way, you might have to watch the use of that evil “MLS” term one of these days, given NAR’s position on the subject. Just sayin’.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Kris -
What about something like this?
And replace the shopping cart with a house icon (a bigger version of what is already there.)
Or this…
More “minimalist”…
http://lunarproperties.co.uk/images2/home_icons_search.jpg
Or, try this site using the search term “home search”..
http://www.iconfinder.net/
February 25th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
1. We are now officially ahead of the post about the duck on the old comment tally board.
2. Jay, thanks to your four links, I had to drag you out of moderation, which I am now regretting - Another research project is all I needed! Seriously, thanks for the links. I am officially tabling it until tomorrow morning when I will be better rested.
3. I had a ” #3,” but I forgot.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Way more better Kris!
The long URL in my comment above stretched the comment box so it sent your sidebar way down below….
Sorry about that. Shoulda used tinyURL. Feel free to edit, or kill it.
Or, even better, there is a nifty WordPress plugin that will fix that. It’s called “WP-Chunk”. Should be standard on all WP blogs.
As for the NAR sniping about the use of “MLS”…. don’t get me started again… ;).
http://www.village-idiot.org/archives/2006/06/29/wp-chunk/
“my broker does not allow IDX to be imbedded in a blog.”
Sigh. But it’s OK in “regular” web site?? Dare I ask the logic in that thought process?
February 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Kris: Ben and Lu must hang out with one of my Search people, Mr. I.B. Rentin.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Jay - No worries. I fixed you. I am having to save my side bar at least twice a week. Now that you gave me one more “good idea,” I will add your widget to my tomorrow’s to-do list. Thanks for all your help!
IDX on blogs: This is all I know. “IDX property searches may not be posted to blogs. I haven’t made the time to find out if it is a matter of interpretation, and they mean “other people’s blogs.” I suppose that could be the case, now that I think about it, although that is not what the policy says.
Thomas - I haven’t seen the I.B. Rentin one before, and I thought I had seen them all! That’s funny!
February 25th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Man, I miss a couple hours and miss the whole conversation
I think the current “House for sale” graphic used (it’s now 6:44) is a an improvement, but my vote has to go to Jay’s 2nd link.