Housing is front and center in the media this month: NBC nightly news on September 1st, home sales was the lead story, and now on the cover of time magazine. These are difficult times for your members who interact with consumers every day. Kudos to you if (1) your association’s lead (newsletter) story or (2) special email report addresses this timely topic.
This is a perfect time to help provide your members the answers to their – and their customers’ worries. Below are five things you can do today to show empathy and relevance in light of this negative media :
– The news reports may or may not be consistent with your market. If you have current market reports for your area, publish them again. Use e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, your website(s) and other means to clarify the negative reports. If this reaches consumers, it is all the better.
– Reinforce the reasons to own a home: build a home for their family, build community, and have privacy, and build equity throughout consistently paying down the principle of their loan. These are still the reasons to buy a home.
– Work with your AE and your MLS director to prepare simple, direct talking points about your market easy enough that a new member can understand.
– Offer someone to explain the reports – someone accessible at your office. Or schedule a webcast to review them as a group with members.
– Tell members NAR is working on a response to the recent reports.
Communications are critical now. Provide information that members can use today. This is a real life timely example of how to be relevant and deliver member value.
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