Lost in the ongoing discussion about Redfin’s recent appearance on the Today Show is the blatant Redfin geek-baiting of their “Redfin Scientist” marketing push.

Many Realtors have looked at this document with it’s “No, duh!” recommendations (stay engaged, don’t overprice your property, do advertise it on the web) and thought, “I don’t need any ’scientist’ or ‘research paper’ to tell me that!  It’s just obvious!!!”

It may be obvious or it may not be obvious, but here’s the stroke of genius on Redfin’s part:  one of their core target demographics — Gen  X and Y geeks living in high-priced markets — tend to not take our assertions as fact until they see the underlying data-driven proof.

As a Gen X geek myself, I completely relate.  When the old-timers in the business say, “This doesn’t feel like a normal Fall market”, I don’t take it on faith.  I download a data set from the MLS, crunch some numbers, and come to my own conclusion.  Far more often than not, the old-timers’ intuition is spot on…but I’m not comfortable with their assertions until I see them backed up with data.

If I had a nickel for every time a Realtor told a prospective client at a listing appointment “Don’t overprice your home” but provided no hard data to back up that assertion, I’d have retired a long time ago.  Many folks are comfortable with assertions, but “geeks” (which I define as data-driven technology lovers) for the most part want the numbers.

Redfin recognizes this and gives it to them.

Traditional real estate advertising targets a geographic niche, typically a town or neighborhood.  One of Redfin’s primary niches — perhaps their largest one — is a demographic niche:  the geek market, or, more precisely, geeks in high-priced markets.  And guess what?  Seattle and the Bay Area, their two primary markets are not only expensive but are also full of geeks!  I have no inside information about their sales numbers, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if 25% of their Seattle business consists of Google and Microsoft employees.

The lesson in all this?  Know thy customer.  If you’re Redfin and your customer is a geek, give him the numbers.  State the obvious, state the not-so-obvious…but back it up with numbers.  Future studies I’d like to see coming out of Redfin’s scientists (or heck, maybe I’ll do them myself) include:

• Staging your home is a positive ROI investment.  Really?  Show me the numbers.  I suspect it’s true, but I’d love to see a study that compares the sales price of, say, $800K homes with and without staging.  Do the homeowners that invest $5,000 in staging really sell their home for at least $5000 more than the ones who don’t?
• Taking more and better pictures of your home makes your home sell quicker and for more money.  I’ve seen the numbers that prove a listing with more and better pictures gets a lot more online views, but do those views translate into more open house visitors and eventually into a higher price?
• Selling your home with a full-service broker will net you more than going with a discount broker.  Again, a common assertion.  Show me the data!  If, for instance, the average full-service commission in an area is 5.5% and the average discount commission in an area is 3.5%, are full-service brokers typically able to get a 2% or greater premium on the sales price?

No tag for this post. Possibly related posts

• Today’s sign that the apocalypse is nigh (Part 2)
• The Lessons Of Redfin, Part I: The Marketing Value Of The Obvious
• And Redfin wonders why some traditional real estate agents are, um, “hostile”?