After living in the US for over 16 years there’s one thing I’ve learned American’s don’t like to hear: they aren’t #1 at everything.
Professionally I see this most with mobile technology. I experienced it myself several years ago when I bought a phone just before a trip to England. As a joke I asked the sales person (I won’t name the company, let’s just call them Verizon) “Will it work in London?” and to my surprise he said “no” and with a big smile and some pride added “but you can rent a phone from one of our London stores”. I laughed out loud, not from my (bad) joke but from shock, and responded “Are you kidding me? Rent a phone?”
I explained that European phones had, for many years, worked all over the world and asked why US mobile technology was a decade behind. That was the first time I saw the confused face coupled with “Really?”
I’ve had the same conversation many times since but now more tactfully point out that with countries like Japan doing things with phones that American’s haven’t even thought about there is a huge opportunity: we can see what is coming. Companies like Mobile Card Cast are well ahead of the game and it’s why we partnered with them to provide free SMS/texting services on our single property Website sign riders. But therein lies a problem.
To my continued surprise we still get regular complaints from Realtors: “What are all these numbers on the sign rider?” We explain that it is a free service that provides interested buyers with a mobile version of the single property Website while simultaneously generating leads for the Realtor. Too often this results in a response of either “What is texting?” or “How do I text?”
This proves my point, especially in real estate, that America has a long (very long) way to go when it comes to understanding (step one) then effectively using (step two) mobile technology. And so to my good friend Matthew Ferrara who recently posted this article. This isn’t astrology (“You will meet a dark handsome man who will appreciate your candor”) but good, old fashioned, common sense advice. Enjoy:
Written By: Matthew Ferrara
Matthew Ferrara
According to a recent study by Nielsen Wire, Under-aged Texting: Usage and Actual Cost, the social shift from traditional communications styles is ramping up with younger generations. There was a time when REALTORS were exasperated that consumers didn’t want to leave a voice mail, and some buyers expected to hear back within a few minutes (at least the hour) when they sent an email. Just how ready they’ll be when the next wave of first-time renters and fledgling buyers comes along and prefers to text chat, even while sitting in the front seat of the car.
Don’t laugh; Nielsen notes that teenagers are sending more than 3,000 texts a month, or about 10 per hour they aren’t sleeping or in school. Children under 12 years of age are right behind, sending four message per non-school hour. Kids are texting their parents at the dinner table and from the living room sofa, while sitting right next to them.
Who’s to say that method of communication won’t become the norm for other interactions. Young people prefer to scan their own barcodes rather than wait in line for a cashier to check them out. They use text-messaging to receive information about houses directly from the sign; why should they “upgrade” to a voice call when they didn’t really want to talk in the first place?
At some point, won’t they have to talk to us? Probably, but don’t think texting won’t be present in that “conversation” either. The style, duration and depth of future conversations may be radically different than those we have today. It was a huge leap from the “Sixty Minutes” of news to “Headline News” to Tweets as news today. The message changed along with the method. Whereas Boomers once dreamed about living in a home for a decade, clutching a paper listing sheet in their hands, Gen Y previews homes on their iPad and imagines living it – until the next model is released in a year or two.
As Marshal McLuhan foretold, “the medium is the message.” For the next, next generation of consumers, it could turn out that the text message is the message. As for REALTORS, 49% of whom still don’t own a smartphone in 2010, it’s time for them to get the message.
