CIR Realty, Alberta’s largest real estate brokerage with 12 offices, says it is moving away from traditional real estate company marketing by focusing on the individual excellence of its salespeople.
It says the traditional brokerage mandate allows its salespeople to use only company-created marketing pieces, including for sale signage. But it says consumer research shows that “people choose to work with a Realtor not because of the brokerage or brand they work for, but because of who that Realtor is as an individual.”
Lindsey Smith, co-owner of CIR, says, “We know we have a strong brand that is well respected, and as a company, we don’t believe we need to build our brand by restricting a Realtor’s ability to build theirs.”
The company has created several in-house, proprietary technology systems to help Realtors customize their marketing materials. It also expanded its in-house marketing team to seven people.
“Every buyer and every seller has unique needs. They also have different personalities and different backgrounds,” says Smith. “If we force Realtors to represent themselves the same way, and use one-size-fits-all marketing designs for their listing advertising, how are we honouring the individuality of our Realtors or their clients in a transaction?”
