Why Good Businesses Lose to Worse Competitors (And How to Fix Your Marketing)

Do you know why good businesses lose to worse competitors?

It is a frustrating reality in the real estate industry (and every other industry!). You know you provide a superior service, yet a competitor who cuts corners continues to win the market share.

I am Jennie Wolek with The Wolek Group, and we recently had an amazing training class with my friend Jeffrey Metcalf of Metcalf Media. He broke down the exact reason why this happens and shared a painful—but necessary—exercise to help fix our marketing strategies.

The Problem with Referrals

Many business owners believe that referrals are the ultimate source for business growth. While referrals are fantastic because they provide incredibly warm leads, Jeffrey points out a hard truth: Referrals are not a predictable way to grow your business.

If you are relying solely on word-of-mouth, you are leaving your growth to chance. When you lose to a "worse" competitor, it is typically because they are doing a much better job of proactively talking to the market and communicating with your ideal customers.

The 5 Stages of Buyer Awareness

To fix your messaging, you have to understand Eugene Schwartz’s Five Stages of Awareness:

1. Unaware: They don't even know they have a problem.
2. Problem Aware: They realize they have a problem but don't know the solution.
3. Solution Aware: They know solutions exist, but not your specific product.
4. Product Aware: They know what you sell, but aren't sure if it's right for them.
5. Most Aware: They know your product and are ready to buy.

Not everyone in your market is ready to take action and buy a home today. But at some point, most of them will be! If your marketing only speaks to people in Stage 5 ("Call me today to list your house!"), you are missing out on capturing the vast majority of the market.

The 15-Post Social Media Audit

Jeffrey challenged our team with a powerful exercise that you can do right now:

Go through your business's social media profile and look at your last 10 to 15 posts. Mark down which of the five stages of awareness each post targets.

What most struggling companies find is that they are entirely focused on stages 4, 5, and sometimes 1. They completely miss stages 2 and 3. Those middle stages are critical for nurturing your audience and moving potential customers down the funnel. Because the bottom of the funnel is a very small percentage of the market, neglecting the top and middle means you are leaving massive opportunities on the table.

Connect with Metcalf Media

If you need help auditing your messaging or need high-level media production and marketing support, Jeffrey is a wealth of knowledge!

You can follow him on Instagram at @MetcalfMediaTulsa or visit his website at metcalf-media.com.

And of course, if you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Tulsa area, reach out to The Wolek Group today!