The Boutiques Catch On – But Are They Too Late?

One of the challenges that Boutique real estate offices have had over the years is their unwillingness to embrace changes in the way business is conducted.

The 1980’s

In the late 1980’s, some Realtors in Fairfield County, Ct. began to place name riders on their For Sale signs.  Most owners of the “high end” boutique offices felt that this was distasteful and did not allow their agents to do so.  A decade later, they changed their perspective and began to do the same.

The 1990’s

During the early 1990’s, many real estate offices decided to utilize voice mail.  The boutiques thought that voicemail was too impersonal and persisted in taking messages for their agents on telephone note pads.  By the end of the decade, they too were utilizing voicemail.

The Internet explosion also took place during the late 1990’s.  Real Estate offices began promoting their listings on their company website.  Some firms took it upon themselves to make a large investment in such, realizing that it had become the most efficient and effective way in which to showcase their properties to the world.  The boutiques viewed their website as a “secondary” means by which to advertise.

The New Millennium

As we entered the new millennium, Realtors found the use of email to be an impactful way in which to market their properties.  The boutiques found it annoying.  I remember receiving a request about four years ago from one of the boutiques in Fairfield County, asking that their office be removed from my group email list.  This week I received two separate emails from that same firm, announcing their broker open houses.  I won’t ask to be removed from their list.  I like to know what our competition is doing.

In one Fairfield County town, Realtors just recently stopped placing “Realtor Only” signs in front of their Broker Open Houses.  God forbid an actual buyer appear who just might be willing to present the homeowner with a full price offer.

The Second Decade

As the second decade of the millennium begins, we of course have now seen another explosion, that of social media.  A number of our Realtors, for instance, have been able to provide a high level of service from business that was initiated on Facebook.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes the boutiques to “warm up” to social media platforms.

Setting The Record Straight

Our group at Al Filippone Associates is regarded as a boutique itself.  It would be silly to think that I have anything but the highest regard for the benefits that many boutiques offices have to offer.  However, when the principals of these exclusive entities allow their resistance to change to negatively affect their ability to service their clients most effectively in today’s environment, it impacts everyone.  History has shown that they eventually engage in the change anyway, so why the initial reluctance?  The Boutique firms finally catch on, but do they so often resist at their own peril?

What has been your experience with companies of any kind that resist change?

Will there be a place for them in the next decade?

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