Consumers are attracted by great products but retained by great service. Zac Kennedy breaks down how to mentally “click” between being a ruthless product marketer and an empathetic service provider.
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If you walk into any sales meeting in America and ask, “Is real estate a product business or a service business?” you will get the same answer every time.
“It’s a service business.”
Agents are trained to say this. It feels noble. It feels safe. It separates us from the “salesy” stereotypes of the past. But there is a massive flaw in this mindset, and it is costing agents money.
Here is the cold reality: We are scored on our service, but we are paid on our product.
We aren’t paid for being nice or answering the phone on Sundays; we are paid when an asset transfers ownership. If we can’t market a home with the rigor of Apple, we are missing the boat.
Apple proves this hierarchy works. The iPhone is the “gateway” product ($209 billion in revenue) that captures the customer, while the high-margin “Services” segment (iCloud, AppleCare) acts as the engine of retention.
Similarly, car dealerships often sell new vehicles at razor-thin margins just to acquire the buyer, knowing that nearly 80 percent of their profit comes from the “back end” service department.
The lesson is clear: Your listing is the iPhone or the shiny new car — it is the acquisition hook. Your expertise is the iCloud or the Service Department — it is the retention engine.
If you fail to market the product effectively, you never earn the opportunity to demonstrate the service.
Successful agents master this duality, knowing exactly when to “click” into Product Mode to win the eye, and Service Mode to win the heart.
The great divide: Attraction vs. retention
To fix your marketing, you have to understand the fundamental split in consumer psychology.
1. Product marketing attracts (The Bait)
Product marketing is about the thing. It is tangible. It is objective.
- The Goal: Create desire.
- The Mechanic: Features, specifications, price and aesthetic appeal.
- The Psychology: “I want that object because it solves a problem or elevates my status.”
In real estate, the product is the listing. Buyers are not scrolling Zillow looking for a “responsive agent.” They are looking for a four-bedroom colonial with a pool. The product is the bait that attracts the market to you.
2. Service marketing retains (The Hook)
Service marketing is about the provider. It is intangible. It is subjective.
- The Goal: Build trust.
- The Mechanic: Responsiveness, expertise, problem-solving and empathy.
- The Psychology: “I trust this person to guide me safely through the fire.”
Service is what prevents the deal from falling apart. It is what turns a one-time transaction into a lifetime referral.
The mistake: Marketing service when you should be selling product
The reason many agents struggle to win listings — or struggle to sell them once they have them — is that they apply a “service mindset” to a “product problem.”
They post a photo of a new listing, but the caption is all about them: “Check out my new listing! Call me if you know someone!”
That is service marketing. And to a buyer who just wants to know if the house has a gas range or a finished basement, it is irrelevant noise.
When you have a listing, you must stop being a consultant and start being a brand manager. You must treat that home like a product on a shelf.
How to ‘click’ into product-based marketing
To implement this mindset, you need to strip away the emotion and look at the listing as an asset class.
- Define the USP (unique selling proposition): Every successful product has a specific angle. Is this home a “turnkey luxury retreat” or an “equity-building fixer”? You cannot market a product until you define what it is.
- The “specs” matter: In product sales, accuracy creates confidence. Apple lists the processor speed and battery life because specs sell. In real estate, your “specs” are the floor plan, the school ratings and the lot size. If you hide these or get them wrong, you have a defective product.
- Packaging is non-negotiable: If you saw a $1,000 pair of sneakers photographed on a dirty rug with a cell phone, you would assume they were fake. Yet, agents do this with $500,000 assets every day. Professional photography, staging and 3D tours aren’t “nice-to-haves” — they are standard product packaging.
The winning formula: Product for speed, service for longevity
The agents who dominate the next decade will be the ones who can toggle between these two modes instantly.
The ‘attract’ phase (product mode)
When you launch a listing, you are ruthless about the product. You spend money on the “packaging” (media). You obsess over the “price point” (market value). You distribute the “inventory” to every channel possible.
Result: You generate leads because the product looks undeniable.
*Take these lessons into marketing other agents’ listings (with their permission) as well.
The ‘retain’ phase (service mode)
Once the lead calls, you click the switch. Now, you stop selling the house and start selling your guidance. You demonstrate your negotiation protocols. You communicate with radical transparency. You protect their equity.
Result: You generate referrals because the experience felt safe.
The bottom line
Is real estate a service business? Yes.
Is real estate a product business? Yes.
If you focus only on service, you are a wonderful friend with no inventory.
If you focus only on product, you are a commodity with no loyalty.
The magic is in the middle. Market the listing like it’s the only thing that matters, and then serve the client like they are the only thing that matters.
Zac Kennedy is a qualifying broker with RealtySouth, serving buyers, sellers and agents across the Birmingham–Hoover, Alabama, metro. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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