How do you make your offer stand out—and truly memorable?
No flashy body curves. No adorable babies, luxury villas in Tuscany, or infinity pools, bold red fonts, trending memes, or viral news hooks.
Yet, a week ago, I saw something that completely won me over—both as a potential buyer and as a marketer.
Yet, a week ago, I saw something that completely won me over—both as a potential buyer and as a marketer.
Real estate agents are, at their core, incredible marketers 😎
I have a small guilty pleasure: browsing homes in areas that might interest us in the future. Five years, thousands of listings. I’ve seen it all—or so I thought.
Then, last week, amidst the usual flood of 50+ listing photos—sunset-lit terraces and cozy sofas—I saw something refreshingly different.
📄 Two simple text screenshots.
An “Interview with the Seller” answering just three questions:
✔️ Why did you buy this house?
✔️ Tell us a little about the area.
✔️ What will you miss most?
That’s it. No frills, just 1.5 pages of text. But what was really behind it?
The fundamental concept of the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework—which I work with and which helps to understand clients and their needs—is the idea of a “job.” A job is the task a customer is trying to accomplish when they choose a particular solution (product). In other words, the client hires a product to do a job.
I have a small guilty pleasure: browsing homes in areas that might interest us in the future. Five years, thousands of listings. I’ve seen it all—or so I thought.
Then, last week, amidst the usual flood of 50+ listing photos—sunset-lit terraces and cozy sofas—I saw something refreshingly different.
📄 Two simple text screenshots.
An “Interview with the Seller” answering just three questions:
✔️ Why did you buy this house?
✔️ Tell us a little about the area.
✔️ What will you miss most?
That’s it. No frills, just 1.5 pages of text. But what was really behind it?
The fundamental concept of the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework—which I work with and which helps to understand clients and their needs—is the idea of a “job.” A job is the task a customer is trying to accomplish when they choose a particular solution (product). In other words, the client hires a product to do a job.
So, what “jobs” does a person have when buying a house?
Let’s take a real example: a couple with a child, unfamiliar with the city, with no local network of friends or family to consult, looking to buy a home in a suburban area.
Beyond the basics—1) staying within budget, 2) finding the right size, 3) being close to work, and 4) choosing an area they like (which filters and photos on real estate websites help with)—there are additional, critical jobs:
5️⃣ Making sure the house is in the right school district
6️⃣ Understanding the neighborhood—who lives there, is it safe, what are the neighbors like?
7️⃣ Checking out infrastructure—shops, cafes, services nearby
8️⃣ Finding out what activities are available—nature, museums, kids’ clubs
Real estate sites partially help with job #5. Some realtors list good school districts in the ad title, but not always.
But jobs #6, #7, and #8? The listing won’t tell you. The usual solution? Scouring forums, asking colleagues, visiting the area in person.
💡 Yet here, with just 1.5 pages of text, the realtor added both useful and emotionally engaging information to the 55 listing photos—directly answering the questions already in my head. They helped me with four critical “jobs,” saving me time and effort.
If I were actively house-hunting, I would 100% check out this listing. Would I consider another house in the same school district but without this text? Sure—but it would rank lower on my list.
I’ve already started seeing more listings with this approach, and I’m sure it will soon become common practice. Maybe over time, it will lose its uniqueness, and more generic, formal texts will appear—but overall, it’s a great idea that genuinely benefits home buyers. 🙂
February 21, 2025
Let’s take a real example: a couple with a child, unfamiliar with the city, with no local network of friends or family to consult, looking to buy a home in a suburban area.
Beyond the basics—1) staying within budget, 2) finding the right size, 3) being close to work, and 4) choosing an area they like (which filters and photos on real estate websites help with)—there are additional, critical jobs:
5️⃣ Making sure the house is in the right school district
6️⃣ Understanding the neighborhood—who lives there, is it safe, what are the neighbors like?
7️⃣ Checking out infrastructure—shops, cafes, services nearby
8️⃣ Finding out what activities are available—nature, museums, kids’ clubs
Real estate sites partially help with job #5. Some realtors list good school districts in the ad title, but not always.
But jobs #6, #7, and #8? The listing won’t tell you. The usual solution? Scouring forums, asking colleagues, visiting the area in person.
💡 Yet here, with just 1.5 pages of text, the realtor added both useful and emotionally engaging information to the 55 listing photos—directly answering the questions already in my head. They helped me with four critical “jobs,” saving me time and effort.
If I were actively house-hunting, I would 100% check out this listing. Would I consider another house in the same school district but without this text? Sure—but it would rank lower on my list.
I’ve already started seeing more listings with this approach, and I’m sure it will soon become common practice. Maybe over time, it will lose its uniqueness, and more generic, formal texts will appear—but overall, it’s a great idea that genuinely benefits home buyers. 🙂
February 21, 2025
Maria Jonsson,
Hands-on Product Marketing Manager
Hands-on Product Marketing Manager
Helping small and medium-sized B2B businesses bring more structure to marketing and make better decisions based on real market, customer, competitor, and product insight.
I work across market and customer analysis, positioning and messaging, go-to-market, sales support, and marketing optimisation — combining research with hands-on execution rather than stopping at recommendations.
I strongly believe in data-informed marketing: not messaging, channels, or visuals “because we like them”, but decisions grounded in what is actually happening in the market and what customers need.
Over the years, I’ve worked on 100+ projects, across 80+ products and 55 geographical markets.
I work across market and customer analysis, positioning and messaging, go-to-market, sales support, and marketing optimisation — combining research with hands-on execution rather than stopping at recommendations.
I strongly believe in data-informed marketing: not messaging, channels, or visuals “because we like them”, but decisions grounded in what is actually happening in the market and what customers need.
Over the years, I’ve worked on 100+ projects, across 80+ products and 55 geographical markets.
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