Recently, I became one of the 43,310 people who follow Coldwell Banker on Twitter (@coldwellbanker), and even though the company tweets way too often for my taste, I’ve enjoyed many of the postings.
But yesterday, my experience with Coldwell’s Twitter page went from simple appreciation to deeper education. The tweet that brought it on stated, “Finish this statement: I wish my home had a______”.
At the time of this writing, 17 people had responded to the question. Here are their answers: I wish my home had a
>Taco Bell
>Inground pool
>Roof deck and parking
>Hot tub
>Secret passage to a private library
>Pool and swim-up bar
>View
>Batphone
>Usable attic space
>Complete remodel and swimming pool
>New kitchen
>Pool
>A safe with 50 million dollars
>A money tree
>Hot tub
>Bigger master bedroom closet
>A Justin Bieber
Right away, I noticed the obvious thing, which I’m sure you saw immediately as well: “A Justin Bieber” is not grammatically correct. Kidding, kidding. No, what was incredible is that out of the 17 people who expressed a wish for their home, six of them wanted a pool or hot tub. That’s 35 percent! Thinking I had misunderstood, I actually looked at the pool and spa-wishers’ Twitter pages to see if they were part of some special group on the site. They were not.
I then read the list to one of our senior editors, Rececca Robledo, to see what she thought. In looking over the people’s desires, we realized that they fell into three categories.
(1) Practical utilitarian items (bigger closet, usable attic space)
(2) Fantasy items (Batphone, Taco Bell)
(3) Pools and spas
“What do you think this means?” I asked Rebecca.
She paused for a second, thinking. Then she said something of great depth and insight, something I will remember every time I think of our product. “The people who want pools and spas are dreamers just like those who wish for a money tree,” she explained. “But a money tree is unattainable, so why waste time wanting it? A pool or spa, on the other hand, is a beautiful fantasy, yet it’s within reach. It’s a shiny dream that’s much more fun than a new closet, and makes a lot more sense than a secret passageway.”
I know it sounds like a cliché, but we are so lucky to be part of an industry that makes those dreams real. Besides, I heard Batphones get spotty reception.
