We have written before about the suggested shifts away from auctioneers using the word “auction” in their advertising. Most notably:
The word “auction” in auction marketing?: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/the-word-auction-in-auction-marketing/
The Ford F-150 Experiment: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/the-ford-f-150-experiment/
You don’t know what an “auction” is?: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2016/10/06/you-dont-know-what-an-auction-is/
Today, we explore another viewpoint. Instead of looking at Google and search patterns, what about the conversations people are having otherwise around the United States?
In 2014 Diansheng Guo gathered data from billions of tweets via (Twitter.) Thereafter, Jack Grieve, a forensic linguist at Aston University and Andrea Nini of the University of Manchester, found the top 100,000 words used in these tweets and how often they are used in every county in the continental United States, based on location data from Twitter.
What appears somewhat counter to the anti-auction-in-marketing-campaign claim is that the word “auction” is tweeted nearly as much (if not more) than the words “price,” “buy” and “sale.”
People talking about “auctions” is people thinking about “auctions.” As auctioneers, we want the public thinking about auctions — to drive those folks to our auction events. If people aren’t thinking auction, they might just as well shop at an automobile dealer to find that elusive Ford F-150, instead of trying to find one at auction.
As I watch college football bowl games here in late December, I see ads from Home Depot, Lowes and Kroger, amoung others. For those unfamiliar, Home Depot, Lowes, and Kroger sell some of the same products; their ads today were saying, “Come in to our store” much more than specifying what each store has in inventory …
Auctioneers conduct auction events, and we as auctioneers want the public to come to our [collective] stores — and buy what we are putting up for offers. Along with that, we want people to search our auction events to find what they are looking to buy.
It would seem to me the less auctioneers use the word “auction” the less people will think auction; the less people think auction, the less they will tend to search out auctions to find what they desire. Less bidders means less money, and less net proceeds for our sellers.
On the contrary, the more people think “auction,” the more they will seek out auction events — more bidders means more money and more net proceeds for our sellers. Auctioneers have at minimum a fiduciary duty to maximize their sellers’ proceeds …
My recommendation? If you’re an auctioneer having an auction [event] tell the public it’s an auction. Get people talking about your auction, and they might get addicted to the auction marketing method. Further, turn some of those bidders/buyers into future sellers. Lastly, rest assured people are already talking [tweeting] about your chosen profession.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College of Business, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School and Faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University.
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