Real estate has changed dramatically during the past decade. The stream of property information now available online — largely through companies such as Trulia and Zillow — has eliminated agents’ monopoly on access to information and, in doing so, transferred power to every consumer with an Internet connection.

Buyers and sellers now control the real estate process, a massive shift that has forced brands and agents to react. Those reactions, however, are too often misdirected toward quantity (leads bought in bulk, higher conversion rates, more Facebook or LinkedIn connections) as opposed to quality, a costly mistake for real estate professionals.

As companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and Zappos have shown us, great experiences are the best way to grow business. Agents must heed those lessons and connect personally with their customers, not through “spray and pray” marketing tactics that treat clients as just another number.