Realtors® Reaffirm Commitment to realtor.com®

CHICAGO (July 24, 2013) – The National Association of Realtors® Board of Directors today reaffirmed NAR’s commitment to making realtor.com® the first, best online destination for home buyers and sellers. The board voted in favor of recommendations to modify an existing operating agreement that will help the site compete more effectively in an evolving online marketplace. “Over the years, Realtors® have invested a lot of time and millions of dollars in building information technology to give consumers online access to real estate information, and we know that consumer demand for all things ‘home’ has never been greater,” said NAR President [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:31-07:00July 24th, 2013|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

5 Ways to End the “MLS/Broker Stand-off”

A few weeks ago I wrote a post called the “Challenge for Positive Change” that highlighted many of the relationship dysfunctions we are experiencing in the industry today. At Inman Connect in San Francisco I was invited to be part of a panel called the MLS/Broker Stand-off.  It’s clear that there are many that are feeling as though our industry could be working together much better than it is at the moment. I’ve been thinking a lot about what is causing this stand-off and trying to find suggestions about ways to fix it. Here’s what I’ve come up with so [...]

Instagram Quickly Becoming a Value Brand-building Video Tool

Anybody who has children has probably known about Instagram for a while now as a photo sharing social media site.  It is by far my 10-year-old daughter’s favorite method for sharing her life with her friends. Two weeks ago, Instagram began offering the ability to share short videos on their site and it has exploded. In just two weeks there have been amazing brand video ads for corporations placed on the site.  You can check them out here.  From what I could see with the videos I reviewed so far, there are a few ways that real estate companies and [...]

Hotel Industry is Trying to Put the “Horse Back in the Barn”

The concept of Listing Syndication is just as prevalent in marketing hotel rooms as it is with real estate inventory today.  There are many syndication sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hotwire and hundreds more.  In theory, these sites were set up, in theory to HELP hotels, especially with last minute inventory to maximize their ability to sell room nights. Sound familiar?  The Theory failed. What actually happened though was that these sites have disintermediated consumers from corporate hotel sites like Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and others. It changed the way consumers shop and eroded hotel price points. Moreover, it eroded the ability for hotels [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:32-07:00June 27th, 2013|Main category, MLS Insights, Our Company|1 Comment

New View of Broker Social Media Strategy

One of the key shifts in online marketing that has occurred over the past 5 years is the evolution of social media marketing. What is astounding is how far removed most broker websites are from executing baseline social media strategies effectively. Brokers have largely ignored developing a social media strategy. Only a few have a social media director. Agents are aimlessly running wild on social media in ways that diffuse the impact of a common voice. Social Media calls to action are poorly represented on listing detail pages of broker websites Social Media is poorly leveraged on agent profile pages [...]

Imprev Roars with Mobile Marketing for Agents

Imprev has long been a behind the scenes type of company. Historically they partner with Giant franchises, Giant Brokers ,or Giant technology companies to deliver fully integrated and smart marketing solutions that agents access through their back office intranet. Imprev's solution includes a full suite of print marketing like flyers and postcards; and a full digital marketing suite which includes digital flyers, online campaigns, listing presentations, virtual property tours, and lots of other features. Recently, they have been in the industry eye for the release of their new system (developed with help from 1000WattConsulting) and plunging headlong into mobile. Today, Imprev gives agents [...]

A new tenor to integrated solutions for brokerage

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago visiting a broker when I encountered the Trulia team in the airport heading over to Market Leader. During the entire flight home my head spun with ideas about how these two companies would blend their talents to serve consumers and the real estate community better. We have clients who leverage these companies to their fullest, and others who don't. It has never been the providence of a consultant to champion one strategy over another. Helping others execute the strategy that is right for their business to maximize their opportunity is our charge. [...]

Former MLS Executives Open Keller-Williams Franchise in Montreal

  MONTRÉAL, Qc – June 24, 2013 Congratulations to Anne St. Dennis and Michel Beauséjour for moving from their executive positions in the MLS world to open their own Keller-Williams franchise! They have co-founded a Keller Williams francise in downtown Montreal under the name of KW Urbain. It’s an aggressive move for North America’s largest real estate franchise, a calculated move that took roughly three years as the Austin-based corporate head office familiarized itself with the language laws and Quebec brokerage act. “We saw the immense potential of opening a real estate franchise in Quebec that is completely broker-centric, learning [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:32-07:00June 24th, 2013|Main category, Press Releases|3 Comments

The War That Few Are Watching

There is a War being waged between the leading portals today. They are fighting with all of their might to be leaders in consumer website traffic. Today, Zillow is in the lead with Realtor.com on their heals and Trulia not far behind. Homes.com is pacing with the pack too, and perhaps showed just how strong they are by climbing the rankings at a remarkable pace in 2012. In an announcement released yesterday, Move proclaimed victory at retaining their relationship with MSN.com, the portal operated by Microsoft. I tried to get information about the battle, but limited facts were made available. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:33-07:00June 19th, 2013|Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|4 Comments

More MLSs launch FIND search from MOVE

Move spread the news this morning that MRED (Chicago) MLS PIN (Boston and most of Mass) and SFAR (San Francisco) have all entered into agreements to offer the FIND product. If you are not familiar with FIND, it is a product that was the early candidate for the National Association of REALTOR's Property Library. It ties all of the active listing data on Realtor.com to a suite of extensive property attributes ranging from demographic data to flood maps to airplane fly over zones and noise. The Find products sits at the top of the page when the agent is logged [...]

It’s a Kid’s World – Are you ready?

I just watched a fascinating documentary called Consuming Kids highlighting how advertisers are tapping into the ever-growing purchasing power of children under the age of 12. According to the film, children directly control $40 Billion in spending and indirectly influence over $700 billion in spending. The documentary goes on to talk about how brands are trying to create relationships with kids as soon as they can to create life long relationships. They are trying to create young “super” consumers that will be committed to purchasing their products throughout their lifetime. In my days at Fisher-Price, we never thought about the [...]

Challenge for Positive Change

I have been reflecting on what I observed at NAR’s Mid-year conference and I have to tell you that I am more than a bit disheartened. While there is more optimism than there was even a few months ago about the health of the market, there is more dysfunction than ever in “organized” real estate. Concern #1 – The Large Broker/MLS Conflict Since I’ve been involved in real estate I have observed tensions between large brokers and MLSs at least in some markets. The negativity and disillusionment shown between these two groups, particularly at the MLS Policy meeting, was epic.  [...]