2009 November | Active Website Enterprise Network Blog

Sustainable Education

November 12, 2009

Filed under: Agent Training & Education,Real Estate Trends,Sustainability

In keeping with the spirit of this week’s discussion on sustainability, we want to shed light on the Greenbuild 2009 conference and expo that is currently underway in Phoenix, AZ. This 3 day conference kicked off yesterday and is the world’s largest conference dedicated to green building. This expo is open to the general public and thousands of professionals ranging from architects to urban planners to universities come together for educational sessions, exhibits, and workshops centered on sustainable innovations in the industry. Find out more about the expo by visiting http://www.greenbuildexpo.org.

This is a great way for companies to network with their peers and industry experts to share thoughts and ideas on pushing the green movement forward. As real estate companies, we should be working towards the same goal. We are in constant contact with interior designers, landscapers, construction companies, and other building professionals and we should think of these connections as an opportunity. Take a look around your community; you’ll find a number of local businesses that are incorporating green initiatives into their work. By teaming up with these individuals, we are setting a great example for how to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle.

So what does this mean for our customers? Simply put- it’s about education. If we’re working with green companies and making an effort to learn about the importance of sustainable living, we are able to pass this along to our customers. We have an opportunity to teach people how to live consciously. By helping people think of a product’s life cycles, by helping them to make the choice not to waste energy and by informing them how to live better and smarter, we’re able to have a much smaller negative impact on the earth.

It’s not an easy task on our part, but it’s important from a company stand point as well. Over the last few years sustainability awareness has increased dramatically, but there are still some common myths about going green that we’d like to address. By knowing our customers’ misconceptions, we are better equipped to address these concerns. Like we’ve said before, it’s important to meet the demands of our customers. As our customers move toward a more eco-friendly attitude, it’s important as a business to understand the questions they may have on the topic.

Here are a few common myths consumers have when purchasing homes and how we can address them.

Myth #1: Sustainability is too expensive: There is this idea that green products cost more, but as newer technology is introduced and consumer demand increases, prices will drop. It may cost more up front for an Energy Star refrigerator, but once it’s installed in your home, you have the potential of cutting that related cost in half. For more information on Energy Star appliances, visit http://www.energystar.gov.

Myth #2: Sustainability means lowering our standard of living: Sustainability isn’t about having to turn down our heat and pile on the sweaters. Sustainability is about doing more and using less energy. For example, keep the thermostat on a timer. By lowering the temperature during the day when you’re not home will help cut your energy costs down.

Myth # 3: Going green is overwhelming and time consuming: People are busy these days and don’t think they have the time to find different ways to go green. This is a great way for us to step up to the plate. When we show potential buyers a home, start a discussion on ways to make the house more energy efficient. Give them the resources needed to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Sustainability is not a passing fad and if we start now, we’re going to be better prepared at interacting with this new age consumer. If Greenbuild 2009 is any indication, companies around the world understand the importance of green living and are working to stay ahead of their competition by meeting the needs of these eco-conscious consumers. As we’ve said before, the customer is the key to our success and we must adapt to their changing lifestyle. For more information for green building and education, check out the Washington D.C. based U.S. Green Building Council (the host of Greenbuild 2009) at http://www.usgbc.org.

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Sustainability and the LOHAS Consumer

November 10, 2009

Filed under: Active Enterprise Network,Active Website,Marketing,Real Estate Community,Real Estate Trends,Sustainability

Following up on last week’s discussion about the importance of a customer centric business model, we’d like to emphasize how a shift toward sustainability can be marketed to a growing number of consumers. Jim Hall, Managing Director for Waste Management’s Green Squad, gave us a great example at our conference of how we can incorporate a green message into our business practices.

More than ever before, customers are actively seeking companies that implement these green initiatives. Sustainability is a cultural transformation and is the next big thing to drive business. Below is a chart Jim presented that shows the progression of innovation over the past 3 centuries.

By becoming a more environmentally conscious business, you become more desirable to the LOHAS consumer. LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability and focuses on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living.

The LOHAS consumer makes up 30% of the population and accounts for $230 billion in annual purchases. They are interested in green building supplies, socially responsible investing, alternative healthcare, organic clothing and food, and energy efficient products – just to name a few. The environment is at the core of a LOHAS consumer’s belief system and their purchase decisions are made with these criteria in mind. More importantly for us, they want to work with companies who share the same values.

This eco-friendly customer is here to stay and it’s time we start meeting their demands. LOHAS leaders are always looking for new and innovative products and techniques to improve their global viewpoint. There are a lot of things you can do to market yourself to a LOHAS consumer, but here are 5 easy steps towards becoming a more eco-friendly company (and can help you cut costs too!):

Change Your Light Bulbs: This is one of the easiest and quickest ways you can save energy. By installing compact florescent bulbs (CFL) you can cut down on electricity use by 75%.
Unplug Your Electronics: Computers, TVs, and other everyday electronics still use energy even when they are powered off. Unplug these devices from the wall at the end of the day and reduce energy by 25%.
Go Paperless: While it’s probably not realistic to never use paper again, there are ways you can cut back. Use email and electronic documents whenever possible to cut down on paper use and when you do have to print, make sure to print on both sides of the paper. Decreasing the amount of paper used is a great way to save money in your budget.
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse: Promote the use of recycled paper because it takes 64% less energy to produce. Another way to reduce your carbon footprint is to refill your ink cartridges and find alternative uses for old equipment. By donating old computers to your local schools or nonprofit, you become a more active member in the community and save yourself a trip to the landfill.
Walk the Talk: In other words, practice what you preach. Make an effort to train your staff about the importance of sustainability. Remember, it’s about aligning these values with the both the company and the brand.

To find out more about LOHAS check out www.lohas.com.

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Becoming an “Inside Out” Business

November 6, 2009

Filed under: Active Enterprise Network,Active Website,Real Estate Technology

I came across a great blog this week reiterating the message we are trying to get out to the Enterprise Network. Mark Suster, General Partner at GRP Partners, wrote an interesting column entitled, 5 Tips to Becoming a More Customer Centric Organization that spoke about the importance of becoming an “Inside Out” company. Follow Mark’s blog at www.bothsidesofthetable.com.

An “Inside Out” company gives the customer a transparent look at what is really happening internally. This business model doesn’t hide from the consumer; instead, by letting outsiders see the inner workings of the business- what they’re working on, the struggles they’re facing, ect.- it gives the consumer a better understanding of the every day trials and tribulations that a business goes through.

According to Mark, “By letting our customers and the market know that we are a real organization with real people rather than a pre-packaged, pre-processed marketing machine, customers, press and the market respond positively.”

This is a great point. By exposing ourselves, we give an honest insight to customers that many companies try to cover. It builds a sense of trust- sure we may not be perfect, but at least we’re working to fix our flaws. At Active Website, we like to do business the same way. Whether it be our achievements or our downfalls, members can see what is really going on behind the scenes. And we’re better for it.

By putting everything in front of the customer for them to see, you’ll get valuable feedback in return. What can be more crucial to our success than adapting to the demands of our customers? This is why Mark’s blog this week really hit home for us. We all should move to this business model in an effort to ensure customers are getting the most out of our services.

Here are Mark’s 5 tips in becoming a More Customer Centric Organization:

Understand Customer Requirements
Watch User Interactions
Get Customers Involved in Product Priorities
Openness in Blogging
Immerse Technologists in the Field

For more details, click here for Mark’s blog on this topic. He gives fantastic examples of companies that are adapting to this business model and offers a lot of great insight for putting the customer first!

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Finding Ways to Connect to Our Customers

November 4, 2009

Filed under: Active Enterprise Network,Blogging,Content,Real Estate Technology,Residential Properties Ltd.,Video

We’d like to spotlight Enterprise Network Member Residential Properties out of Rhode Island in today’s blog. Residential Properties entered a video into the 2009 REALTOR Party Video Contest on YouTube in an effort to extend the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

This video features a first time homebuyer and single mom, Andrea Larocque, and Kathy Vaillancourt from Residential’s Narragansett office. With the tax credit, Andrea, who struggled to get out of debt after putting herself through school to become a radiology technician, was able to purchase a home for her and her nine-year-old son, Isaiah.

This is an inspiring video that tells a story about the importance of our customers. It’s about the emotional connection- what can we do to showcase our efforts in putting the customer first? Videos, blogs, and social networking sites can all be used to our advantage. With so many avenues for reaching out to people, we need to start finding new ways to utilize these great opportunities. Residential’s video didn’t take any expensive equipment to accomplish this task, just the desire to use these great resources to meet the needs of their customers. Follow Residential’s blog by clicking here.

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A Customer Centric Model

November 2, 2009

Filed under: Real Estate Technology

This is the first in a series of blog articles discussing topics from our 2nd Annual Enterprise Network Conference. This week, we are focusing on the importance of putting the customer first. With the theme of this year.s event being Winning Customers and Influencing Markets, Active Website understands that the driving force behind our success is the customer. Make sure to keep checking back this week for more blogs on this topic!

At our conference this year, Rich Sands, Real Estate Speaker/Sales Trainer from Rich Sands Seminars Inc. gave a presentation on Tomorrow.s Realtor Today. Visit Rich Sand’s website by clicking here.

Rich focused on five key factors in understanding today.s consumer. These concepts were:

Understanding that the world is constantly changing, and so are the people in it.
The skills needed for the next stages of technology are different than what we currently know.
The way people learn and use the Internet is crucial.
Expertise rules.
It may be the same game, but we have to learn to adapt to the changing equipment.

Rich gave us a great example of how this affected the travel industry. In 1996, Jonathon Webb spoke at the National Convention for Travel Agents and was quoted saying, .Given the complexity and personal touch involved in our profession, we do not believe the computer to be a threat to our industry..

Obviously, this wasn.t the case. As customers become more immersed in the online world, the way they searched for airline flights changed as well. Online travel sites such as Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com are now household names because they adapted to meet the demands of their customers. It.s about the NOW factor – people expect immediate results. All the information you need to book your own vacation or business trip is in the hands of the customer. Think about yourself, where do you go to search for flights – Your local travel agent or one of these online companies?

While people probably won’t be buying homes online by themselves anytime soon, they still come to our sites with certain expectations. It’s all about instant gratification and we need to make sure we.re meeting this demand. With or without us, customers are leading the future for the real estate industry and we must seize the opportunity and become a more customer centric business. If not, we run the risk of being left behind. In short, we must evolve when our customers evolve.

Reiterating this point, we leave you with an animation stressing the importance of the customer centric model created by Enterprise Project Director at Active Website, Ido Zucker.

Find more videos like this on Active Enterprise Network Portal

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