2010 April | Active Website Enterprise Network Blog

Active Community: Usability Recap

April 23, 2010

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

Happy Friday everyone! Today’s Active Community session wraps up our discussion on Active’s first usability study. For the past couple weeks, we’ve been talking about usability and the importance of keeping the customer at the forefront of design. After briefly reviewing the results from our Active Usability Lab study, we found there was a huge dichotomy between the broker and customer needs. Through online surveys and focus groups, we found that what customers ranked most important did not line up with the broker.

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Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2010

Filed under: Active Enterprise Network,Charles Reinhart Company Realtors,Real Estate Community,Sustainability

Because it’s Earth Day, we’d like to talk to you about ways you can tap into the “green” movement from a real estate perspective. The green real estate market is gaining momentum – no longer do granite countertops and stainless steel appliances distinguish homes from their competition. With more homes becoming EnergyStar and LEED certified, it’s important to stand out to buyers and sellers looking to do business with companies who share their same values.

Today’s consumers are becoming more and more environmentally-conscious, so as an industry it’s important to address these needs. Many consumers want to have a more positive impact on the environment and are looking to make their homes more energy efficient as a result. Here are some simple ways homeowners can make an impact:

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Active Community: Usability Lab, Part 2

April 16, 2010

Filed under: Active Community,Active Enterprise Network,Design,Real Estate Technology,Usability

Welcome everyone to Active Community. Last week, we introduced you to the Usability Lab and the three main areas of focus for data collection while walking you through a demonstration of Tobii Technology’s eye tracking system. Today we’re discussing part two of our Active Usability Lab findings.

Because we released our results to Active Enterprise Network Members today, we want to give you a little insight into our findings through the online surveys we conducted as well as our eye tracking focus groups. 350 users participated in the surveys and over 60 people were tested using the eye tracking system. Because the information we collected is so valuable, we’re only releasing the full results to our clients.

However, we’d like to give you a sneak peek. This week’s video presentation focuses on four main of our study: the homepage, certain components on the homepage, content and branding. But what we really want to emphasis is the different perceptions of what the broker wants verses what the user wants.

At our October Enterprise Network Conference last year, we focused on the importance of moving to a more customer centric model. The results of our usability studies really drives this point home. With a user’s experience on our websites playing such a vital role in the success of our companies, it’s time we’re aware of their needs in order to meet their demands.

These results are crucial in helping the Enterprise Network move toward a more customer centric approach. With these findings, we’re now able to consult with our clients from a scientific standpoint when it comes to usability.

Below is the animation discussed in today’s Active Community session.

Active Community: Introduction to the Active Usability Lab

10 Blog Usability Tips

Becoming an “Inside Out” Business

By John Sable

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National Open House Weekend Starts Tomorrow

April 9, 2010

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

Just another reminder to everyone that this weekend has been named National Open House Weekend by NAR! The homebuyer tax credit ends in three weeks, so take advantage of this great opportunity and find your next home. With many of our Enterprise Network Members participating in this event, be sure to check out their sites for more information on open houses in your area.

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Active Community: Introduction to the Active Usability Lab

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

Welcome everybody to our latest episode of Active Community! Having just finished our discussion on search engine optimization, we’re thrilled to begin our conversation about usability. This is an important step we’re taking to keep the Active Enterprise Network at the forefront of technology and we’re excited to share that with you today.

At the end of last year, Active Website teamed up with Tobii Technology, so we’ve spent the past few months developing our Active Usability Lab. By having access to Tobii’s eye tracking technology, we can now measure how customers are using Enterprise Network Members’ websites. Because we can take what we’ve learned from our usability lab findings and make improvements on our sites, Members are given a huge advantage over their competitors.

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