Search
With 90% of real estate searches beginning online, search is the most important asset on any real estate website. Our new search functionality provides users with numerous search options and helps buyers find homes based off their lifestyle, desired location and much more than just traditional property details.

Mobile
With over 53 million Smartphone users in the US, it is clear that having a mobile strategy is a must. Not only are customers able to receive information quickly while on-the-go, it allows us to communicate with them at anytime and at their convenience. Because mobile technology is constantly evolving, it is important to not only have a mobile enabled site, but to also have a plan for reaching our customers through these devices.

Social
Social media has created a tremendous amount of buzz since its inception and, whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay. While there may be many ways to engage with your audience on social platforms, there are numerous data mining capabilities as well. By developing features that allow us to personalize the experience for each user, we’re able to increase the usability and convenience of our sites.

To help our members remain leaders in their respective regions, we’ve developed several new features that relate to these key areas. For more information on what these features entail, please watch the video below.

By Dyana Gutierrez

This department aims to increase adoption rates of new features and promote conversation, ideas and innovation to all Enterprise Network members through training documentation and videos.

Video categories include:

• Tutorials
• Active Community
• Implementation
• Product Showcase

In addition to these four main categories, custom client videos are available to members as well. For more details about the information covered in our videos, watch the following Active Community video that introduces our New Media Department.

By Amanda Stephan

The conference, scheduled for September 21-24, will be held in Downtown Denver. Below is an overview of topics that will be discussed at this year’s event.

Keynote speaker | Where Good Ideas Come From
Innovation, Neighborhoods and the Power of New Platforms
Drawing on his upcoming book, Where Good Ideas Come From, bestselling author and Internet pioneer, Steven Johnson, looks at the emerging trends that are revolutionizing the way neighborhoods and communities share information. The founder of three influential web sites, including most recently the hyperlocal news service, outside.in, Johnson will explain why new platforms like social networks and the geographic web have become hotbeds of innovation – and why it’s essential for your business to embrace them.

Speaker:
Steven Johnson
Author, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Invention of Air and The Ghost Map. Creator, hyperlocal media site outside.in.

SESSION 1 | Implementing Technology at a Local Level
Danberry’s Strategy for Continued Growth in 2010 and Beyond
After one year of being with Active Website, The Danberry Company out of Toledo, OH, shares where they are today. Valerie Suelzer, Director of Technology, will give an overview of some enhancements which have helped result in a 35% increase in visitors to Danberry.com. Valerie will also demonstrate how Danberry has encouraged many agents to set up Market Updates for their friends and family. These reports help maintain top of mind awareness even for those who are not currently looking to buy or sell.

Speaker:
Valerie Suelzer
Director of Technology
The Danberry Company

Session 2 | Ask the Expert Program
Creating a Content-Driven Business Strategy
An expert is someone who is recognized as a reliable source of information based on their experience in a particular area. Steve Studley, from The Hasson Company, will discuss their 2010 campaign, which focuses on positioning their agents as experts; each of them in their own way, in a specific category or neighborhood, with the overarching message that we network together to offer customers an expert in every area. The Hasson Company built a relationship with Portland Monthly Magazine and utilized their technology platform to engage consumers via their blog. Hasson encouraged web customers to ask their own questions and engage in an online discussion about pertinent local topics. In today’s environment, it is more important than ever to associate with a company that is on the forefront of technology with agents who are full-time, fully-engaged professionals. Ask questions, get answers.

Speaker:
Steve Studley
Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
The Hasson Company

SESSION 3 | Peer Recommendations
Positioning Your Brand in This Digital Age
Did you know that 78% of people trust the recommendations of other consumers? Social media has created a major shift in brand marketing. The use of blogs, social networking sites and video has made managing your brand extremely challenging. However, it is possible to embrace transparency while strengthening your brand’s position at the same time. Tom Flanagan, from Residential Properties, Ltd., will discuss how to navigate these new challenges while providing some insightful tips.

Speaker:
Tom Flanagan
Director of Information Technology
Residential Properties, Ltd.

Session 4 | Syndication: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Understanding the Value of Your Listings in Today’s Market
When it comes to syndication, we admit, we don’t have all the answers. However, the future of syndication is in your hands and by engaging in an open discussion, Active Website hopes to educate members on the difference between black hat and white hat syndication and best practices for your listings. John Sable will facilitate the discussion in order to unveil what’s really going on with the syndication outlets and what they don’t want us to know.

Speaker:
John Sable
Enterprise Team Lead
Active Website

Session 5 | Search Engine Optimization
Taking Control of Your Position Online
This session discusses how to establish a sustainable SEO strategy for your business. Kicking off the presentation, Rob Ousbey, from Distilled LLC, sets the stage with an in-depth look at why content is king, the state of duplicate content, the integration of social media and its impact on SEO, as well as other major trends they’re seeing for 2011. Following Rob, John Sable will introduce Active Website’s strategy for next year along with an overview on blogging and community content, the importance of link exchanges and IPW best practices for Network members.

Speakers:
Rob Ousbey
Vice President, Operations
Distilled LLC

John Sable
Enterprise Team Lead
Active Website

SESSION 6 | Usability
The Active Usability Lab
After last year’s introduction to Tobii Technology’s eye tracking system, Active Website created The Active Usability Lab in order to better understand the needs of our customers. By focusing not only on traffic, but the quality of our websites, the usability lab gives The Network the tools and resources needed to grow our brands successfully online. During this session, Kassy Ritchie will give a recap of what we’ve learned so far through our usability studies, including homepage layout and features to sitemap and navigation. Lastly, Kassy will introduce the topic of our next report and the future of usability.

Speaker:
Kassy Ritchie
Project Management Director
Active Website

Session 7 | 2010 Technology Trends
Technologies That Impact Real Estate
In this session, Ori Staub will highlight key areas of innovation we’ve seen this year and how it may impact the Real Estate Industry. Setting the stage for the rest of the day, this presentation will discuss current trends we’re seeing in the industry, where we’re headed in 2011 and how to embrace the evolution of technology in order to stay ahead of the curve. Topics range from the integration of social media into our daily lives to the power of mobile devices and location-based data.

Speaker:
Ori Staub
Enterprise Technology Director
Active Website

Session 8 | The Active Enterprise Platform
Innovating Into the Future
Recaping current trends we’re seeing today, Ori Staub takes an in-depth look at the importance of innovation and how it impacts The Active Enterprise Network. Along with our goal to adapt market trends for our customers, Ori will demonstrate some of the upcoming “building blocks” Active Website is developing in order to enhance technology through collaboration and empowering all the stakeholders. Topics include social media, mobile, search and personalization.

Speaker:
Ori Staub
Enterprise Technology Director
Active Website

SESSION 9 | iPad and Mobile
The Future is Now
In our fast-paced world, technology is constantly evolving. What was once in the future is now here and we must be willing to adapt quickly in order to go head-to-head with our competition. In this session, Tyler Olmsted will role play a day-in-the-life of a realtor on the go using the latest in mobile technology, giving members an example of how devices have changed our day-to-day workflow.

Speaker:
Tyler Olmsted
Director of Deployment
Active Website

SESSION 10 | LifeCycle
Your Bottom Line
This session takes a closer look at the evolution of the LifeCycle platform from where we started, where we are now and we are headed in 2011. John Sable will begin by showing some great statistics and an in-depth look into network-wide response times and the major social trends that will impact the future of LifeCycle. Last but not least, Jen Ibáñez will give a sneak peek into LifeCycle 3.0 and how these changes will transform the way we approach consumer engagement.

Speakers:
John Sable
Enterprise Team Lead
Active Website

Jen Ibáñez
LifeCycle and ROI Manager
Active Website

By Amanda Stephan

– Abraham Lincoln

The fuels of independence are passion and never settling down.  It is that state of mania which drives us.  It forces us to keep moving forward. It allows us to not only stay ahead of the game, but to define it.  The big guys may follow suit, but they cannot implement ideas with the same immediacy. We are faster, and more nimble.  We have our principles of business, we have our model, and we have our vision. But, nothing we do is written in stone. We adapt as necessary. We can borrow what works, dismiss what does not, and fill in the blanks from our own imaginations.

From a business perspective I can only pretend to understand what this equates to in dollars.  Few, if any, would argue that profit isn’t the most important byproduct of such a model. But, in a different region of the independent dreamscape lives a few other equally significant benefits.

In a corporate environment we must adhere to very specific guidelines. Every move we make is dictated by the rules and regulations of the corporate umbrella. We are given very little berth for our own plans – if any at all. Ideas that do not fit the company model must be forfeited. Our self-expression becomes stifled.  Individuality is stamped out. This isn’t so in an independent environment. Independence begins with the sounding of a voice. The ideas we have are not only invoked, they spawn other ideas. In time we will create our own playbook. The beats of our success will be determined by our own hand.  Everything from the look of the company to the tone and voice of our media falls under our control.

Some don’t have the luxury of this paradigm. They get stuck. Maybe they feel it’s too late to change things, or that their ideas won’t be strong enough to carry a business. I would argue that these negatives are engrained by the standard models of business. But, the release from bondage is a classic tale. Our entire country is founded on the premise. When suffocated by tyranny of any kind our resolve and imagination shine their brightest. Quite naturally we begin to daydream. In our head we start to define a new ideal environment. We muse on success and happiness.  Eventually we accept that our ideal is possible and we take action. We step out from beneath oppression and into a utopia of ideas. It is a world crafted by our own hands, of our own ingenuity and vision. It is freedom realized.

By Jeff Payne

So we need to use this to our advantage. Buying or selling a home does not happen overnight. Many of our customers will spend several months researching and looking at homes before they’re willing to make a commitment, while other customers may not quite be ready to buy a home, but know within the next year they will be. Communicating with our customers on a regular basis lets them know we’re here when they’re ready to begin the process.

Not only that, but email marketing is a great way to keep your brand in front of our customers after we’ve completed a sale. As an industry, many of us do not stay in touch with our customers after they’ve bought or sold a home. If that’s the case, we’re doing a huge disservice to our company and our customers. With people being in the market to buy or sell a home every few years, if we’re able to sustain our relationship with them over those years, we’ll increase the changes that they’ll buy or sell from us again in the future.

That being said, below are a few ways we can use email marketing to reach our customers:

Establish trust: Email marketing enables us to send targeted and focused messages, so first and foremost, we need to establish trust with our customers. Be sure you know who your audience is before you send any email campaign. The worst thing you can do is blast an email to hundreds of people who will not find the information relevant. Be sure you research who your target market is so you don’t send an email about new homes on the market to someone who purchased a home from you last week. By doing this, we’re establishing ourselves as the authority on our market, while building a solid relationship.

Monthly Newsletters: Keep your customers up to date on enhancements to your website, events your company is hosting, housing trends and statistics, etc. Showcase newly listed properties or properties just sold in their neighborhood and success stories of customers who had a great experience buying or selling a home from you. We already have this information available, so organize it in a newsletter to highlight important information.

Home Buying or Home Maintenance Tips:  The home buying process doesn’t end after a sale. Often times, there is still a lot of work to do on a house in order to make it feel like home. Home renovation tips and advice, for example, will come in handy to customers looking to take on home improvement projects on their own.

Community News: As brokerages, we have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. If you’re working with clients that are new to the area, send them community information to help them feel at home in their new city. Not only that, this is a great tool for keeping up with past clients as well. Letting them know if events and happenings in the community that month makes you the local expert.

Open Houses and Other Events: Inform current and potential customers of upcoming open houses or events your company is hosting. Through email marketing, you can target customers looking for homes in a certain price range or looking for specific features that fit the criteria of the house. An easy way to invite customers to an event you’re hosting or to show your involvement in the community is to showcase events you’re participating in as well.

Online Surveys: The best way to find out what your customers want is to ask them! Online surveys are a great way to get to know your clients better and help you get feedback on open houses or past events in order to measure overall customer satisfaction.

Call to Action Items: Be sure that you include clear call to action items in all your email campaigns as well. Readers will want to know what they’re supposed to do with this content and where they can go next for more information. Direct them to specific pages on your website that relate to the topic of the email or give them a contact person to call or email if they’re interested in speaking with someone further.

All in all, email marketing is a simple cost-effective tool to staying in touch with potential, current and past customers. With the ability to control what content you’re distributing to your customers, you can make sure the message aligns with company goals and expectations – giving you a successful email campaign strategy.

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Active Community: Top 5 Takeaways from Real Estate Connect SF

By John Sable

At Real Estate Connect this year, speakers stressed the importance of meeting the demands of today’s consumer (which happened to be the theme of last year’s Enterprise Network Conference). Over the past few years, Active Website has encouraged Enterprise members to make the move to a customer-centric business model because in order to last in today’s competitive market, we need to keep in mind what the driving force behind our success is – our customers.

With a wealth of information available via the web, customers are now better informed – meaning we need to provide a higher level of service then we did in the past in order to win their business.  Our online users now expect instant results and if you don’t provide that, it is extremely easy for them to visit a competitor’s site instead that may have the information they’re looking for readily available.

So then, what does it take to be customer-centric?

Keep in mind the switch won’t happen overnight: It’s not just about changing your business rules; it’s about changing the culture of your company and requires a fundamental shift in attitude.  Customers are our surest and most reliable source of future revenue, so by taking the time to educate our agents and staff on the benefits of a customer-centric business model, we can ensure the growth of our company through the coming years.

Know who your customers are: If you don’t know who your customers are, you won’t be able to share your services with them or know how to reach them.  Think about who your target market is – are they first time home buyers, new to the area, or in the market to sell their existing home? Keeping the demographics and interests of your customers in mind will help you tailor your services to fit their exact needs – which bring us to our next point.

Know what your customers want: There is a huge dichotomy between what the broker wants and what customers want. Understanding your customer means understanding their reasons for needing your services, making you able to adapt to their demands. Meeting their needs and achieving a higher level of customer service ensure our customers leave satisfied – helping you build customer loyalty. In an age where customers are looking to their peers for trusted recommendations (like Yelp for example), this is another critical component in moving your business forward.

As a network moving towards a customer centric business strategy, we’ve seen growth even through difficult market conditions. All too often, companies are too focused on driving traffic to their sites. We’re not saying this is bad – in fact, it’s another crucial part of your business. However, driving customers to your site is only half the battle. You also need to focus your time and resources on developing a process for taking care of these customers once they’ve found you online.

In order to do this, Active Website has encouraged Network members to create customer-centric business rules through LifeCycle, our inquiry management system. By having proper response times (15 minutes or less is ideal) and knowing how a customer wants to be treated through the process of buying or selling a home, you’ll be able to increase lead conversions and leave your customers satisfied. And –through The Active Usability Lab, we can scientifically track how users are interacting with our sites. With this information, we can make educated decisions for how to position our brands online.

It’s our mission to continue providing The Network with the best technology available to better meet the demands of our customers. We truly believe that in today’s online world, if the end user is happy to use our sites, our brand will be associated with high quality and great customer service that will ultimately lead our companies forward.

Related Post:

Top 5 Takeaways from Inman Real Estate Connect SF

Active Community: eBusiness – Where Do We Stand?

Active Community: Four Questions on eBusiness

By Amanda Stephan

Looking back on last week’s conference, it was a pleasure to see that our innovations and predictions over the past year have been sought out by others in the industry. Inman was an affirmation to what Active Website has been trying to instill in The Enterprise Network. With our conference last year focusing on creating a customer-centric business model, it was encouraging to see Inman starting to drive home the point that we need to find ways to better meet the demands of today’s consumer.

Which brings us to our top takeaways from Inman this year:

1. Moving towards a customer-centric business model: This was our theme for our Annual Enterprise Network Conference last October. Again it was great to see Inman reiterating the need to increase the focus on our customers. You’ve heard us say this before, but with a user’s experience on our websites playing such a vital role in the success of our companies, it’s important that the needs of our customers come first (a lot more on this next Friday).
2. Email marketing is back: As an industry, many of us have lost touch with email marketing and have disregarded it as an outdated form of communication. However, in today’s fast paced world where we’re constantly being bombarded with campaigns, a well tailored email marketing strategy is still a very effective method for reaching our customers.  It was great to see the people at Inman discussing ways to get back to our digital marketing roots.
3. The release of WordPress 3.0: Speakers at the conference discussed the release of WordPress 3.0 this past June and a variety of cool new enhancements including multi-user integration, plug-ins and how to use your WordPress site for additional SEO value. Always striving to stay ahead of the curve, The Active Enterprise Network, had already made the switch over to this unified enterprise blog system prior to Inman. We have learned a lot utilizing this new platform and would love to share our experience with all of you.
4. Home prices do not appreciate, they stay up with inflation: Another key point made at Inman this year was based on the housing market and our infatuation with price. While not a lot of time was devoted to this topic at the conference, this hit home with us and we feel it’s important to discuss further.
5. Three major areas are moving the industry: We’ve all been watching these trends, but the conference reiterated the importance of mobile, search and social integration (or as we call it, personalization) to build your online brand. No longer can we rely on just our websites to be a main point of contact with our customers. To be successful in our ever-evolving industry, we understand the need for a strong digital presence – including social and mobile sites – in order to increase search ranking. Staying up-to-date on new advancements in the technology world gives The Enterprise Network an edge over the competition and ensures our members’ place as market leaders.

While we gained a lot of valuable information from the conference, it is our goal to expand further on these topics to showcase how we can apply this knowledge to our network and beyond. So again, check back with us next week as we explore our first topic, the importance of a customer-centric business model.

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Active Community: Introduction to the Active Usability Lab

Active Community: Usability Lab, Part 2

Active Community: Building Your Online Brand

By Amanda Stephan

By enforcing business rules and having a dedicated eBusiness department and eTeam that understands the needs of the modern consumer, you can make sure your online customers are taken care of properly. The future of real estate is eBusiness and we need to have the right processes in place for converting these leads into sales.  Watch our video and find out more.

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Four Questions on eBusiness

By John Sable

Jen came to Active Website three years ago and has really helped us grow Active’s eBusiness department. In our video below, Jen will go discuss her experience working with Enterprise clients and the struggles brokerages face as they begin the process of developing an effective eBusiness strategy. More importantly, Jen will explain the importance of eBusiness in today’s market and gives tips that every broker should consider when setting up a designated department. A successful strategy is not only about understanding why eBusiness is important, but knowing how to transform that strategy into results. Watch today’s video for more information.

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Are You Capturing Your Online Leads?

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Danberry Launches LifeCycle for Inquiry Management

By John Sable

Because Active has access to Tobii Technology’s eye tracking system, we can now scientifically evaluate how users are navigating our sites making us better equipped to consult with Active Enterprise Network members on the best placement of components on their websites.  For our next usability study, we will be taking a closer look at the navigation pages and site map in order make our sites easier to navigate  for the user. Once the study is completed, we’ll be releasing more information to you on our blog.

As we wrap up this session on Active Community, we continue to make our way down the funnel. We started Active Community discussing search and the importance of getting customers to our sites through keywords, content ,etc. Then we moved to usability and the importance of keeping customers on our sites. Now, our next step is to discuss eBusiness and what we need to do to turn online leads into sales.

Active Website is excited to share with everyone our LifeCycle online inquiry management product and how we are helping our clients convert inquiries into sales. Watch our video for a wrap up on usability and for a preview of what to expect for the next few weeks of Active Community.

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Active Community: Usability Lab, Part 2

By John Sable