REALTOR.com®: What's Next
Consumers, the housing market, and REALTORS® have changed. And REALTOR.com® is changing with them, according to its president, Errol Samuelson, at an enlightening session this morning. Recent improvements and enhancements, some visible on the site and some behind the scenes, make users' online experience faster and more rewarding. Recent moves at the company aim to help brokers and agents more effectively connect with online prospects and convert them to offline clients. Here are some highlights from the presentation and some key new site functionality.
Consumers today want and expect all the information they can get about properties, neighborhoods, and market and area trends. They want it fast and anonymously, with a minimum of personal information required on their part. A challenge for REALTORS® is to adapt to this new consumer in a relationship business. REALTOR.com® wants to help them do this.
REALTORS® have changed, too. They are now more focused on getting more results for less—less time and less money. REALTORS® are more discriminating on how they spend their resources—again, time and money. They recognize the need to connect and build trust with consumers online. REALTOR.com® wants to help them do this, too.
And here are some of the ways REALTOR.com® is doing just that. Improvements behind the scenes include improved site speed, indexing by search engine crawlers, and decreased customer call support hold time, should assistance be needed. Visible site enhancements include richer content such as full motion videos, the ability to upload up to 25 photos, and no-charge blogs for REALTORS®.
Consumers want "hyper-local" information, so REALTOR.com® introduces their "Find a Neighborhood" feature. Some of the many functions found there are detailed neighborhood statistics, local photos and descriptions of locales, lifestyle profiles of neighborhood residents, school listings from the district and content from parents, and much more.
Session attendees were treated to visual walkthroughs of many new features, but there's much more to explore on the new REALTOR.com®. Visit soon and see for yourself!
