iEnfluence, the path to consumer confidence...

We are launching our corporate blog today and we're all pretty excited to do so. We've come a long way to get here; from building a concept, forming a high performance team, solidifying a strategy, and now starting development of our site.
So, I'd like to introduce the iEnfluence concept to you. And for me, the easiest way to do that is start with our mission statement:
To be the ultimate social real estate destination for consumers wanting to buy or sell real estate. To provide Web 2.0 social media CRM solutions and custom consulting services for next generation real estate professionals.
Traditional real estate marketing tactics are no longer effective in today’s changing market. Long gone are the days of posting a real estate ad in the newspaper and waiting for potential buyers to call or show up to an open house. On the other hand, those real estate websites with just search functionality are finding out that displaying millions of properties is not the solution either. Consumers already rely heavily on researching properties online and no longer view real estate search as an enhancement; it is purely a commodity to them. In fact according to the National Association of Realtors, over 86% of consumers begin their real estate search online.

Along with those changes, today’s consumer is living in a “me” driven society and expects customization of their experience, whether it's with a professional service or a brand. The consumer wants to influence their interaction instead of being dictated to by traditional and inefficient ways of buying and selling real estate.
With that being said, iEnfluence is a groundbreaking, real estate centric, social community for buyers and sellers of real estate. iEnfluence uses robust Web 2.0 technology to attract and maintain those digital savvy consumers that would prefer utilizing social media for their real estate transaction. And for the real estate professional, iEnfluence provides an easy to use social CRM for effective communication and interaction with the digital savvy consumer. This in turn, will effectively generate more qualified leads and decrease wasted advertising and marketing dollars; therefore causing real estate professionals to be more effective and close more transactions.
But in the midst of this, iEnfluence has a loftier goal than just being a social network and a social CRM for real estate. We want to bring the component back into the real estate game that even $500 billion in federal dollars hasn't been able to do. Confidence. The real estate industry has taken a strong blow and needs to bounce back from this downturn. The consumer is gun shy about purchasing real estate, rightfully so, after the problems in the markets that have occured that they had no idea about. Both parties need tools that allow them communicate better than ever communicated before. They need to establish long lasting relationships built on trust and openness. The consumer needs to understand the jargon, the contracts, and the fine print so that when they sign on the dotted line, they know exactly what will happen next.
So, that it is our goal. We will provide the consumer and the real estate expert the tools that they both need to navigate this complicated real estate landscape. So whether you call it Web 2.0, or social media, or Web 3.0 for that matter; iEnfluence will be that solution...