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...

Dual Agency; is it a double loss for the consumer?

Have you ever wondered why dual agency is legal? I mean, I've never understood. I came into this industry befuddled by the fact that the same agent could represent both sides of the transaction. It sounded like an attorney that was representing both the defendant and the plaintiff. I couldn't understand how it could be legal. As a consumer, or should I say consumers, that is involved in a dual agent situation, you are not receiving the same level of advice or representation as a consumer that is not in a dual agency transaction. So at that point, my question is, what are you paying for? I'll let you ponder the answer to that question....

http://realestatecafe.blogs.com/real_estate_cafe/2008/01/misleading-home.html

Everyone wants to sell real estate!

The real estate industry will face a new type of competitor; the type that they never thought of before. Companies like Walmart, HGTV (www.frontdoor.com), Virgin, and Google are looking at the real estate space to expand their business...

I mean, why wouldn't they? They already "own" thousands of consumers who trust them? They already know their consumers' spending habits. It just makes sense that they would tackle the largest purchase that most consumers make. So the Next Generation Real Estate brokerage must keep this in mind. You're not competing with Realogy, you are competing with Priceline.com, Zillow, and HGTV...

http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/best-of-forem-crossover-real-estate-brands

Truly understanding your customer

Being in touch with what your customer expects from you as a service provider has become multi-faceted. It's not just enough to know the demographic profile of your customer any longer. Providing good customer service and giving your customers what they expect means understanding every aspect of their lifestyle, especially when marketing to Gen XY consumers. As a next generation real estate company, we will be aware of the music our consumers listen too, where they shop for clothing, which celebrities they follow, who their sport heroes are, what type of food they like, what their children like to do...and the list goes on. Technology has set the bar that the rest of "us" non-tech industries much catch up to because it is driving most of the trends today.

As a social media company that sells real estate, we will look at customers in a different way than most traditional companies do today. It's not just about the price of the home you want to buy or sell, it's about who you are as a consumer from a macro level. It will be our job to understand our customers' lifestyles and the trends that are being set in order to design an experience that they will come back to and refer their friends to as well.

It is a monumental task to keep up with the changing landscape of consumer buying habits, but we are up to the challenge. We will be in the middle of the newest trends and start a few revolutions ourselves...

Generation Y

Our business case targets the Gen Y and Gen X demographic profile. However, the Gen Y group is the largest since the Baby Boomers and the uniquely the most diverse. Comprised of a high percentage of early adopters, targeting this group with technology can be both profitable and challenging. Being born and growing up in a world where progress is measured by gigabytes; keeping their attention will be a CEOs most pressing issue. Innovate constantly and you just might make it.

http://www.emarketer.com/Articles/Print.aspx?id=1006354&src=print_article_graybar_article&xsrc=print1_articlex

Proving the concept of Viral

We decided, about a month ago, to test the waters of how impactful social networking can be. So, I built 4 social apps on Facebook, and sent it to 18 friends. Out of the 18 friends, 4 of them have been working on the iEnfluence concept with me, including the co-founder Ryan Cox. So we sent this simple real estate app to our friends just to see how fast it can grow. And in one month, these apps have been installed on Facebook profiles over 10,000 times, with an average of 200 active daily users. The impact for lead generation is phenomenal.

You can play with these apps on Facebook:
Mansions:http://apps.facebook.com/mansions-bbgbi/
Dream Swimming Pool: http://apps.facebook.com/dream-swimming-bccga/
Beautiful Rooms: http://apps.facebook.com/beautiful-room-bjcdb/
Gourmet Dream Kitchen: http://apps.facebook.com/gourmet-dream-bdabh/

Now the fun starts...

The barriers are being dismantled

The DOJ ruled that the National Association of Realtors must give access to the MLS to brokers that discount their commission. This is a huge victory for iEnfluence because one of our main roadblocks would have been getting access to the MLS. To read more about this, go to this link http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/05/28/doj-strikes-deal-with-realtor-group-how-will-it-affect-consumers/?mod=homeblogmod_lawblog. Nevermind what they say about it not affecting the consumer. It will affect the consumer and in the long run, it will save the consumer money because Web 2.0 based real estate companies will become more popular and more Enfluential!!