You might not think about it much when you're sending an email, designing your website, or working on the perfect home listing, but every piece of real estate technology has to work together to be effective.
When technology works, we never think about the thousands of ways apps "talk" to each other. Work that might seem simple s stunningly complex, and your computer can execute thousands of commands each second.
It can be fun to think about, but how does it all affect real estate?
Over the last decade, an explosion in new real estate technology has made it easier to grow your business and find the right leads for you. But none of it happened by chance: It all started with the work of real estate and technology professionals who decided to work together.
Not that long ago, there were virtually no standards for real estate Customer Relationship Management or many other tools we use today. All of that changed thanks to a single organization called...
If you have a residential real estate website, that is just the first step of many for how you should be representing your brand online. There is power in a strong online brand. Often real estate companies get too tied up in the "lead generation" elements of websites (which, of course, are critically important, but not the only important part of your website) and don't focus enough on how they are actually representing their business online.
Delta Media GroupĀ® has provided residential real estate websites for over 26 years, dating back to 1994. However, many don't realize that we also create beautiful commercial brokerage websites, career and recruitment websites, "kiosk" sites, and so much more. Any vendor in this vertical should easily support all of your business elements, not just the templated residential sites that all look identical.
I am going to ask you to pause and think for one minute before you continue reading and answer for yourself the following question:
"One year from now, when I look back on what my business did in 2020, what will I remember?"
I love this type of exercise. It forces me to change my mode of thinking and create goals; to develop targets.
I'm sure it is only natural to think about COVID-19 and the impact it has had on your business, on your relationships in business, on the economy, and on buyer and seller behavior and needs. It only makes sense if most of your thoughts regarding COVID-19 are negative. However, if we are honest, there have also been positive outcomes during this global tragedy.
While you and I cannot change the reality of COVID-19 and its impact on our businesses, we still have control over everything else in our businesses.
So, let me ask some direct question...
At the time of writing this article, there is a major hot-button issue happening in Florida.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of real estate brokerages were served letters threatening legal action because their real estate websites were not FHA/ADA Compliant. This was all triggered due to the Robles v Domino's Pizza, LLC case last November, where it was ruled that financial compensation was owed to Guillermo Robles as he could not order a pizza through Domino's website, which was not built to be accessible for the vision-impaired.
There is a multitude of reasons why you want your website to comply. First of all, it's just the right thing to do. It would be best if you wanted your site to be accessible for all people, including those with disabilities. Many visually impaired people can use "screen readers" to navigate websites online, and your website must be put together in such a way that supports that type of software.
Another significant benefit of having a web...