marketing in a social age is devoting 31 posts this month to social and digital media and the real estate industry.
I first wrote the following post for Techvibes on November 20, 2009.
You remember the last time you were scouting a neighbourhood looking for your home? There it was! It looked, from the outside, to be the perfect place. However, there was a slight problem. The Open House was tomorrow and you were not going to be able to make it.
So you drove away sad in the knowledge that this one wasn’t THE one.
What about the agent and family selling the house? Maybe they found a buyer. Maybe they didn’t. If you were added to the equation maybe they would have sold to you.
Enter Homes on Mobile Phones and the equation totally changes. These days everyone has a cellphone. The scenario now changes. This time you notice that the For Sale sign has a text number on it. You send a text and in seconds you receive a detailed description of the house including photos and specs. Within minutes you’ve called your realtor and booked a viewing at your convenience.
Two things make this service relevant and important today. Firstly, everyone is busy. This service allows people to get the information they need when they want it. Second, consumers today want the people and companies they do business with to use the same technologies they do. Montrealbased Homes on Mobile Phones allows the realtor and consumer to touch base through the simple use of a mobile device.
Founder Andy Nulman says, “Real estate agents need to look towards new technologies that will put them ahead of the competition, and Homes on Mobile Phones has proven results in helping agents sell homes faster and winning them new clients. Mobile is a straightforward and foolproof way to share information, and mobile phones are practically an extra appendage these days, so agents who make use of the power of mobile are guaranteed incredible results, especially with the X and Y Generations.”
Mr. Nulman is the former creator of the very popular Just For Laughs comedy festival. How does a guy go from the comedy scene to the tech industry? “One of the achievements I was most proud of at Just For Laughs was incorporating technology into the business, so the transition was more natural than it may appear on the surface. These days, the two are intertwined, but not back then.”
What was the impetus behind leaving entertainment for technology? “Why did I do it? Because I had done all I really wanted to after 15 years running a festival and producing its TV shows.”
Like and tech start-up (and comedy festival) things are never easy. However, they are challenging. “The stumbling blocks were exactly what I loved about it–the challenge of a complete career change and the gasps and snickers from those who said I couldn’t pull it off (Just For Laughs). By the way, they’re the same gasps and snickers I hear now about Homes on Mobile Phones…”
And it seems that if real estate agents in Canada adopt this new tech tool, Homes on Mobile Phones and Mr. Nulman will be the one’s laughing last.
Excellent website. I built mine and that i wanted ideas as well as your website provided some. May i ask you whether you developed the web site by youself?