Finally, you can offer more than just service
Give’em a shopping cart!
You’ve seen them popping up all over the place, those sweet iPhone and Palm Pre applications, and your head spins because the only way you’ve been able to offer it to your consumer is by pimping someone else’s brand. Your alternative has been to either offer Zillow, Trulia, or others, but it’s not specific to you or your company, leaving you to make a financial investment and single out users by the type of phone they’re using- that’s all changing.
Smarter Agent is offering agents and brokers this exact functionality- a branded MLS mobile web search that you can offer your consumer regardless of the type of phone they’re using. Even sweeter is every landing screen the property hunter lands on- they are fitted with a call to see button, linking every listing back to you.
My mind is swirling with the concept
Imagine offering the ability to log on to the mobile version of your website to download a property search tool to help the home shopper directly from your sign rider?
You’re capturing opportunities by offering a real value that helps consumers to see every listing within the MLS while reminding them at every turn that you’re providing the tool to aide them in their home search.
Not only can you offer homes for sale, you can offer rentals, and even apartments if they’re listed in your local MLS.
No phone left behind!
Currently, regardless of the carrier or device, your customers can search in branded style with any phone under the sun, but if their phone is listed in the device list (for example iPhone, or Android), they’ll be able to search using the characteristics they’re accustomed to via application. That’s what I really appreciate about this tool- it’s not just branded to you, it’s branded to the device they’re using, meaning the learning curve is limited to actually use it.
I just tried out the mobile web version which essentially opens to all coverage areas, but you can narrow it all the way to the property address. The load time for my particular trial was exceptional, but I’m sure it boils down to your carrier and area.
Currently Smarter Agent is the only product on the market that allows you to brand the application to your business so you can freely circulate it to all of your past clients to share with friends, send it to your relocation clients to assist them while they’re hunting, display the application on your website and allow your website to become extended to their car while shopping neighborhoods, and more.
What’s it going to cost?
The agent end pricing is around $39 per month and there are discounts for large brokerages and teams- at first $39 a month seemed high, but when you consider that it isn’t often you get to offer something tangible to your web consumer before they click off to search elsewhere, that suddenly isn’t that much at all, especially when you get that call to show a listing.
For listing agents, this is the wow factor I’ve been talking about if added as a feature of your listing package so you can show that you offer not only iPhone applications, but applications for nearly every popular phone, and a web based application for those phones not covered.
So, if you’ve been looking for a way to offer your own branded smart phone real estate application on the cheap, this will probably do the trick- let us know what you think and if you’re already using Smarter Agent, let us know.
Scoop
I contacted co-founder Eric Blumberg by phone and asked if we could expect to see an application for Palm Pre, and he said to look for it by year end! We’ll let you know.
(15 votes, average: 4.87 out of 5)
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Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist
Can I use this if my MLS doesn’t allow agent IDX feeds?
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Amy, interesting mls rule you have there, I’ll ping Eric and Shelley with SA and see what they say. Eric told me today they will follow whatever rules the mls in your local market have, however, they have relationships with brokers, so stay tuned…
Great question. If the MLS allows brokers to “frame” their search for agents, the broker can sign up and the agent can have a framed version. What this means is that the branding will be that of your Broker, but just like “floor time” at the broker’s office, all calls will go to you from your framed version. If you need more information, please feel free to contact us.
Actually, Amy/Shelly, based on the rules of the Cincinnati MLS, an agent can only use the IDX 3rd party provider that their broker uses. And the rules also state that this can only be 1 3rd party provider. So, if your broker is using eNeighborhoods, or Point2Agent or Wolfnet or whatever, they CANNOT additionally use this product, since it would be considered a 2nd 3rd party IDX.
Cincinnati is backwards and unprogressive.
I’ve followed Smarter Agent since I’ve started seeing their ads and emails. I really dig having it on my Google Phone. Mobile apps are a dime a dozen anymore. However, there is so much value to bringing IDX based search to GPS enabled devices for the home buying consumer. Nice work guys.
I spoke with the guys at Smarter agent over a year ago, they were just beginning. Looks like it’s time to add some new marketing to my arsenal.
How does the GPS Search Feature work? Is it available on all GPS enabled Smartphones? I downloaded a trial verson onto my Verizon Blackberry Curve, and it did not contain the GPS Search.