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Have questions for industry leaders?6562

immersivespaces private msg quote post Address this user
I have two very important meetings scheduled today with representatives (and lawyers) from 2 of my largest clients who have discontinued all Matterport services because of the recent TOS debacle. My media company does everything from marketing and development to technology integration and MLS/IDX data management... and with our Immersive Spaces division, we provide property imaging solutions, including Matterport services. We have been "in the biz" in some aspect or another for the better part of 2 decades.

Today's meetings are not only our first face-to-face since the "incident" but also a great opportunity for me to ask them pointed questions about what is shaping the future of their real estate marketing and where they are going to be spending their money. These companies literally spend millions of dollars annually on marketing listings... and conversations like the ones I'm having today are a huge factor in decisions to adopt new marketing methods and technology.

If you had one-on-one sit-downs with top brass from 2 of the nation's largest real estate companies, what questions would you ask? I have a list of my own, but if any of you have some good suggestions, I'll add them to my list and share the feedback I get here for the benefit of the community.

The first meeting is at 1 PM EST, and the second is at 3:30 PM EST, so get your questions in fast.
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JuMP private msg quote post Address this user
@immersivespaces Would you please refer to my post below?
JuMP team will provide solution to make your private showcase be accessable.
The contents in Private showcase will be automaticlly in "opt out" status.
So "Private Showcase" with JuMP solution will be an option for you and your customers.

https://www.wegetaroundnetwork.com/topic/6563/how-to-make-private-showcase-popular-by-all/
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rzphotoman private msg quote post Address this user
@immersivespaces
I'm to new to have any meaningful questions that you wouldn't obviously ask already, but I am anxious to hear what you learn. Thanks for sharing.
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Las Vegas
VTLV private msg quote post Address this user
Listing gents loose more exclusive right to their listings through systems like IDX, As of today, they basically have an exclusive right to put a sign in the yard. What are agents and brokers doing to compete with their own listings online to make buyer leads off their property?

Or does this factor push for seller agents to focus primarily on selling the home, then go out and get another listing?
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immersivespaces private msg quote post Address this user
Has two good meetings yesterday... I'm collecting my notes/thoughts and will give you all some info in the coming days.
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rzphotoman private msg quote post Address this user
@immersivespaces
Just wondering what you learned from those meetings.
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immersivespaces private msg quote post Address this user
My apologies... I thought I had posted this a while ago...

Here are my takeaways from my meetings...

Q: What are your concerns with Matterport technology going forward?

A: At this time there is little interest in further adopting Matterport technologies. Simply put, brokers do not trust Matterport and the reversal of the TOS change was not sufficient enough of a resolution in their opinions. Client privacy usurped by any TOS agreements that could potentially leave their client protections open-ended is unacceptable.

Q: Are you open to alternative virtual tour experiences (not Matterport) that and have clearly outlined protections for your clients?

A: Yes, virtual tours are of interest, but any future relationship must include the ability to completely and permanently remove those tour from circulation in their entirety. This is non-negotiable.

Q: What technologies are you exploring for use in your brokerages in 2018?

A: Right now we are heavily investing in AI and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies. We picture being able to have a virtual "agent" tour clients through a home in AR and prequalify that client through data gathered from a variety of sources. More robust CRM systems are also under development that automate client interactions.

Q: What marketing methods are you abandoning?

A: Offline marketing such as newspaper and direct mail will not be a significant part of our roadmap in the near future. Social media marketing will be a stronger focus.

Q: Are there trends in the industry as a whole that concern you?

A: Brokers are looking to gain more control over the distribution of their listings, including limiting access to new listings for sites like Redfin.com and Zillow.com. Look for exclusive listings to only be available on broker sites.

Q: Operationally, are you looking at changing your business structure or methods?

A: Brokers are moving away from the desk model and more to a team model where there will be fewer direct contacts throughout the deal process. (For us content creators, this means there will be less "across the agency" opportunities so we'll need to be prepared to develop relationships with one or two brokerage contacts for media buys.)

Q: What media and content services would you like to see in 2018?

A: Affordable floor plan, copywriting, and video services. Video content will likely make a large resurgent with more focus being put on social media advertising.

Q: What ancillary marketing services are you using more of in 2018 than in 2017?

Staging services are becoming more reasonable and will likely be used much more as the onsite presentation will become more important. Brokers are also expanding the use of broker specific apps.
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nat_vanveen private msg quote post Address this user
@immersivespaces very interesting, thanks so much for sharing the responses!
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rzphotoman private msg quote post Address this user
@immersivespaces Thanks for sharing this information. I would like to know if the 2 groups you met with represented national real-estate companies, who's decisions will affect all of us, or did they just represent companies in your local market.
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immersivespaces private msg quote post Address this user
@rzphotoman They were both national companies.

I have since had a few meetings with some more regional companies as well and they all pretty much echoed the same sentiments. The market is preparing for a big shift from home buyers to home renters as well, which dramatically affects the budgets for marketing properties. We've been on a buyer's cycle for a little over 3 years, so many of the new virtual tour companies have not been around long enough to experience the change in what realtors are willing to spend on marketing.

Based on past comparisons, I think you can expect to see as much as a 20% drop in marketing investment for listings, which usually means less money spent on virtual tours, photography, and print marketing. This usually coincides with an increase in internal development spending by brokers, so companies that can provide those types of services, especially in the technology realm, will do well to start approaching brokers now.

Technology-based services are going to have a huge impact on the future of real estate marketing. Early adoption and development of those technologies are going to be key to continued growth in the real estate content creation industry. The interest in AI and AR are HUGE with everyone I have talked to, so that is a solid indicator of where the money will be spent in the future.
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rzphotoman private msg quote post Address this user
Well, that's somewhat discouraging. Not what I was hoping to hear. 3 months ago I thought I was investing in new technology. The research I did showed very few realtors were using virtual tours and now I find out they're going to be moving away from it before they even start using it.
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frstbubble private msg quote post Address this user
@rzphotoman I believe that there will be a big push of virtual tours in the rental markets. We are seeing more and more companies scanning their base models then linking to the tour when spaces become vacant.

This could give us longer-term licensing of the scans and provide recurring revenue based on your business model.
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