I’m thinking the lending product, whatever it turns out to be, is going to involve some kind of Customer Relationship Management/Transaction Management component anyway. And what does everyone say made it worthwhile to drink the HouseValues.com KoolAde? Yep — CRM/TM.
Here’s my big-picture take: If you’re in any sort of business where the added-cost per additional increment approaches zero — all of TP’s costs are accounted for by customer #1, transaction #1; after that, they’re storing and swapping electrons — watch out. Anyone who is willing to eat your front-loaded costs can eat your lunch.
What’s the counter-measure? Price your product at zero. The plausible alternative to free is not-only-free-but-WAY-better. Otherwise, your installed-base should stay put, with all the new converts up for grabs. That’s a first-mover advantage, provided the first-mover stays nimble. Welcome to the Web 2.0 world…
Technorati Tags: disintermediation, real estate, real estate marketing, technology, Zillow.com
Greg Tracy says:
Blueroof360 has a full lead and client management system that works seamlessly with the custom websites, and the best part is- it’s all designed very well so it’s intuitive.
Top Producer requires hours of training and an organized mind-set to learn- things that most agents don’t have.
The basic challenge that most technology platforms have is they are built by technology people, not people that the product was meant to be designed for.
Design is much more importnat than people give it credit for. Function is an element of design, not the reverse.
February 10, 2008 — 11:49 am
Thomas Johnson says:
Realtors like me are not interested in learning a new CRM platform, even if the price is zero. Should keep my Top Producer bill from rising as TP improves the product to compete, though.
Realtor.com, the cash cow at Move.com, is in real danger as more local MLS systems add public portals. As a HAR.com member,I have seen no reason to buy the enhanced Realtor.com. The HAR.com public MLS side gets a billion hits a month, all for the price of my local MLS fees.
February 11, 2008 — 7:03 am
Morgan Carey says:
Yeah but what happened to housevalues once the ooohh and the ahhhh of their CRM wore off? Their true intent was realized (Middle man for real estate leads) and their reputation and one would imagine their usage tanked while CPA went through the roof.
I suppose it’s not so bad for those that cashed out early, but can Zillow really resist the urge to monetize the user base once established? I think the next best CRM just like the next best anything is doomed to fail if the commit to a model (As Zillow has claimed they have) and then pull the old bait and switch once the earn even a modicum of trust.
And Greg honestly, did you even read the post?
February 12, 2008 — 1:06 am
Morgan Carey says:
Lol the authors name is Greg to, I should clarify – I meant the spam posted by Greg Tract 🙂
February 13, 2008 — 1:06 am
Dan says:
Vertical CRM solutions are going to become much more popular in every vertical. The saleforce approach just does not work for many companies and services. I think those companies that build super vertical products and CRM solutions are those that will be the most successful.
February 17, 2008 — 12:15 pm