Business Development, Marketing and Integrated Technology

Basics of Payment Card Industry DSS for Merchants and Service Providers

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:26:26 -0600

Most, if not all, mid-sized organizations engage in some format of e-commerce via proprietary electronic data interchange (EDI) or the Internet. Moreover, there are many different types of e-commerce activities, including online advertising, email marketing, information publishing, and product/service exchange. Very few e-commerce activities do not require some form of a financial transaction and even fewer do not involve third-party services provided via payment card. The four major payment card providers are American Express, Discover Financial Services, Mastercard Worldwide, and Visa International. These four organizations and JCB Co., Ltd., a global technology company, formed the PCI Security Standards Council in 2004.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) is a set of policies and procedures that were created by the council for the purpose of protecting cardholders from misuse of their personal information and strengthening the security of credit, debit transactions. This standard is globally accepted and recognized as a core baseline for building e-commerce infrastructure systems. A major benefit of the standard is that it facilitates a standardized approach to communicating consistent data security measures.

The PCI-DSS consists of business and service-level requirements for security management, network architecture, software design and other mission-critical areas. The primary objective of the PCI-DSS is to help organizations protect customer account data and prevent fraud.

Real estate brokerages that are planning to design and develop an e-commerce system should become familiar with the PCI-DSS and understand its requirements. This understanding will help determine strategies for in-house development or outsourcing payment services. Note that payment card systems produce valuable operational data that is used for decision support and customer relationship management. If an organization decides to outsource their payment card system, they need to consider the consequences of data storage and integration with other tactical and strategic systems.

The primary objectives of the standard are to help organizations develop a policy for implementing security measures and to protect cardholder data. The policy provides a baseline for various security-related processes including building and maintaining secure computer networks, implementing strong authentication and authorization processes, and controlling technical and organizational vulnerabilities.

Below is a high-level overview of the most interesting PCI-DSS requirements.

1. Install and maintain firewall configurations to protect cardholder data –

Multiple firewalls should be integrated with business, data processing, and reporting applications. A firewall allows an organization to maintain secured applications while providing services to external clients that are located outside of the organization’s internal networks. A key aspect is to design the firewall configurations around the database management systems that are storing cardholder data. Moreover, cardholder data should never be stored on a computer that connects to the Internet. Firewalls must be designed to protect internal resources and secure remote access to applications as well.

2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters -

Vendor-supplied default settings, including security passwords present significant security risks and should be removed from the system. This includes database management systems that store transactional data, server software that host web servers and any infrastructure servers connected to the system. Another important related step is to develop a scheduled password change process. It is important to consistently change passwords and to use “strong” combinations that use numbers, letters and characters.

3. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data -

[7152008:6:56:00]

Affordable Advertising for Greater Potomac

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:45:52 -0600

Advertise on PotomacMarket.com - Take advantage of a growing portal with an increasing number of targeted web surfers from Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Expose your website and your residential listings to the right audience.

Registration Form Ad Gallery Web Page w/data forms example

Advertisement Formats

Standard Units
	Banner	650 x 100
	Skyscraper	160 x 600
	Large Rectangle	330 x 300
	Large Rectangle	400 x 200
	Small Box	170 x 200
	Real estate listing
	Web page w/ data forms
Basic Specifications
	Image Types:	GIF, JPG, SWF
	Max File Size:	20K, Shockwave 30K
	Animation:	Yes
	Animation Time:	No limit
	Alternate Text:	30 characters

Rates Per Month
Banner.............................................................	$25.00
Skyscraper......................................................	$25.00
Large Rectangle on Home page...............	$50.00
Large Rectangle...........................................	$35.00
Small box........................................................	$15.00
Real estate listing.........................................	$27.00
Web page w/ data forms.............................	$50.00

* 6 month minimum run for all ads

Additional Specifications

Rich Media Options: Flash Shockwave

Linking URLs: Must be domain name based and cannot be an IP address, e.g. http://190.323.421.33

Cookie Settings: Approved clients may set cookies only

3rd Party Tracking: PotomacMarket.com must be able to track page views and all click-throughs

PotomacMarket.com reserves the right to defer, refuse, or cancel advertisements. In the event of a paid advertisement being removed from the site, advertisers are entitled to reimbursement proportional to the value of the advertising time remaining from their initial purchase.

Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser's product under any circumstances, and no advertisements may state or imply such an endorsement.

Photographs of Luxury Homes in Potomac, Maryland

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:14:01 -0600

Potomac Day Festival - October 20, 2007

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:52:19 -0500

^{[View Photo Slideshow]}

The 27th Annual Potomac Day Festival was held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The fun-filled day included a wide variety of activities for children and adults. There was a lively parade along the main strip of River Road and Falls Road. Members of organizations proudly handed out gifts and candy to children and shook hands with spectators. In the main market area behind the office of W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, tents with tables were set up for local businesses to meet and greet each other as well as the local community. Lively music played all day while food vendors served up their finest. Antique car buffs were able to check out an assortment of vintage vehicles owned by local residents.

Potomac Day was organized by the Potomac Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the following organizations:

BB&T	Potomac Pizza	Aggregate Industries
Total AV Systems	Potomac Promenade	Carnival Day
Potomac Village Deli	The Sergeants Program	Sun Control Systems
HSU Builders	BOWA Builders	Shady Grove Adventist Hospital
Morgan Stanley	Potomac Farm Market	Potomac Almanac
Mitch & Bills Exxon	My Gym-Potomac	Hopkins & Porter Construction
PNC Bank	Sign-A-Rama	Potomac Village Shopping Center
W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors	Potomac Dentistry	Tristram C. Kruger, DDS, MS
Andrea Alderdice, Realtor	F.O. Day & Co.	Sandy Spring National Bank
Coreta Osborne, Realtor	Potomac Estate Jewelers	Tally-Ho Restaurant
Toy's Unique, Inc.	Potomac Pediatrics	Potomac/Bethesda Rotary Club
The Washington Group Normandy Natural Co2 Cleaners
Goodman-Gable-Gould Adjusters International
PotomacMarket.com

Broker Network Architecture for LAN

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:56:26 -0500

Today, real estate brokers that are interested in growing their business need to take advantage of information technologies. Brokers use technology to build their brands, market and advertise to potential clients, and recruit and train the best agents. Ownership of the IT systems is an important aspect to how and what you can do.

Intenet technologies are critical to operating a business today. Moreover, having a presence on the Internet is a neccessity. What does this mean? And, how does your brokerage stand out from the rest? Brokers need to add valuable information services that compliment their business models. In order to do this, brokers need access to IT systems that support their business objectives. The diagram above illustrates a network architecture design than can provide brokers with a secure and scalable IT infrastructure.

Can you really entrust your Web initiatives to a hosting company a thousand miles away? What else are they doing with your data that you don't know about? Can you implement secure web-based transaction management systems if you don't own the hardware?

Wireless Point. A wireless access point will allow employees to access their network from pervasive devices such as PDAs, cell phones, Pocket PCs, etc. Agents can view information and update data while in the field.

Infrastructure Server. This server will contain the neccesary applications to maintain the system. It serves as a host for a Domain Name System (DNS) server, an email server, and other utilities such as Security Certificates and load balancing.

Application Server. This is the LANs main workhorse. This computer will host the organization's business applications, such as a transaction management system and stratgeic CRM applications for decision support and knowledge manangement. Providing tools such as these will enhance the abilities of the sales staff and streamline operations.

The application server (s) is also host to the organization's WWW sites. A significant benefit of hosting your own web sites is that you will have complete control of the deployment and update cycles. Also, it enables integration of other services that contain sensitive data. For example, a business can provide client access to certain areas of their transaction management system. This can help develop good client relationships and reduce the burden of constant communication between the agent and the client. This aspect frees up time of the agent and fosters greater productivity.

Database Server. This computer contains the databases that store your data. Transactional data, marketing data, property data all is contained within your LAN and is protected by firewalls from outside intruders. By owning the actual data, the brokerage is then free to develop creative business models and leverage their intellectual property.

Real Estate Web - Overview

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:51:18 -0500

The Real Estate Web consists of many organizations working together, collaborating and sharing one common purpose. Collaboration takes many shapes and individuals can typically learn from others.

The roots of collaborating stem from trading, and trading has been around for a very long time indeed. Over the centuries, methods of business communication have evolved and guided civilized societies into more meaningful relationships. The practice of sharing knowledge with other organizations will almost always foster healthy business relationships. However, there are cases where sharing certain information is detrimental to a relationship and care must be taken to avoid the mismanagement of information.

Throughout the real estate web there are many opportunities to create new communication channels between traditionally disconnected entities. Businesses are free to build creative channels that have never existed before. Besides the federal and state laws, there are very few limitations that hinder the process of developing a new communication channel. Moreover, the Internet has empowered both large and small organizations to leverage a common communication platform.

In the real estate web, is there truly a center point? Are real estate brokers at the center?

Web-based Transaction Management and Marketing

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:38:52 -0500

Expressing clear and concise benefits to prospective clients is a crucial element of capturing new business. The "how" in your communication strategy has a significant impact on whether a customer decides to "trust" you with their business. How are you different from your local competitors?

One way to stand out in the crowd is to empower the client and foster feelings of ownership in the transaction process. By communicating effectively and openly sharing information with clients, you will build upon the initial "trust" that was given to you and move forward with creating a long-term relationship with your clients.

The Internet allows information to be easily shared with others at a very low cost. Web-based transaction management systems that allow home sellers to view where they are in the process will increase their visibility and significantly reduce the number of phone calls requesting status and updates. A simple personalized web page can go a long way. With such systems in place, agents can transform one of their operational tools into a powerful marketing tool that will help them stand out in the crowd!

See: http://activerain.com/blogsview/217000/Real-Estate-Marketing-The

Key Areas of Marketing Strategy

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:45:46 -0500

The goal of a marketing strategy is to provide a blueprint for creating product-specific plans that center around the customers of a target market in order to create desired sales effects. A strategy represents a high-level perspective of product planning, advertising, market analysis, branding and service.

While the details of each marketing environment vary in regards to demographics, geography, product, etc., there are four standard components that need to be organized into a comprehensive marketing effort. They are known as the 4 P's (Product, Price, Place, Promotion).

The illustration above visually outlines these four components. The main purpose of any marketing effort is to achieve sales. It is important to emphasis that advertising is only one aspect of the marketing process and is an integral element in the Promotion processes.

Product - products and/or services, quality, service & support, packaging, etc.
Price - discounts, leasing options, seasonal sales, rebates, a balance between your cost and value to potential customers.
Place - internet, cell phone, distribution channels
Promotion - advertising, MLS, trade shows, press releases, community newspapers, Internet blog

As mentioned, to be effective, these 4 P's should be centered around a target audience and serve as the guide for all communications with customers.

Developing a Winning Project Plan

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:52:48 -0500

Designing a web-based technology infrastructure that readily supports operational, tactical and strategic initiatives is a challenging task. There are many aspects to consider: hardware, software, LAN design, Internet connectivity, third-party services, etc. Moreover, in order to efficiently support a vast array of business needs from these applications, stable and robust software architecture must be created.

The first step is creating a project plan which outlines the time, cost and scope of the project. It is helpful to think of setting up an IT environment in terms of a project because there is a set of well-defined project tasks and activities that serve as a guideline for the planning and implementation phases of a project. If an IT environment does not already exist, then you could think of the project plan as a business plan as well. One thing to note is that the overall purpose of the project plan is to outline and govern the successful outcome of the project. Technical details including the software architecture information and technical design are not included in the project plan. This information and the tasks related to it are only highlighted in the project plan, typically in the project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). In regards to technical information, a separate document called a Systems Architecture Document will contain the architecture design and related technical details.

The key benefits of creating these documents are found in the information that is contained within them. It is not the document, but the information within it. By thinking about the issues and challenges of the project, you can articulate project phases and plan for cost, schedules, resource availability, risk management, and other project management activities to ensure that the project progresses successfully.

From within your organization and externally, you are responsible for assembling knowledgeable experts in data management, web application development, business intelligence and project management to start to think about the project and gathering information. Writing a project plan is a very important step geared towards building a winning project team! Below are brief definitions of the three most significant aspects of a winning project plan:

Project scope - the project scope outlines all of the work that has to be done in order to create a product. The project scope only deals with the required work to complete the project. The language of the project scope must be clear and focused. It must covey exactly what must be completed in order for the project to be successful. A scope statement establishes a common vision among the project stakeholders and is used as a baseline for making all future project decisions.

Product scope - this is a description of the features and attributes of the product that the project is based on and will be created. For example, a web-based intranet system for managing a real estate brokerage would be a product.

Work breakdown structure (WBS) - this is a collection of project components that outline all of the project's deliverables. The main purpose of the WBS is to organize and define the tasks specified in the project scope. The WBS consists of a series of one ore more diagrams. A reference tool called a work breakdown structure dictionary explains the WBS components in detail. It includes assigned resources and time and billing estimates for each component.

The Real Deal on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:22:07 -0500

Many business owners and professionals work hard at trying to understand how the Internet works so that they might be able to utilize it for generating business. SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimization". What does this mean? Which search engine is optimized? What is really optimized? The purpose of this blog is to answer these questions and help business owners increase their understanding of how SEO can fit into their Internet marketing strategies or ecommerce activities.

From a technical perspective, SEO describes the activity of designing the web pages of a website with techniques and recommendations provided by search engine companies. These specifications are published to inform the public about various rules that search engine software take into consideration when performing a search on the Internet. An important thing to be aware of is that it is the search engine software performing the search, not the user. Users enter keywords and send directions to the software to execute a search. This may seem like a basic point, but is important for understanding that although the user behavior is the same for every search engine, the algorithms that are used in a search engine application vary from company to company. The algorithms used in Google.com's search engine, for example, are different than the ones used on Microsoft's MSN.com search engine. Each company has its own special recipe that is proprietary to their organization. The competitive nature of the search engine business makes it difficult to "optimize" web pages to the fullest extent for all the existing search engines. The most important thing here, I feel, is to acknowledge that these recipes are directly tied to the performance and user satisfaction of the search engine and they are constantly being updated and modified. The end result is that maintaining SEO-friendly web pages for a particular group of search engines becomes a time-consuming process.

There are many ways to look at SEO from a business perspective. First and foremost, SEO is a marketing buzzword for search engine companies. It is a fundamental tool for their marketing strategy and corresponds directly to their advertising revenues. Traditionally, the activity of searching the Internet was limited to scholars, scientists and researchers. In the early 90's the World Wide Web was created and things changed. The first users of today's search engine giant, Google.com, were programmers and other technical folk. They enjoyed the simplicity of the homepage design and search engine interface, which is still the same after a decade, and the absence of any advertisements. Are there really no advertisements on Goolge.com? In the most basic sense, Google.com search results have evolved into advertisements. And to optimize your website for this "free" advertising is what SEO is all about.

As mentioned, SEO is a time-consuming process and that translates into costs. Whether you are doing the web page design yourself, or paying someone to do it, there is a cost. Moreover, what works well for one search engine, typically will not translate into the same results with another. So, it is important to identify target search engines and focus SEO efforts on that limited set.

Email Marketing and Web Site Sponsorship

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:42:11 -0500

Today's Web has a tremendous amount of information available at the click of a mouse. Web "surfers" can jump from page to page at their leisure gathering information, searching for romance, wasting time, etc. ...there are no limitations. Businesses are able to market and advertise their services and products on the Web. In other cases, businesses create websites in order to provide an advertising vehicle for businesses to use. In the past decade, Web advertising has evolved into a multi-million dollar industry with internationally recognized brand names such as Google, Monster.com, and Amazon.com.

To effectively advertise a business on the Web is a complex task. Large corporations with entire departments dedicated to marketing and advertising easily create and execute profitable marketing campaigns. They do so with Web sites, banner ads, television commercials on major broadcasting stations and billboard advertising. The list of media goes on. They can do this because they have the financial resources available to establish significant budgets and support elaborate marketing plans.

How can the small business owner utilize the Web to effectively market his/her business? A part of the answer is one of the most overlooked aspects of small business marketing and is the most critical to effective marketing. This is the marketing plan - a written document that addresses profit goals, metrics, objectives, contingency actions, etc.

Are you blogging? Are you keeping track of the time you spend writing blogs? Is spending time reading blogs part of your marketing plan? Blogging is a great technique for generating exposure and sharing ideas. It should be part of a marketing plan. One publication that I found to be a great resource for industry information is Inman News. Their authors provide objective insight into the important issues of the day and generate two news broadcast emails per week. These broadcasts reach more than 33,000 opt-in subscribers. Here is a great resource to advertise your real estate blog. You can also leverage their marketing engine and execute your email marketing campaign with a reputable organization with a lot of exposure in the industry.

Broker Intranet Systems - Increase Profits and Improve Customer Relations

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:49:03 -0500

One of the key elements to efficiently managing complex business processes is having systems and standards to help guide the process on both technological and organizational levels. A process-driven strategy combined with an Intranet-based Transaction Management System (TMS) can significantly improve how real estate agents manage their workflow. At the same time, it will help brokers "standardize" the transaction process in their office by leveraging the activities of the top producing agents so that new agents can learn faster and gain more confidence in their selling abilities. Brokers can use a TMS to create templates which outline required and optional activities associated with each step of a real estate transaction. Once a system is put in place, the managing broker can then increase their visibility into the transaction process of their agents and sharpen their ability to assess office/agent performance via the TMS reporting functions.

A robust TMS can help reduce transaction costs by reducing the manual efforts related to tracking files, distributing documents to various parties, ensuring regulatory compliance with federal, state and local laws, and gathering information for reporting. For example, by integrating email messaging systems with the tasks of the process, brokers can easily stay informed about critical events such as lender's approval or rejection of loan applications of multiple accounts. A broker can control and monitor the reporting mechanisms of the TMS on an account or agent basis. More importantly, brokers can ensure that a standard process is in place for their agents. This type of stability results in lower operational costs and reduces the time that agents have to spend on paperwork and transaction coordination. A TMS will introduces consistency in the transaction process and reduces the amount of errors and omissions that may arise.

The combination of stable, cross-the-board transaction process with centralized data will enable brokers to effectively manage customer's business records and identify additional services that can be offered to the customer. After a transaction closes, a brokerage can still stay "involved" with the customer by becoming a custodian of the customer's transaction records. This activity can help increase customer satisfaction and allow the broker to engage the customer in a learning process where the customer develops a greater understanding of the transaction process. Smart clients are comfortable clients!

Overview of Real Estate Transaction Standard

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:44:39 -0500

One of the biggest challenges facing business leaders today is the management and handling of business data. In the real estate industry, efficient and effective data and information management is a critical issue. There are many overlapping data layers and business processes, including regulatory compliance, new product development, human resources, and advertising, which depend upon reliable data exchange and stable information systems. Moreover, the reliability of partner systems and vendors also play a significant role in how efficiently transactions execute.

Industry standards are created to alleviate much of the painstaking dilemmas that are coupled with exchanging data in both inter- and intra-organizational structures. One of the most important technology standards related to the real estate industry is the Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS). RETS is a technology standard that defines a set of methods, tools, regulations, and software requirements for implementing real estate business solutions which involve electronic data exchange. Currently, the standard is used to build software systems that exchange real estate property information. By using RETS-based systems, real estate organizations can significantly reduced operational costs, implement new products faster, and expose their information systems to a wider range of vendors.

At the software level, the RETS consists of two primary software components called "RETS Server" and "RETS Client". A RETS server is a software application that manages and facilitates all data access in accordance to the RETS technical specifications. These technical specifications define the interfaces and protocols for requesting data from database management systems and for responding to client requests for data.

A RETS Client is a software application that complies with the RETS technical specifications and issues requests for data from a RETS Server. There are no imposed limitations upon how a RETS Client is technically implemented. A simple RETS Client can be a web-based application that sends HTML-based information to a web browser. Or, in a more complex scenario, a RETS Client can be integrated into another software application that further processes and/or manipulates data sent/retrieved from the server. As highlighted in the diagram below, a RETS client can be used to access data from multiple databases and third-party systems in a standardized fashion.

With RETS, Broker office systems become more reliable and are able to exchange information much more easily with multiple local MLS systems. This will be particularly beneficial for brokerages that enter listings in more than one MLS system. RETS can also facilitate the creation of enterprise-wide solutions that integrate CRM systems, transaction management and agent productivity tools. Under the standard, tasks like populating marketing web sites, generating print advertisements and organizing transaction services will be easier and more accurate.

New Business Models and Technology

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:18:46 -0500

In the past decade the residential real estate industry has experienced significant changes in all areas of the business, including customer acquisition, marketing channels, methods of advertising, regulatory compliance, intra-office communications, etc. Close examination of the primary drivers of these changes point to rapid developments in information technologies as the driving force. A rapidly increasing number of information and communication networks created by the Internet have introduced many opportunities and challenges that must be addressed in order to maintain a competitive edge. Business leaders must have access to tools that help them identify and assess business and technical risk, improve time-to-market of products, and understand the ramifications of globalization.

Today, residential real estate brokers can utilize Internet technologies in various ways to achieve business goals; including streamlining operations, improving customer retention rates, and developing new business models. Rapid technology adoption combined with business process reengineering can help create powerful competitive advantages which result in business growth, increased sales and healthy market positions. By aligning IT and business goals, brokers can leverage existing business models and easily create additional products and services to serve new market areas. Accurate customer segmentation and strategic marketing is enabled by a combination of integrated, ‘customer-oriented' technologies and a shift towards a ‘customer-centric' thought process. Marketing technologies such as inter-active web sites, decision support systems, and customer relationship management software should be integrated in such a way so that brokers can seamlessly create business value from their information assets and mine knowledge about their business.

Information technologies and the Internet have allowed real estate corporations and entrepreneurs to implement creative business models via packaging and bundling services and products. The terms "bundling" and "packaging" are used to describe the assembly of a variety of services for closing a home purchase transaction. However, the terms are used inconsistently and there is no substantive common understanding of what they mean. For the purpose of this of this writing and future writings, I will define what I have identified as a "standard" definition of these terms.

Bundling is best described as the internal aggregation of services that are completely owned and controlled by a single organization. Bundles typically can provide greater service to consumers because a single company can more effectively integrate business processes and technologies. In recent years, this fact has spawned mergers and acquisitions involving mortgage lenders, title and insurance organizations, and large brokerages. In response to these activities, federal and state legislative bodies have modified key legislation such as RESPA in order to protect consumers. The purpose of the RESPA Act is to regulate the settlement process so that companies cannot monopolize transactions by dictating the selection of specific vendors or charging unnecessarily high fees to compensate for illegal kickback and referral fee practices. RESPA requires full disclosure of all settlement services including title searches, attorney services, property surveys, loan origination, home warranty and processing and closing fees.

Packaging is an external process which involves a company assembling the services of a variety of external vendors. Packages are attractive to consumers because they are usually offered at a fixed price that is often lower than the total cost of obtaining the services individually. Third-party packages can be combined with in-house bundles to offer consumers more services that meet their needs while maximizing the benefits of affiliated business partnerships.

When seeking ways to design new business channels, real estate companies have a large range of activities and services to select from. The main goal is to make the company stand out from the crowd while providing excellent service. Below is a list of residential real estate services that can be added to a bundle or package.

FSBO document preparation
Creating Home Selling Kits
Full Residential Appraisal
Property Management
Hourly Consulting for a fee (based on consumer's specific needs)
Auctioning property
Executing Comparative Market Analysis (for competition)
Preparing contracts and leases

Fundamental Email Marketing Metrics

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:08:44 -0500

Email is a powerful marketing tool. How can Brokers effectively utilize this tool to drive sales, increase exposure, and make strategic decisions about their organizational goals? Goals and measurements go hand-in-hand. In order to determine whether marketing goals are being met or not, there have to be results or measurements that reflect progress, failures, and areas in need of improvement.

As with traditional off-line marketing campaigns, in order to effectively measure the success or failure of an email-driven campaign you need more than one set of results. By comparing the measurements of similar campaigns, marketers can execute detailed results-driven analysis and make informative decisions. There are many metrics that can be used and many more to be discovered as online marketing matures. Below are a handful of the basic metrics and their descriptions to get you thinking about your online strategy and how to improve advertising and publicity efforts.

Fundamental Email Marketing Metrics

1. Total Sends - This metric is the number email addresses that were attempted for a particular message. When testing multiple versions of a message, there may be two or more dimensions to this metric.

2. Tracked Opens - This metric is the number of messages that were opened with a HTML-based email client.

3. Tracked Click-thrus -For email messages that contain trackable URLs, this metric is the number or percentage of actual clicks on each URL. This metric provides some insight into the behavior of the recipient and can convey the effectiveness of the text describing a service/product. When testing different versions of a message, this metric will help identify which message has greater influence on the recipients interest to continue further and investigate.

4. Good Sends - This metric is the number or percentage of messages that were successfully delivered.

5. Hard Bounces - This metric is the number of messages that were undeliverable due to a problem with the email address. Examples are email addresses that do not exist or are misspelled.

6. Soft Bounces- This metric is the number of messages that were temporarily unavailable due to electronic transport issues, such as full email mailboxes or infected mail servers.

7. Forwards - This metric is the number of messages that were passed on by recipients to non-recipients. This is a significant number because it is a strong indication of the effectiveness of the email message

8. Lost Messages - This metric is the number of messages that were diverted by anti-spam software or some other mechanism. These messages never reach the recipient and the sender is not informed about the status of the message.

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Role of Technical Architect in Information Systems

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:13:19 -0600

A Technical Architect of software applications needs to be business-aware as well as technology-aware. An architect is usually called in to advise management on how to reengineer an existing system and take it to production, or to define requirements for a new system. An architect may also be tasked with developing a project plan which might include recommendations for training and mentoring customer's technical and operational staff.

Technical Architects (also known as Software Architects) are involved in all stages of business systems development lifecycles, although they typically are not doing the actual coding of the various applications. Their main focus is on the overall architecture and ensuring that service-level requirements (QoS) are being met.

Technical Architects are responsible for defining and writing implementation strategies and methodologies. This knowledge is necessary to ensure project success. Application architecture decisions revolve around quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, also referred to as non-technical requirements, testing, exception handling, distributed processing, legacy system integration, and ensuring the proper development of business components and service-mapping to business requirements.

Also, one of the main responsibilities of the Architect is to identify and evaluate third-party software that may be required for the development process of the creation of the business components.

Another significant responsibility of the Architect is to mentor developers and guide their software design process. This is an important task as it relates to the timeframe of project deliverables and the overall quality of software deliveries. The Architect should ensure that a comprehensive documentation system is in place to support effective group communication and ease the transitions of adding new developers to the project and the future development of the application.

A third responsibility of the Architect is to keep project managers informed about changes in scope and/or requirements. If there are significant changes or additions to business requirements, they should be documented in use cases and presented to the business side for future releases. After the initial use cases have been written, the Architect should work on estimating project size and effort.

Business requirements are the features that a software application must contain, and are described in business terms using use-case narratives. These may optionally be used to create Use Case diagrams if conditions exist to warrant their use. More emphasis should be place the initial prototype implementation which is based on business-like descriptions contained in the use cases. It is important to refrain from including pre-mature technical design decisions.

Use cases should be written in business terms are could be used as a "contract" as to what we be created and delivered.

An application's business requirements would consist of what the application does or what it is used for. Examples would be (1) recording business expenses, (2) processing customer orders, (3) updating schedules.

Examples of an application's QoS requirements are system scalability, maintainability, manageability, performance, security, extensibility, etc.

Successful Marketing Strategy

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:58:07 -0600

Your message must reach its intended audience! It can contain fancy graphics or live on an animated website with a rainbow of features and options. The writing may be excellent and meticulously edited, and have all the ingredients for success, and yet, still never reach the target audience. Marketing and distribution of your "message" are vital to advertising success, and are critical feature in addition to editorial and production efforts.

Many business owners have trouble making the distinction between marketing a product and selling a product. Marketing is a much broader concept than selling. Whereas, selling involves the transfer of goods for money or something of "value", marketing centers on the needs, wants, and values of the consumer. Transforming the consumer into a customer is the key objective. A business must create and implement a sound marketing strategy in order to sell effectively, especially in today's competitive markets. Moreover, individual marketing plans should be written in accordance with a marketing strategy, and be updated on a routine basis with sales information and lessons learned. This activity enables marketing plans to become knowledge resources within the organization and useful tools for future planning and business development.

A successful marketing strategy will focus on satisfying customer needs and typically employ a range of techniques to attract and retain customers for future campaigns and cross-selling opportunities. Successful marketing programs are built on real trends. They are not the product of fad or hypothetical opinions. The fundamental activities of the strategy are: promotion and distribution. To work effectively, they must be executed simultaneously. You have to get your "product" positioned for sale (distribution) and you have to sell your "product" (promotion, advertising and publicity). Promotion efforts will not be effective until consumers can readily use your services, and distribution will be disappointing until your promotions help sell your products or services.

Under the marketing concept, the customer plays the leading role on the business stage. It is customer satisfaction that is viewed as the key to prosperity and growth. A marketing-oriented business produces goods and services that customers "want to buy" rather than what the business "wants to make."

Overview of RESPA

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:52:09 -0600

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted in 1974 to help consumers in the homebuying process. It provides that consumers receive advanced disclosures of settlement charges and prohibits illegal kickbacks and excessive fees. RESPA requires that consumers receive disclosures at various times in the transaction and outlaws kickbacks that increase the cost of settlement services. RESPA is consumer-focused piece of legislation which was designed to protect homebuyers from shady lenders and mortgage brokers. It enables consumers to make informed decisions and smarter financial decisions in the home buying process. It is enforced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

There have been many Settlement Agreements between the HUD and various businesses entities in the real estate and financial services industries. Where HUD was made aware or discovered possible violations of RESPA, certain agreements were formed which helped the violating organization learn more about the legislation and avoid the severest penalties provided under the act. These agreements are evidence that the legislation works and is effective. They also illustrate the flexibility of the HUD in their handling of potential violations.

The following list contains all of the RESPA Settlements Agreements since 2003.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/resetagr.cfm

In summary, the main areas of the settlement process that are addressed by RESPA are: Good Faith Estimate, management of escrow accounts, disclosure of affiliated business relationships, and the timely provisions of the HUD Settlement Statement.

Marketing Plans and Using the World Wide Web

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:10:59 -0600

Today, many home buyers may visit the World Wide Web (WWW) to start searching for what is available or search for an agent in their local area that can help them. It is important to note that not all Web surfers use search engines to find products and services on the WWW.

A marketing website is a business tool. There are many aspects to using this tool successfully. In my opinion, the first step to creating a website is to develop a marketing plan. The marketing plan is the blueprint for using a website as a selling tool. If a business creates a website and hauls it onto the WWW without a plan, then it will be difficult to use it effectively. This is a major cause of frustration for many small business owners. An advertising strategy should be crafted along with the marketing plan so that once the site is live on the Web, the business can track the site's progress and accurately measure its value. No site is ever "perfect", and this expectation is misleading. It takes time to find out what works and what does not. A website is a dynamic tool, in that it should change and grow with the business. It is important to remember that the marketing plan is the blueprint, and should not be overlooked or stuffed away in a file cabinet once the website is live on the Web. The plan must evolve and grow in conjunction with the website.

Advertising is critical and plays a major role in whether a site is effective as a sales tool or not. Businesses should not spend the money to develop a website if they are not prepared to spend money on advertising, in my opinion. To create a site and depend upon ?oogle search engine results is foolhardy and a haphazard business strategy. In the beginning, a marketing website should be thought of as a print advertisement. Questions like where will it be advertised, what will it say, how will it be revised, should all be answered. Advertising the "business" in printed media is necessary and should be complimented by the availability of the website on the WWW.

Moreover, advertising with Web business such as ?oogle should be done with metrics that can determine whether the advertising is working . A business should be able to map advertising dollars to sales on a monthly basis. This mapping activity is necessary to determine the success or failure of the advertising. A small real estate business should not be thinking about advertising on ?oogle or msn.com. They should focus on more local avenues. Home buyers typically want to be able to visit an office and meet with an agent. These types of issues should be thought out to use the Web in a profitable manner.

(See http://activerain.com/forumthread/2234)

Differences Between Legitimate Email Marketing and Spamming

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:51:53 -0600

Some individuals feel that "SPAM" is simply any unsolicited email received by someone that did not appreciate the message. If one receives an unsolicted email containing a wealth of helpful information that the reader then uses for some benefit, does that individual consider it "SPAM" or not? There is much more to "SPAM" than meets the eye. A more definitive explanation of SPAM involves more so the behavior and intent of the email message rather than the fact that it was sent without the recipient's knowledge or request, in my opinion. Moreover, the quantitative value of the term "mass" is subjective and may vary from individual to individual. As noted in your opinion, any "mass" email distribution with more than 5 recipients should be considered SPAM. I disagree and would not describe any email distribution with under 500 recipients to be a "mass" mailing. As I mentioned, it is subjective.

The traditional definition of "spamming" is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited, undesired bulk messages. The term SPAM, then refers to the actual email message sent and received in such an action. Sending unsolicited email messages does not constitute an abuse of electronic messaging systems by itself. An example of "spamming" would be attempting to attack an email system under the form of a denial of service ("DoS") tactic. Other examples of email abuse or spamming include advertising fraudulent products, pornography, unlicensed computer software, pills such as Viagra, quack medications and get-rich-quick schemes. In these cases, it is apparent that the content and intent of the email plays a larger role in it's categorization as "SPAM." The fact these messages are unsolicited is only one minor aspect that may indicate the email is SPAM-oriented. Email messages containing computer viruses and worms are SPAM products and should be shunned and banned. Unsolicited emails with a legitimate, legal business intent shouldn't be considered SPAM, in my opinion, as long as they are sent in accordance with federal and state legislation such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-187). [1]

I feel it is important to highlight these characteristics in order to distinguish SPAM from legitimate emails stemming from legitimate email marketing campaigns.

Email marketing is one of the strongest, cost-effective marketing tools available to businesses of all types and sizes. Email marketing is 20 times more cost effective than direct mail, and can cost as little as a penny per email. Moreover, a business can easily segment its mailing lists using a variety of criteria or interest groups so that promotions go to the individuals most likely to respond to an offer. An offer can be a product or can simply be an invitation to visit a website to learn more about something of interest. Email marketing enables a business to proactively communicate with an existing customer base and also reach potential prospects.

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[1] http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.shtml

Incorporating "Blog" Content in a Marketing Strategy

James Clark (PotomacMarket.com ) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:21:44 -0600

Blog content that is filled with substantive information can help generate exposure to an organization's marketing website via appearing in various search engine results screens. While it is almost impossible to determine all of the revolving metrics of search engine algorithms, certain metrics like keyword placement and keyword occurrence are pretty standard and used quite often.

For example, if I incorporate a blog on my website and write about real estate concepts and issues, then search engines may find my site when a user searches for "innovative mortgage loans" or "trustworthy settlement services HUD". If one writes about common issues related to their products, they will increase the chances of being "found", "indexed" and "presented" by the web's various search engines.

For this to happen effectively, the organization must host the blog on their own web servers. Brokers can leverage the intellectual capital of their agents by supporting and recommending that they create and maintain individual agent blogs. Publishing these blogs alongside other marketing content can result in increased respect and trust, more visibility for the organization, and potential increases in sales. It is intended to be informative rather that prescriptive, and requires a well-defined plan to be effectively implemented.

Many organizations with a web presence effectively use/publish "blog content" along with other marketing content. One example that comes to mind is Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s employee blog. The URL for Sun's Employee blog is: http://blogs.sun.com/ and the URL for their main site is: http://www.sun.com/

In this example, Sun has incorporated blog content into their web presence. How Sun's senior management decide to use this content is up to them, but one thing is certain, the HTML-coded text of the blog content is visible to search engine queries.

The working relationships between a real estate broker and his/her agents may vary from business to business, state to state, etc. Other factors on how an organization may function may include the number of agents, number of principals, etc. A key aspect for any broker/business owner is to create and foster a team environment where employees/agents work together, and also feel some sense of "ownership" in the organization they are working for. Again, this type of strategy depends upon too many factors to describe here in this blog. However, it is presented as "food for thought", and for further exploration at the reader's discretion.

There are many ways to implement a "blog" and many more ways to incorporate a "blog" into a business or marketing strategy. An "anonymous blog" comes to mind. Here author names are not published and only authors are allowed to post. The only thing available to the reader would be information content published from your website. Providing rich information may help instill a strong sense of trust and result in potential sales.