Maximum Exposure: Keller Williams Realty Pushes For Peak Listings Potential with New Online Marketing Tool
By Stephanie Andre
RISMEDIA, Jan.31, 2007-In the ever-evolving world of technology and Web-based solutions, online competition for prospective home buyers has never been stronger. To that end, Keller Williams Realty has launched a new marketing tool-the Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS), a new database of all Keller Williams Realty listings, to increase the online presence of its 73,000-plus associates. Here, COO Mary Tennant and Dave Therrien, chief technology officer, offer their thoughts on the new platform and how they believe their agent sites will become the "go-to" source for home searches nationwide.
Real Estate magazine: Please describe the new Keller Williams Listing System.
Mary Tennant: This is a product we are very excited about. Keller Williams developed the system so that agents could advertise their listings on multiple online platforms, because with our company, they own the listings themselves. That's the difference between us and our competitors. We wanted our agents to be able to put their listings in different search engines on the Internet - to help them get more exposure. Prior to this platform, they couldn't do that because the information was owned by different MLSs. Now, we have formed their own listing system with their listings data. They give Keller Williams International (the company's International support center) permission to market their listings on other Web sites. It really gives the listings maximum exposure.
RE: What initiated the decision to create this platform?
MT: We made this decision because our agents wanted it. Each one of them was paying fees to advertise on numerous different Web sites. They were spending tons of money on advertising and we wanted to serve them on a higher level. Our company is a little unique in the way it is designed. We are all partners, and so they wanted us to capture and market their listings to everyone on the internet.
Dave Therrien: It was the right time to do this because we needed to take control of our listing data, and expose and expand our marketing capabilities. It was imperative that we get our agents' listings maximum exposure online.
RE: How is this going to most benefit Keller Williams and its agents?
MT: Instead of spending a lot of money, time and resources worrying about getting their listings on different Web sites, Keller Williams Int'l will take care of the majority of that for them. The new system will also give our agents a big competitive advantage in listing presentations and in securing more buyers' leads. Now, agents can say, ‘When you list with me tonight, by tomorrow morning, your home will be listed on 10 major sites.' It's going to be getting our sellers massive exposure on the Internet immediately.
One of strongest departments at Keller Williams Realty is Research and Development. The data we get through the KWLS is going to allow our company to pull together data and research that will help us watch where the market goes and take us into the next generation.
DT: It is going to bring significant benefit in two areas. First, the marketing exposure is a big advantage in selling their client's home. Getting our listing data out there on many different platforms, economically, makes sense to us. It also gives our agents a much stronger listing presentation package for sellers. When the seller is looking to hire an agent, it shows a superior comprehensive marketing plan. Now, the agent can look at a potential client and say, "Your property is going to be seen by potentially tens of thousands of buyers."
RE: How do you plan to train your agents to work on this new system?
MT: We are using our online educational platform, KWConnect. We put together a series of new KWConnect sessions on how to enter listings into the KWLS. That said, because our agents are used to using the MLS, and much of the information is the same, the transition over to this platform has been pretty easy.
RE: What are your short-term, as well as long-term, plans for this new system?
MT: This is a program that will now be with us forever. We developed this for our agents; it is not going to go way. Even more consumers will surf and search the Internet. So, this platform will continue to help us get more exposure for our listings. Of course, like with everything else, it will be refined and upgraded. But the basic conceptual product is forever.
DT: This listing system is not duplicated by any others I've seen, and it is the first of a number of systems we're launching for our agents that will provide them a more complete technology toolset. It's a piece of a bigger picture. It's our goal that the KWLS will feed a significant Web presence, including enhanced agent Web sites, Web sites for our market centers, a newly revamped kw.com, third-party search engines, third party Web platforms and a second to none lead routing system that sends all of the Internet leads back to our agents as quickly as possible - helping them grow their businesses,
RE: Now that you've launched this new platform, how can the industry balance its dependence on the Internet with its reliance on agents?
MT: People used to browse the papers; now they browse the Internet. It's going to grow more and more and more. However, I don't believe that the agent relationship will be handicapped. The Internet will serve as a tool to serve clients at a higher level. The Internet also helps us train our agents, capturing leads and more. So, I don't see it as a takeaway, but rather as a tool that will enhance our industry and the job of the real estate agent.
How It Works:
The Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS), which looks much like the MLS interfaces of which agents already are familiar, will contain every Keller Williams Realty listing in the United States and Canada.
Currently, agent listings cannot be marked on any non-company sites because the listing information is the property of the MLS. In order to broker deals with partner sites and popular search engines, agents must have the ownership of their listings data.
Once associates enter their listings into the KWLS, those listings will be instantly posted on thousands of Web sites, including the company's Web site (www.kw.com) and every office and agent Web site in the Keller Williams Realty system.
Once entered, agents can immediately add extensive details to their listings including: up to 20 images, open house announcements, virtual tours, uploaded documents and additional links as well.
For more information, visit http://www.kw.com/.
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