Just because the board is meeting in private, doesn’t mean we
can’t brainstorm about REALTOR.com’s future in public.
I
hope you will consider adding your own ideas in the comments, or write a blog
post and I’ll link to it. Let’s have a conversation about taking back
REALTOR.com and upgrading it to compete with Zillow and Trulia.
I’ll
start with a few ideas.
Idea
1: Use the Consumer Advertising Campaign to fund premium listings.
This
is an idea that Houston Association of REALTORS Chairman, Danny Frank has been
sharing on social media channels. First, reallocate the money that NAR spends on
TV and Radio ads that drive consumers to NAR’s public advocacy efforts on
HouseLogic.com to REALTOR.com. In exchange, REALTOR.com gives every member fully
featured ‘premium’ listings with no competing agents on listing property pages,
equal ranking for all listings, and the maximum amount of pictures. In addition,
HouseLogic would either enjoy additional placement on REALTOR.com, or could
possibly be folded into REALTOR.com altogether; making REALTOR.com the central
hub for virtually all of NAR’s consumer communications.
This
idea eliminates the biggest gripe that REALTORS® have about Realtor.com: the
premise that, “we give listings to REALTOR.com, only to have them charge us for
leads back.” While it marks a retreat from traditional media advertising for
NAR, it’s possible that an all digital advocacy campaign could be more
effective.
Idea
2: Dump Move Inc, and contract Trulia or Zillow to run Realtor.com
Categorize
this as a truly
crazy idea,
but we’re brainstorming, right? The idea here is to let one of the portals build
a member friendly site with no competing ads on property detail pages. In
exchange, the portal who builds it gets agent access marketing, and possibly
even rights to the listing data being sent to REALTOR.com. I don’t know that
Spencer Rascoff or Pete Flint would be anymore comfortable partnering with NAR
than the association would be partnering with them, but this would be a way to
build a great site with no competing ads for members, without encroaching on the
budget.
Idea
3: Give Realtor.com more autonomy in populating content on the site
I
believe this is what the folks at Move would prefer. Let them provide
the content that consumers want to see. This includes off-MLS
listings like new construction, distressed properties and rentals. Hey, maybe
even go so far as to allow FSBO’s. Okay, maybe not. This idea gives Move a
fighting chance at regaining the lead in attracting consumer eyeballs, and
doesn’t cost the association any money. The downside is that some members are
not going to want non-member content on the site.
Idea
4: Keep your friends close, and the portals, closer
Perhaps
NAR is going about this the wrong way. If the ultimate goal is to help its
members affordably market their listings online, why should they limit their
efforts to one portal? There’s a great deal of pride around the use of
REALTOR.com, and it should be the association’s official consumer channel, but
perhaps it’s time to start building relationships with Zillow and Trulia as
well.
Mix
and match as you see fit
Maybe
some of these ideas will be combined. Maybe you have better ideas. Now is the
time to air them. I guarantee that NAR is listening.
Share
your ideas here, or on the original post!
Photo:
Creative Commons license via Flickr user Javier
Q.
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Their lead capture really is way behind current advancements in technology and most importantly, they failed to recognize talent within - which could have