Smart phones for Estate Agents - which is the best?

Smart phones are a must have for Estate Agents, allowing them to constantly be connected via email, social networking and various applications. It has become such a versatile gadget that many forget its main function - the mobile phone.

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What's the design behind the design?

Estate Agent website design has a hidden fundamental design behind the main website design. This design is purely concerned on the process of which a buyer or seller will go through once they have accessed the website. This process is different to a normal website as there are no 'shopping carts' for users to place a property in and then pay for one or even multiple houses at the end of their website visit.

The start of the property search process is on the Estate Agent homepage. From there users are given a choice using primary and secondary navigation. 98% of people accessing an Estate Agent's website go straight to property search, which means that the position of a property search button is vital to ensure that it is prominent on the homepage.

Once on the property search page, users will be expecting a clear and user-friendly search function to allow them to search for the properties that they are interested in. Search results on enhanced Google Mapping even the most technological savvy user.

Each property must then have the necessary features to either allow the user to fully experience what the property has to offer or users can save the property as a favourite for future reference. Features such as high resolution photographs, EPCs, Floorplans, Google Maps, Google Street view, full description, and property particulars in a pdf format let users fully experience property online.

The last part of the process is to have clear contact details on each individual property page. Clear contact details ensure that customers can contact the Estate Agent at any point.

Designing Estate Agent websites so that they smoothen out the process of the property searcher not only reduces the frustration internet users experience but also increases the chance of buyers, and sellers, contacting the Estate Agent. A modern website design will reflect this to benefit the Estate Agent and the customer.

Estate Agent social networking - 8 top tips

Estate agents know that social networking has become an important part of communicating with buyers and sellers online, but many do not realise that having a presence isn't enough. Many Estate Agents ask 'What can I do to stand out from the crowd?' Therefore Resource Techniques has constructed 8 top tips of social networking development to help Estate Agents turn Facebook 'Friends' into Facebook 'Fanatics'.

• Set up your profile - Make it clear and concise so that property searchers instantly recognise the brand.
• Get to know your surroundings - Do your research! See what other people around your area are talking about.
• Respond to all communication - Ideally with positive feedback, quickly responding to messages shows dedication and reliability.
• Connect with people - Social networking is all about making connections. Find out what interests people and find common ground.
• Quantify your social networking - Quantifying your social networking shows what progress you have made. One example is bit.ly that not only changes long links into smaller ones but it also counts the number of people that click on that link.
• Join in the conversation - Do you know a piece of information that would help someone else? Help them.
• Humanise the brand - let buyers and sellers see the face behind the brand. It is a nice face, let them see it!
• Do your best to build a community - Sharing information, links and local news will attract others to join. The more the merrier!

Only after actively seeking interaction and integration into the social networking world, can Estate Agents truly use social networking to help people find their dream property. Simply setting up a social networking profile and waiting for customers to come to you is no longer good enough.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'Action negates failure in the realm of social networking. Only through action, and more importantly interaction, can Estate Agents guarantee the success of their social networking activities.'

Estate Agent website design - A picture paints a thousand words

In the website design for estate agents world, image is everything. As mentioned before, Estate Agents only have 3 seconds to impress someone visiting their website. Within that time a verdict will be drawn on your website, purely on its design. That verdict can influence the visitor to delve deep into your property portfolio or it can easily make the visitor press that dreaded 'Back' button. Why take that chance? Ensuring that your website has that WOW factor can be the difference between a buyer or a seller considering your business.

One of the best ways to welcome a user to a website is with a large image or stunning animation positioned in the homepage design. The image or animation must then give the visitor an indication of brand image whilst also giving that WOW factor that many Estate Agent websites miss.

Using this technique, visitors are welcomed by a large stunning image, visually impressed and then naturally guided to a prominent property search button. This stimulates the user to follow a process, starting at the homepage, moving to property search, various desirable properties and then to contact the agent for a viewing.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments on visual imagery with Estate Agent website design, 'Users are becoming increasingly impatient with the website designs. Property searchers now decide on Estate Agent's portfolio, integrity, and professionalism purely on website design. Getting this wrong WILL be costly for Estate Agents.'

Does your website design still give you, and your customers, the WOW factor that it deserves? If not, contact Resource Techniques or call us on 0208 457 4777.

Cob-webs for estate agents

Estate Agent websites cannot be left to its own devices. It needs care and attention that only a specialist can take care of.

Do you feel that your website design is getting a bit old? Fill in our free web review form. The web review covers various aspects, such as web design, so that Estate Agents can improve their website for the New Year.

So what can Estate Agents do themselves to make sure that your website is kept up to date and free of cob-webs?

• Write a blog/News feature - Not only does this help your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) by showing search engines that you have fresh content, but it will also generate interest from buyers and sellers. Local and national market related news shows that you not only have your finger on the pulse but you are also an expert in your field.
• Rotate your featured properties
• Communicate with every customer - even if it is just an email saying 'I'll be in contact within 24 hours' shows that you can be directly contactable from your Estate Agent website. The quicker customers are contacted the more impressed they'll be.
• Acknowledge any criticisms - The old adage, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, can help Estate Agents see their website in a different light. Any number of complaints about your website can shed new light on something you look at on a daily basis. Remember that not everyone is right though!
• Use social networks - An increasing number of people in the UK are using Facebook. Estate Agents can use this to their advantage by showing that their business has a face and is not just a brand.

Resource Techniques announce release our first international Estate Agent website for investabroadproperties.com

Resource Techniques are delighted to announce the unveiling of a new international property website: www.investabroadproperties.com.

Investabroad Properties is an established international property sales company which markets selected real estate throughout the world.

Their portfolio has properties for investment, holidays, relocation and fractional ownership, plus property funds and forestry and various alternative investments, extending to USA, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Far East and Australasia.

Peter Veitch - Managing Director of investabroadproperties.com comments:

"Many thanks for that and for all that you and the team have done to get us "up and running"! As you already know, I am very pleased with the result.

I will go through everything on the site once more and also absorb all the valuable information in your email and the attachments. I look forward to speaking to you again in due course.

Meanwhile, I wish you, Troy and all at RT the best for 2010."

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques, is thrilled at the latest extension to the Resource Techniques portfolio. Commenting, 'The stunning new website has a whole host of new properties that are available around the world, and in particular, the various homepage images are strikingly beautiful!'

Estate Agents - A New Year for some brand new gear.

Before the Christmas Break, Resource Techniques told Estate Agents that it's time to reflect on your achievements. Hopefully Estate Agents did give themselves a good pat on the back and an overindulging rest over the festive season.

Now it's a new year and many have a positive outlook for 2010. Many see it as a year of recovery and a time to rebuild on what has been destroyed on the market crash. This is well and good but Resource Techniques sees 2010 in a different light.

So how does the team at Resource Techniques foresee for 2010?

If one thing from cinema has taught us is that by now we should be driving flying cars, have contacted aliens from outer space and we will have enslaved a whole army of robots to do our most monotonous chores. Now we are here we can see that this is certainly untrue.

2010 will still be a year of technology. Below is a list of technology that Estate Agents should be looking out for:

• Apple tablet - Latest reports suggest that Apple's own tablet will be revealed at the end of this month and shipped around March time. With a reported price of $1000, it won't be cheap!
• iPhone 4th generation - After being released in June of 2007, Apple have made a habit of introducing a new version of phone every year around the same time. Industry experts have suggested that this year will be no different.
• 4G - Mobile phones have seen a rise in connectivity speeds. 4G is the 4th generation of 'wireless telephone technology' and promises a maximum of 100mbps which is around ten times quicker than the current 3G. This technology has already been available for public use in Scandinavia last month. Time will only tell when the UK will receive such a luxury.
• Project natal - A secret project by Microsoft that has been not so secret (first announced 1st June 2009). The project is expected to be another 'next generation' of home entertainment technology because users do not need to touch a game controller. Instead Estate Agents will have to use hand gestures, speech, or presented objects and images in front of a sensor that is placed below or above the TV screen.