The Internet is big business and Internet revenues are underpinning the growth of some of the largest media players in our countries.
Case in point – James Packer (PBL) speaking to media buyers last week (5/8/04) at the Digital Marketing Summit told the packed audience that revenues for his online operation ninemsn would double to 100 million AUD per annum and that the public will see “mind-snapping” change from new technologies.
He also pointed to a revenue increase of 50% with costs coming down! Think about that – once they develop these technologies and automate the processes that the user benefits from – their ongoing costs are actually go down! This is almost unheard of! Fairfax Digital chief operating officer Mike Game also had similar forecasts.
When I listen to these figures I think to myself….ok what can I do to make sure that I am a part of this, how can I improve my products so that more people will use them. This is what drives me and should also drive your agencies.
The same should be said for all Real Estate Agents and their Internet developments. Too many agents continually re- design – develop their websites instead of continually adding new features. New features that benefit the user experience and in turn make your web site generate more revenues for your company.
This is what the Internet is all about. If people visit your website and have a good experience – that is get the information they are after quickly, they will more than likely return.
How can you make them return? Well more and more agents are turning to automated email subscriptions. This allows a site user to place their email address into your website and get property alerts directly to their email inbox. This works even better when the user can formulate their subscription by stating suburbs, bed, bath etc.
This is why the search engine Google works so well. The results are pretty good (not perfect) but they are delivered to you in such a way that it feels as if you are in control. You are not continually bombarded with information you simply did not request, this is called push advertising and unfortunately it is rearing its ugly head all too often.
I like the idea of contextual advertising, that is if I search for a builder in Melbourne I am not nearly as frustrated if an advertisement for a builder appears. But if I get a pop-up/pop-over ad – pushing some kind of hair removal cream in my face, it detracts from my experience. Do this to me to many times I will go somewhere else where the experience is not so frustrating.
In any case as the Internet matures it is becoming a better place. Think of how you can create a better experience for the user of your site and you will reap the benefits in the long term.
