I got a sneak peak into the stats for Realtor.com’s new iPhone app this week.
Something jumped out at me from a laundry list of impressive statistics (e.g., over 100,000 downloads in the last 18 days, consumers use the app on average about twice a day; the average session time is 16.4 minutes).
iPhone users generate warmer and more actionable leads.
Let me repeat that so it sinks in:
iPhone users generate warmer and more actionable leads.
Realtor.com explained to me that this meant consumers made more phone calls per listing views when using the app. And sure, you might say, someone using a device called an iPhone is certainly more likely to make a call. But I think what’s important here is not the end result (the phone call) necessarily but the steps that consumer took to get to point.
A mobile buyer is motivated. And while this isn’t a new phenomenon, increasingly the means by which they act on that motivation is.
The mobile web is the flyer box for the 21st century
A smartphone serves up two of the most important determining attributes of marketing: location and intent. And so provides a rich opportunity for a brand to insert themselves actionably into the decision making process. Whether it’s to acquire customers for the top of the funnel or better service them at the point of sale, increasingly the smartphone is how you will reach many consumers when they are most inclined to act.
This isn’t a post about the merits of an app vs. a wap or a debate about which phone is better, a fruit or a robot. It’s simply another reminder that the mobile web is a now a very real, fast-emerging channel for advertisers and marketers to consider alongside their traditional, online and social media outlets.
Realtor.com’s stats bear this out.
I might be a broken record on this subject. But let me say it again.
iPhone users generate warmer and more actionable leads.
Need I say more?
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I wonder how many of those downloads were Realtors? I know I was one of them.
But I do agree with the fact that they(the consumers) are warmer and more actionable, Joel.
-RealtyMan
[...] Finding Customers in the Palm of your Hand – “The mobile web is the flyer box for the 21st century” I love that [...]
Great insight into real estate & mobility. Potential buyers are waiting for real estate professionals to deliver relevant content in a mobile friendly format.
joel,
oddly enough the Realtor.com app is probably my favorite app on my iphone as a Realtor, and not for the reasons Realtor.com intended it to be:
Here’s the scenario…
I’m out with a client showing a house, aftewards they remember a similar house they saw on the web on 123 Main St. for $549. Here’s the play by play:
Me: No worries, let me it look it up. I whip out my iPhone, click on the Realtor.com app, and simply click on Search on houses near me.
Me:Is this the one, I ask my clients.
Them: Yes, that’s the one, they replied.
Me: Let me see if I can get you guys in. I scroll down to the office # and I’m shortly connected to the listing office.
Me: Ok, let’s go. I’ve got us in.
What could be easier than that. Yes, I could have clicked on Safari, Bookmarks, and into my local board’s website, put my user name and password, then clicked on search, typed in the street name and price–then clicked on the number to dial…but that just seems retarded! Don’t you?
How impressed would have my clients been if I spent 9 minutes looking up the house on my MLS or worse, setup another appointment for a couple of days later once I got to my office?
I could be the only agent doing this (doubt it). Do you think I may be inflating Realtor.com’s numbers? Are they counting my clicks on the phone number as a “warm and actionable” lead?
Joel, Very interesting to see the word “lead” on the 1000 Watt Website.
I recently wrote an post regarding the Realtor.com application and promotional video linked below:
http://www.sandiegolifestyle.info/2010/01/shame-on-you-realtor-com-for-promoting-dual-agency/
How I view this “warm” lead is just the ongoing promotion of calling the listing agent for information and ending up in a dual agency situation. Worse, the promotional material states the listing agent should call back quickly, because the buyer may have a friend in real estate. Check out the document on the post noted above.
In regards to using Realtor.com as a agent tool that is pretty sad. I have mobile RSS feeds out of my IDX systems for all areas that I service which is updated and bookmarked. Not going to wait around for something to show up 3 days later of a consumer website.
Yes, it is probably the best of the iPhone applications – but the clear message here is a step backyard for the consumer and another sales tool to promote Realtor.com expensive upgrades.
@Jeffrey You’re right about the word “lead” – which I don’t particularly like – but I didn’t want to change the quote I received. Which is why in the title of the post I used the less pejorative “Customers”…
[...] don’t always agree 100% with the good folks at 1000 Watt Consulting, and in the case of mobile iPhone applications generating more actionable leads I am in agreement about principle if not time frame. I’m not sure if mobile is the flyer [...]
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