estatecreate blog

QR codes, or Quick Response Codes are defined as a “two dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.” You will undoubtedly have come across them either in display advertising or shop windows.

They were originally developed by a subsidiary of Toyota to allow for the tracking of vehicles during the assembly process as the codes can be read at very high speed. Their use is  free of any licence and there are numerous site on the web that provide QR code generators for free, and free QR readers are available to download for most smartphones (see below for links).

They have become increasingly popular in marketing circles as the scanning of a code by a QR enabled smartphone can quickly direct the user to a website, a video, or can even initiate an email or telephone call. The “quick response” saves all the hassle of having to punch in a lengthy URL into your browser, or an address into your email client and allows a print advertiser to get more bangs for their bucks if they can entice the reader into their website or video stream.

They have become widely adopted in the US for the residential market and it is very common to see a sign with a QR code stuck on a lawn outside a property for sale. In the UK the internet chatter amongst residential Estate Agents suggests that they are being enthusiastically embraced and the UK’s leading residential portal Rightmove are now offering QR codes to all their members.

One problem is that as each QR code is unique, a unique sign board has to be created for external marketing. This can be overcome by creating stickers to attach to your existing boards however this being the UK, and with our weather system, there have been complaints that such stickers don’t often stay on the boards for long. Strutt & Parker claim to have nailed this particular problem using sign boards that also have a NFC (near field communication) chip embedded in them.

Looking to overcome this issue is Tag Street, an innovative company who provide a small sign or ”smartboard” that can be tacked on to an Agent’s pole and they only charge on a pay-per-view basis.

It therefore seems that the UK will be following the US in adopting QR codes for residential property but it remains to be seen whether there will be the same enthusiasm for commercial. However given that smartphone adoption is likely to exceed 50% of all mobile phone users in the UK by the end of 2012, and that QR codes are free and an open standard, there is a marketing opportunity here for those who think creatively.

Sources for QR Code generators: Qurify| QR Stuff| OnlineQRlab

QR readers for smartphones: Android| Blackberry| i-phone

We have done some research with investment agents on the benefits of creating a designed pdf brochure versus leading marketing campaigns with a website and data room. Here are some of the contrasting benefits that came out of our interviews:-

Due to popular demand we have launch a “My Account” function. Our “My Account” allows each of your end users to have an account which means they will only have to register once. When they login to their account they will be able to see all the sites that have been either allocated to them or that they have logged into.

If you would like this functionality added to your set up please get in touch on 020 3086 8279.

It has been a long time since our last post, apologies fo the radio silence. We have been busy putting together a new set of products. Watch this space for the launch of our new offering to help market Commercial and Residential Investments and Developments.

Who doesn’t love award ceremonies? They’re a great excuse to get the team together for a night out and represent a TON of hard work.

Today estatecreate is thrilled to announce that we have been nominated Best Estate and Letting Agency Technology provider at the 2010 Property Professional Show Awards.

15th September, 2009 – The Web Marketing Association has named estatecreate the winner of their 2009 Outstanding Website in their Real Estate Category.

The judging was based on the following categories: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use. estatecreate received a score of over 9/10 in every category. One of the judges noted: “The demo truly sets it apart”.

estatecreate WebAward Scores

Henry Yates, estatecreate Chief Executive, said: “I am very pleased that the team’s hard work has been recognised by winning this award. We are in good company as Zillow won the same award last year.”
estatecreate is a new tool for estate agents to showcase a vendor’s home with a standalone website for their property with its own domain name - the 21st century glossy property brochure for the web. You can see an example website here: http://dovehousestreet.com/

The service is very easy to use - estatecreate takes a feed of data from each branch and the agent can then easily add content and publish to a domain name of their choice. You can see a product demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGk-9Bxp4Q

The Web Marketing Association was founded in 1997 with the intent to improve industry standards. Over the years, the recipients have created a benchmark for future Internet marketers and professionals around the world. This year, more than 45 countries participated.

estatecreate was founded by Henry Yates and is the first company to offer this service to estate agents in the UK. Yates is an experienced entrepreneur who has previously co- founded and sold two businesses, Face, the research and planning agency (www.facegroup.co.uk, sold to Cello PLC) and Univillage.com, the social network for students (sold to www.sub.tv).
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More information on the WebAwards and estatecreate’s entry here: http://www.webaward.org/winner.asp?eid=12565.

Image by henry_yates via Flickr

estatecreate has been shortlisted for The Estate Agency Innovation Award category of The Negotiator Awards 2009, organised in association with The Digital Property Group, FindaProperty.com and Primelocation.com.

Clare Bettelley, The editor of The Negotiator, the leading magazine for the world of estate agency, said: “We’ve had a terrific response and estatecreate has done brilliantly to get shortlisted from such a huge field. Britain’s estate agents are certainly having a tough time at the moment, but this is an industry awash with talent, entrepreneurialism and creativity, so we’re delighted we’re able to organise a ceremony to reward those firms that are delivering industry best practice”.

Henry Yates, estatecreate Chief Executive, said: “we are excited about being shortlisted for The Estate Agency Innovation Award. We have had a great response from estate agents across the UK and it is very satisfying to be recognised by The Negotiator for the work we have done within the industry.”

estatecreate was founded by Henry Yates and is the first company to offer this service to estate agents in the UK. Yates is an experienced entrepreneur who has previously co-founded and sold two businesses, Face, the research and planning agency (www.facegroup.co.uk, sold to Cello PLC) and Univillage.com, the social network for students (sold to Sub.tv).

3rd August, 2009 – Today estate agents using GMG Property Services (GMGPS) software, including Vebra, Core Systems and CFP, will easily be able to create individual property websites for any of their properties.
estatecreate has implemented a feed so that clients using GMGPS software can import all of their properties to estatecreate and then simply click to publish a property to its own website with a personal domain name e.g. www.dovehousestreet.com.
As part of the partnership estatecreate is offering estate agents a 1 month free trial and will not be charging a set up fee (usually £10/month).

Henry Yates, estatecreate Chief Executive, said: “we are excited to be working with GMG Property Services. They are the market leader with over 35% of agents using their software. This partnership delivers great value to the estate agency market.”

Henry added “offering potential clients their own website for their property is a great way of wining instructions. estatecreate single property sites are the 21st Century’s answer to property brochures.”

Mark Goddard, Group Managing Director, GMG Property Services, said “estatecreate is an ideal partner for us as it enables us to offer our customers a great tool to win new instructions. In the US just under 30% of all properties have their own website, we anticipate that this will become more popular in the UK.”

estatecreate is designed for people without any technical skills. Once an agent has been set up with their own template and a feed to automatically upload properties, the agent can easily move text, photos and video, add pages and drag and drop content around each page. To see a video demonstration of the product click the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGk-9Bxp4Q.
estatecreate was founded by Henry Yates and is the first company to offer this service to estate agents in the UK. Yates is an experienced entrepreneur who has previously co- founded and sold two businesses, Face, the research and planning agency (www.facegroup.co.uk, sold to Cello PLC) and Univillage.com, the social network for students (sold to Sub.tv).

GMG Property Services is made up of Vebra, Core Systems, CFP Software and The Media Design House. It is wholly owned by Guardian Media Group, one of the UK’s leading multimedia companies.

Image via Wikipedia

Web User magazine has selected estatecreate.com as one of their best new websites. I can not provide a link to the article as it is not yet on the web(?!). But this is what it says:

“estatecreate.com could be useful to anyone wanting to sell or rent out property without involving an estate agent. It lets you create a dedicated website for your house or holiday home, with photos, videos, maps and contact details. This can then be promoted on property sites, social networks and other online channels. estatecreate.com is easy to use and lets you build a decent site in minutes. A basic account with web hosting, unlimited storage and listing on partner sites costs from £5.95 per month, but you can create an ad-supported site for free.”

I could not have said it better myself.

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