It seems the tipping point is here with regard to the way consumers use the Internet for information to make purchases. There is a stat out there that suggests that 53% of users get their information in places other than corporate web sites. I wonder if it is time to re-imagine the corporate website.
In lieu of a shiny new one dotted with the general me me me stuff accompanied by a map of all our properties, should we move in the direction of a social classified [Craigslist] concept? I’m not suggesting we ditch the specific company and community information but maybe we just display it in a different manner. Can we give them what they want right when they want it? Can we get to the point without sacrificing engagement and overall experience? Or, would the engagement and overall experience be amplified positively by a less cluttered approach? I think the overriding theme in developing a web presence going forward should be to make it more social in nature.
That in mind, do you think it is conceivable that an apartment prospect just wants to get to the pertinent information via a search box – for all intents and purposes, they are expertly trained by Google to do so. Could we get away with just having a search box on our home page? Maybe after that, they just want to read a few reviews so that they can make a more informed decision about joining our apartment experience? Could each one of our listings carry with it a review or two? – And on that point, why use a third party when you could provide your own feedback [Yelp or Aptratings like] mechanism? Would it carry the same credibility?
Maybe the site is a mashup of Goolge and Craigslist [Craigooglelist], where your homepage is a search box that leads to a set of classified listings that include reviews. We could include links to the other stuff just in case the user wants to see it.
The over-riding point here is, do we need to rethink the corporate apartment website?
Have a stellar Sunday. M
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Should your website be a Craigooglelist?: It seems the tipping point is here with regard to the way consumers us.. http://tinyurl.com/cvdho9
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Mike-
We always should be rethinking our corp. websites. While I don’t believe a drastic socialization like Skittles.com is the answer, I agree an element of search is a great suggestion. Just like I would love to customize my listings on the ILSs, a consumer should be able to somewhat customize their experience on our websites. Search can help achieve that.
Now, I will have to say that the consumer should not have complete control as we are trying to promote value and a brand. Our sites still need to accomplish that regardless of what the consumer believes they want to find. I believe there is a happy medium with socialization, customer reviews, search, and maintaining branding. At least that’s what I’m going for.
It’s always evolving. The days are long gone where you can build a website and let it sit there for years believing that it is accomplishing the mission you have for it. If you’re not budgeting at least quarterly improvements/enhancements to your websites then it might be time to rethink your strategy.
Great post Mike!
Hey Mike,
That run yesterady must have giggled things around a bit. Great post, and I agree that nothing on our corporate web sites should be static. We are just around the corner from all being able to build, edit and change up our web sites daily, without the aid of programmers or web folks. Not that they don’t have thier place, but the process needs to be much more fluid.
I do believe the that in the not so distant future our advertising will mostly consist of rating sites. People just don’t believe ads or general marketing, but thye do believe each other.
We are all creating a LONG TAIL with every post, every on line article and every rating review. In my opinion, we should be paying a lot of attention to the Long Tail we are creating. The facinating thing is, you can’t buy a Long Tail, you create it one day at a time.
M & E,
Thank you as always for your thoughts – you never fail to add value…
E,
You make some great points with regard to the future of apartment marketing and our ability to influence the overall look and feel of our websites effortlessly. It’s here today and I am certain someone is mashing an multifamily version.
You are spot on with your remarks on the long tail for both your personal and professional brands. It’s very important, anymore, to think about the impact you are making today and how that will translate ten, fifteen and twenty years down the road. I recall writing about the subject of life caching three or fours years ago and here we are today facing the idea of you and your company fitting right into that philosophy.
M,
Always the marketing nerd – great stuff. I agree there has to be some level of influence over how consumers interact with your content. While we can praise the idea of giving up control to the consumer there has to be a structure otherwise all hell would break loose.
I am pumped to watch the next eighteen months play out in our business as we see more and more of the heavy hitters participating on Twitter and creating personal blogs. I think the influence that Eric speaks about often will start with the respected consultants in our space putting the message out there to the masses. I think the tipping point happens in the next eighteen to twenty-four months.
M
Great post Mike! I’ve been noticing a recent trend of new websites within the industry. In addition to your ideas, I suggest to our customers that they make their browsers more mobile-friendly. Flash components makes viewing difficult for mobile browsers, and the amount of time it takes to find a property can be discouraging. I think the industry is realizing this and slowly making adjustments.
When I speak with our customers, I remind them that mobile browsers will be the norm in a few years and now is the time to get on board!
Very helpful article. I need to rethink my corporate apartment website (http://www.apartmentninjas.com).
H,
The search apartment search space is morphing at a rapid clip. So much so that I think we might have to come up with an offshoot of Moore's Law. I think there is much to come in the way of social influence as it relates to search – it really is the here and now in terms of developers. At least that is this guys opinion.
I will make a note to keep an eye on the Ninja and or feel free to drop by the blog or shoot me an email.
Thanks for taking the time to drop a line – I hope you are gearing up for a stellar T day.
Take care –
M