Hey, it’s me again, gracing your screen for the second time in two days. Sorry about this interruption to normal service but in fact I’ve been asked to write a follow up to my article yesterday that highlighted how Rightmove are succeeding entirely at your expense.
Quite unusually, the request comes from a commentator in the forum of this publication. A surprising but welcome slice of constructivism that is in sharp contrast to the comments that I usually attract. Apparently.
The question from the audience is ‘So what does Russell suggest the solution is?’
This is both a good question and a stupid one (sorry).
It’s good because you’d all like the magic bullet served up on a velvet cushion, wouldn’t you – especially after ‘twenty years of hurt’ at the hands of Rightmove megalomania? It’s a problem, this one-sided relationship where you feel that you’re being abused but can’t bring yourself to leave or to seek help.
But, is it really for me to gift you the Holy Grail of property industry answers and to mother you so? After all, this is stuff that I usually charge literally tens of pounds in consultancy fees for.
Ok, I’ll give you a tenner’s worth. The thing is, the solution is entirely in your hands and hence the stupid element to the question posed. Agents, that is you, are the solution to the property industry’s equivalent of 18th Century France and the oppression that befell the peasantry back then. You are also the problem.
That problem is one of acquiescence. One of acceptance. All the while you tolerate and accept the behaviour of something that seemingly takes advantage, you are arguably enabling them to continue to do so.
The idea that numerous agents themselves could come together to form a portal that agents owned and controlled as a friendly alternative to Rightmove, was an obvious one and one that would work. Or rather would have done if a certain Mr Ian Springett hadn’t got drunk on bonkers strategy (one other portal, no online agents) so rendering the saviour of agents’ fortunes a lame duck from day one. I did try to tell you all by way of submitting a complaint about this approach to the Competitions and Markets Authority – but as usual the industry merely rolled its eyes and muttered ‘meh’.
If Springett had also not been permitted to use On The Market as a vehicle for his own enrichment then I believe that Rightmove would be in a much weaker position now. In fact what happened was that Springett’s greed and inabilities, in my opinion, simply fed the number one player even more power as agents left and returned due to lackluster results and broken promises.
OTM remains one of the biggest missed opportunities that this industry has ever let slip through its fingers and you are all poorer as a consequence.
The original third portal is still the third portal but, of course, has a new captain at the helm now and who may yet find a way to barge his way past the number two to threaten the big beast. But he’ll need a far bigger war-chest, the freedom to use it and proper outside advice too – and the jury is very much out on whether any of these things will be embraced.
So, to the elephant in the room. Or elephants in the form of Michael and Kenny Bruce. Dare I suggest that directly and indirectly that Boomin may be the solution – or at least part of it.
Why?
Look, I’m no drinking buddy of the Bruce’s and I’ve had more than a few cross words with both brothers over the years. But just bear with me on the logic here.
First, do we need another portal? The answer from the public’s perspective is maybe not. But from an industry point of view, yes you do. Because a proper competitor that threatens Rightmove is akin to it being good for you.
Second, there’s the technical innovation and the user experience aspect from Boomin that seems to put the established portals in the shade whereby they have all been super-complacent in innovating. Useable features that challenge the boring status quo of just a binary search experience is something we haven’t seen from the big three. Boomin’s seeming obsession with a different set of functions could well catch on as far as consumers are concerned. And it will force others to innovate, if they can.
Third, marketing budget and skills. The Bruce’s are renowned for building a brand quickly. If they do and, as a consequence of their Purplebricks type budgets, then the eyeballs will flock to their website and agents’ brands will surely benefit from that. And Rightmove will have to look over their shoulder at last – indeed I hear whispers of subscription deals already being done by Rightmove currently like they have never lowered themselves to do before.
Fourth, ROI. Yes, return on investment. How many of you really gauge the income that you yield from being on each portal? I mean really? How many leads turn into sale completions from each and what is the cost to you of acquiring that sale – £100? £500? £1000? How many listings do you really convert from valuations because you’re on Rightmove? I suspect most of you have no idea. There will be a positive return except that it’s just not what it used to be. Rightmove really takes advantage of your ignorance here.
Given the data that the portals harvest and the leads that they convey to you from your own stock, don’t you think that these aspects are all more valuable to you? And if Boomin really can share significant ancillary revenue with you from your listings then the ROI may start to look pretty positive and in contrast to the blind, spray and pray lead generating approach of Rightmove and ZPG. Because all leads are certainly not equal.
Frankly, I couldn’t care whether the Bruce’s succeed or fail. But in light of the aforementioned missed opportunity via On The Market and Rightmove’s continuing stranglehold, perhaps you should? “My enemy’s enemy is my friend” etc.
Alwight.
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My granny once had a budgerigar called Chirpy. He was a clever bird, although he was limited in his vocabulary and quite often said the same words over and over again.
He put me off budgies for life. There’s a moral in there somewhere.
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I gave up reading after he stated he charged ‘tens of thousands’ for consultancy. A quick look on Companies House suggest he charges a fiver. A few articles ago he told us how much he was earning from being a part time estate agent. I’m just not buying his personal claims.
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Read it again. I said ‘tens of pounds’. It’s self-deprecation. Do try to keep up.
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It’s early so I apologise for mis reading. But I stand by my other comments
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Who remembers the online debate about trolling where the author of this piece vehemently stated he did not read the comments below his articles as he couldn’t care less how people reacted?
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This is a very accurate assessment in my opinion.
The way OTM abused its opportunity is a real shame.
I think local portals could work on a mutual basis but this would involve estate agents working together, unfortunately the arrogance of a few is the likely reason they won’t.
I like Russell he has a strength of character many on here don’t!
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We tried and tried to get agents to “see the light” with the Say No campaign but sadly we failed
The opportunity is still there and they have re- negotiated with at least 3 firms Im aware of at lower rates
If everyone took some, even if not all of RQ’s comments on board, we could be in a better position
Maybe the horse has not bolted just yet?
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RM must be really squeezing KW – why not just drop the sales microsite and lettings?
KW are also a Boomin’ Platinum Agent along with a raft of other onliners who don’t get onto OTM.
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That explains then why he is promoting boomin. They are probably one of his clients. What happened to all these so called challenger portals? Where are they now? Openbrix, home search and so on. It would be interesting to see how many agents have supported them.
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I’m not a fan of MR Q, as “outspoken” is often taken way too far by him. BUT he has it right on the money here.
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AGREED!
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Sorry quirky,
You lost me when you started endorsing those purplebricks lot. Agents will never pay for that ****
Ian spring-it left onthemarket ages ago – that is the answer – particularly now he has gone.
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The biggest mystery is why most agents didn’t support OTM – sadly Mr Q is right in that the ‘one other portal’ rule was suicide, but OTM was the right solution to the problem just with the wrong T&Cs.
I’m also mystified about why OTM’s original founders (Savills, KF, etc, etc) didn’t do more to support it – no marketing, no comments in the trade press, no banging the drum. Were they embarrassed? Or are portal wars beneath them? Answers on a postcard pls.
As for Boomin – I’ve spent a couple of hours on it and I can’t see why its that different. Zoopla tried to do the matchmaker thing in 2010, and most consumers just want to find a home or figure out how much theirs is worth. The UX is pretty good and I like the booking viewings direct, but is it that different….?
RM – has dominant network effects and these are super super hard to dismantle. The lack of innovation is pathetic but do consumers care….? I don’t think so.
ZPG – has Silver Lake’s money and IQ and both of those are pretty serious assets. ZPG is innovating like hell and deserves credit.
OTM – the new ceo has gone out to listen to customers – hallelujah. But with what result?
Ultimately this all comes down to a form of Prisoners Dilemma – if agents stay fragmented then RM wins. We’ve been talking about this for 15 years but still we’re no further forward.
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Totally agree especially with the fragmented comment
So many did want to follow but sadly not quite enough
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The reason OTM did not work was Ian was always looking at his exit strategy. It was NEVER going to work he just needed it to sound good.
For Ian it was a roaring success, as normal most agents were taken in by the BS just like they are with Boomin now.
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Has to be said a good response by RQ ..
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Any opinion that starts with the word Russell, I tend to skim over if I’m honest……
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Im guessing that the markets been good for most agents recently …people are making hay while the sun shines ….so the whole RM issue has taken a backseat. If agents are making good money they say nothing….
Market slows ….people will start looking at their expenditure again….RM moves back into frame.
Agents need to build towards a longer term solution to their RM problem.
Whatever portal comes along the crux comes when people are faced with a decision do I leave RM? Some have been brave enough…which I respect enormously….some have competitors who dont see the bigger picture and will stab them in the back at the first opportunity…..
In the meantime whats wrong with a good old mass referral to the Competition and Markets Authority? How can it be any worse than what youve got now?
p.s. If you look at the CMA report into Zoopla / Digital Property Group Merger in 2012 the CMA are well aware of the RM position in the market and were hoping to create a serious challenger
https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/digital-property-group-zoopla
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Just because you don’t like someone doesn’t mean they aren’t right on this occasion.
There is a huge slice of irony in someone who tried their best to shaft you giving advice on how not to be shafted.
Irony, hypocrisy, whichever.
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The key for most agents is understanding your market and data. Different portals perform differently according to geographic area, sales or lettings and market segment. I’ve heard agents across the country praise and pan every portal going. First and foremost, agents need to understand their enquiry to viewing conversion rate, viewing to offer rate and offer to transaction rate. Only with this data can you start to make informed decisions about your business.
Portals are merely funnels- they don’t create landlords or vendors but simply direct them to your door. More portals doesn’t mean more leads it just means more funnels to manage.
Agents also don’t have to take an immediate and huge leap. You control what gets listed where and when- so start playing. Do a teaser announcement across all social media channels with attention-grabbing text & imagery; then launch to your own agency website, days later release on to your agencies number 1 choice of portal…..and a new portal each few days. This will ensure- your agency benefits from SEO value, staged marketing creates multiple ‘new to market’ opportunities and by refining this you can see real results and test things.
Agents with a good database, website, mailing functionality and social media presence should be able to do a ton of the heavy lifting themselves. Vendors THINK they want RM (or whatever portal) because that’s all they know- but if you tell a vendor that you own the local market so well that 90% of your listings sell through teaser announcements and your website without even going to mass market portals- they will be happy.
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I agree with MarkJ and KByfield04, we only stay with RM out of the fear that our less scrupulous competitors will use our absence, against us. We have been marketing outside the portals and producing results. How long before the public realise that everything is not on RM. if they wait that long, they may miss the opportunity of securing the property they desired. The power is in the hands of the Agents, if they have the intelligence and the courage, to deal with it. It is tempting to be complacent when things are going well, but when that market slows down again (end of the stamp duty holiday, end of furlough, end of zombie jobs) what about the level of portal fees then?
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