A new commercial partnership has been agreed between OnTheMarket and Kremer Signs, it was announced this morning.
As part of the new arrangement, Kremer Signs will now supply OnTheMarket agents with Smartboards which can be added to for sale signs to generate a new type of lead.
The Smartboard is a slip that can be attached to the post of the for-sale sign of a newly instructed property and features a unique QR code to combine both traditional and digital marketing methods for estate agents. Using this QR code technology, Smartboards connect agents, buyers and sellers to generate a new type of lead, thereby using the latest technology to make it even easier for consumers to find their next home.
In line with OnTheMarket’s strategy of building a differentiated, technology-enabled property business, this partnership comes after a successful three-month trial which was carried out at the end of last year and saw a set of OnTheMarket agents introduce Smartboards to the for-sale signs of their newly instructed sales properties.
Kremer Signs supplies signage to all sectors within the property industry including residential, commercial and land and new homes and they have developed the Smartboard product.
As part of the commercial partnership, OnTheMarket full-tariff agents can now receive 15 Smartboards per branch for free. In addition to this, all OnTheMarket agents can also benefit from an exclusive agreed rate to introduce Smartboards to their for-sale signs.
When a Smartboard QR code is scanned, the consumer is taken directly to the exact details of that property on the OnTheMarket website. From here, the consumer can read the full property details, call the agent marketing the property using the phone icon which appears, or complete a contact form which is then forwarded to the agent resulting in a new type of lead. When the lead form is completed, a confirmation SMS is sent to the consumer to confirm contact from the selling agent has been requested.
By combining QR code technology with the traditional for-sale board marketing method, consumers can quickly access the property details of a listing with ease, allowing for more potential sales enquiries to be generated. It is believed that Smartboards are a particularly effective lead generation tool in areas with high footfall and can also support with generating more valuation enquiries as there is the potential for more passive passers-by to also engage with the Smartboards who may soon become interested in moving. Agents can also access analytics via a dashboard to keep track of activity such as the number of board scans and the details of leads which have been generated.
Jason Tebb, chief executive officer of OnTheMarket, commented: “I am delighted to be announcing our latest commercial partnership with Kremer Signs, which will support our agents in generating a new type of lead for their sales properties. As technology continues to be an increasingly important part of how people search for their next home, this partnership embraces that consumer behaviour and is another example of how we’re introducing best-in-class products to add value to our offering and ensure we’re supporting our agents and their business activity.
He continued: “By adding our partnership with Kremer Signs to our offering, we’re continuing to deliver on our promise to equip our agents with useful tools to enhance the way they do business. My commitment to keep developing and adding to our agents’ memberships is ongoing and I look forward to sharing more news soon.”
Gary Gosney, sales and marketing director of Kremer Signs, commented: “We’re really pleased to be partnering with OnTheMarket to supply agents with Smartboards. As well as supporting agents in generating sales enquiries, Smartboards can help with winning more instructions as they’re an example of how agents can show they’re differentiating themselves from the competition in ways they market properties.”
As long as the additional QR plaque bit doesn’t fall foul of planning and exceed the maximum board area….
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The boards themselves are completely compliant with local council regulations, as it is separate to the agents For Sale / To Let advertisement board itself. The Smartboard acts as a post tag which is similar to the common Directional Arrow, Flat Numbers or ‘Similar Properties Required’ tags that you often see on boards at the moment.
We did launch this product nearly 10 years ago believe it or not, but the technology at the time was too advance for the mobile devices being used, and not everybody knew what a QR Code actually was.
Off the back of the pandemic and the introduction of the governments Track & Trace system, people are a lot more accustom to QR Codes and how to interact with them, as well as smartphones being better equip to easily engage with the codes. So there really has never been a better time to introduce QR Codes to your boards.
As well as the above, the biggest change this time around, is that they are Dynamic QR Codes, which means through our online platform you can change the URL as many times as you want to specific property details on your website, which means the Smartboards themselves can be used many times, rather than being a static QR that is for one time use.
There are also many other features available including scan, lead and call analytics generated by the Smartboard, as well as SMS push notifications that can be sent to the end user, which puts your contact details directly into their phone. We also have a Smartboard Installer app, which can be used by your board man (or the agent themselves if they erect their own boards) which allows you to assign the Smartboards on site of install to the properties URL, which makes the process incredibly user friendly.
This new product really does link the traditional ‘For Sale’ board with the new age Proptech marketing world for estate agents.
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I think this is a brilliant initiative – especially in areas that are slightly ‘resistant’ to OnTheMarket and where more local traffic needs to be generated.
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TomCommuskey
“The boards themselves are completely compliant with local council regulations, as it is separate to the agents For Sale / To Let advertisement board itself.”
Then sorry – but as I have always understood the case to be, it is absolutely not “completely compliant with local authority regulations“.
Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007) allow only one advertisement board. per property with a maximum size restriction dependent upon the type of board utilised.
Therefore ANY “flag” added – unless part of the main board and within its’ physical area – is in breach the above.
Happy to be proven wrong on that, by the way…
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Just ask your own board company to print a QR code Slip linking to your own website advert for the property.
And, add a QR code to the SSTC slips, saying “Another One Sold – Scan Here for Free Valuation”
You can have both of them on me. 😉
Nothing new here.
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Of course this is an option, but the slips and QR Codes cannot be reused as the sale goes through, as you cannot reassign the URL on a standard QR, which makes this option not very cost effective. Smartboard is a free product and service that OTM are offering to their estate agents which means the agent themselves pay nothing.
Plus the Smartboard platform allows you to receive leads, scan & call stats, as well as sending bespoke SMS notifications to the person engaging with the QR Code.
QR Codes are of course not new, but the Smartboard technology is 😉
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Appreciate your answer and service you are offering. (In-house alternative seems easier, than say for me, changing board company, because OTM have now made this a thing!)
I am assuming to be fair, the QR directs you to OTM and not to the agents website?
I am not sure producing individual and new QR codes for listings will break the bank to be truthful… and I personally think the QR code MUST go direct to the property listing on the EAs website! Nowhere else, other than straight to more info on that property, which the board belongs to.
The SSTC QR code would be the same forever, or until you have a different place where you direct digital leads to for Valuation registrations. So again, not really an issue unless you constantly change how you ask property to register online.
Great idea, but for me, £2 to £3 for a small QR code slip to be added to the board when ordering is no biggie to by-pass the need to send leads to a portal.
You can make them optional this way, so sellers are not having the neighbours and local dog walkers pointing their mobiles at the board in the early hours. (These are the only people who will scan to be fair)
£250 or more per month for a branch portal membership is perhaps 80 or so QR slips to ensure the traffic stays with the agent.
Thanks again for the reply.
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Thank you for your reply Ric,
I understand your points, and of course if you are not with the portal then Kremer Signs do offer Smartboard to agents independently, where by the URL for the properties details can be directed to the property specific area of your own website, and the Smartboards can be printed in your brand. You will still receive the Kremer Signs platform support for all features and analytics that I previously mentioned.
If you would like to explore this option then please get in contact with us and we can discuss how it works and the costs involved, which I think will offer your a better service at a similar price that you are currently paying for slips 🙂
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Again thanks Tom. Appreciate your reply, especially when it’s to a grumpy sod like me.
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