RISMEDIA, January 26, 2011—A recent survey of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio International member firms indicated that many are using Quick Response (QR) codes to promote their businesses and home listings. Mirroring this trend, Luxury Portfolio International, the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World recently introduced QR codes in its full-page advertisements in The Wall Street Journal European edition, incorporating a code to drive consumers to a video describing Luxury Portfolio. QR Codes are a type of barcode used on print ads and signage that transmit text and information to users through their mobile devices.
Among the firms using the technology is Halstead Property, which was one of the first residential real estate firms in the New York metropolitan area to utilize QR Codes. “We took the QR Codes a step further and branded them as H-Tags, with our logo incorporated into the code. Halstead has been incredibly pleased with the results of the H-Tags and the response from consumers. While it is a new technology to some, people are always looking for the most effective tool when looking at real estate, and H-Tags have become one of the best solutions for getting information instantaneously,” said Diane M. Ramirez, president of Halstead Property.
Ebby Halliday REALTORS® VP, Director of Marketing Randall Graham describes the company’s use of the technology: “When scanned with a Smartphone Tag Reader, the tag immediately delivers a full photo gallery, property details including room dimensions, current price, school information and direct access to the listing associate via phone or e-mail.”
MaryLou Buckley, director Business Development, broker associate at Coco, Early & Associates has been inspired by the effectiveness of this selling tool. “We added QR Codes to all of our luxury properties in our print advertising,” says Buckley. “Each property has its own video tour, and the QR Code takes the consumer directly to the tour. We have seen a marked increased in the number of inquiries on all of our luxury properties, including several offers on our listings.”
Other companies have incorporated this brand-building program in their company materials, including William Raveis Real Estate. Steven Csejka, vice president, Marketing, notes, “Some of our agents use QR Codes on their business cards as a fast way of conveying contact information.”
Michael Duffy, REALTOR® with Duffy Real Estate cites another use: “We are planning to put the codes on our ‘Just Listed’ and ‘Just Sold’ cards that we mail to surrounding neighborhoods.”
Chrissy Smith, marketing director of Peabody Smith Realty measures the success of the codes with BarCoderealty.com, noting, “They have a Web product for real estate that allows us to track the codes. It also handles our mobile site, and we can embed our logo in the QR Code, which is very helpful.”
Csejka agrees this method produces results, adding, “QR Codes are more useful as a way of enhancing print advertising and adding a new dimension. Education of the public is definitely part of the process at this point.”
While the use of QR Codes is just beginning to take off in the real estate industry, its potential is noteworthy, as consumers become more and more familiar with mobile applications, and businesses embrace this technology as a way to provide consumers with the information they are seeking.
For more information, visit www.leadingre.com.
