On a recent visit to Chicago, my first time there, I was anxious to get a lay of the land. I had heard a lot about the city and its similarities to New York; so as a prideful New Yorker, I was eager to disprove those theories. However, before I had the chance to disprove, I noticed that the term “getting the lay of the land” had changed.
When I walked out the door of the airport and got on the Taxi line I already knew where I was going, what route I was taking and how long it would take. I just plugged in the address to my hotel into the maps app on my iPhone. Once I got in the cab and confirmed that he was on course based on the pre plotted route of my phone, I then began searching what was around my hotel on the map. Once I came across an area which looked of interest such as Lake Shore Park, I Googled it to get pictures and more information.
After getting settled into the hotel and catching up on the e-mails I missed while on the plane I embarked on checking out some of the places I found on the map while in the cab. When I checked-in at Lake Shore Park I perused the tips left by other visitors to see what part of the park (which is right on Lake Michigan and gorgeous) I should go to. As the day went on I got hungry so of course, Chicago Pizza was the obvious choice. How do you think I found the Pizza Place that would handle my hunger on this afternoon?
Correct again, I opened the Yelp app and reviewed all the Pizza restaurants in walking distance from where I was. GPS and location based services/searches on our mobile devices have taken the concept of “hyper-local” a step further. What’s around me where I am right now and fills the need of what I am looking for. I don’t want o search aimlessly for things I can’t have/see/touch right now. We are an “I want it now society”. What I want “now” is now determined by convenience of what’s readily available.
This is no different when it comes to real estate consumers. In my Chicago expedition I was a consumer of local attractions and food. However, if I was here looking for property I would have wanted to see what was available within close geographic proximity to where I was staying and/or the area I was exploring. I may have also up searched via mobile for a local expert who could provide me the search tools that allowed me to find that information. It’s either that or turn to a name that everyone knows, Realtor.com and their app to provide me that info.
GPS is by far the most important search tool on Mobile today. Creating a mobile enabled website which offers this feature to the clients and prospects you’re working with makes you more relevant in today’s market. By using your existing URL you are more likely to be found by consumers searching for realtors from their mobile device. The combination of these two things makes you a more valuable resource for them.
By integrating this technology into your marketing mix you are capitalizing on today’s most prominent technology to provide your clients the experience they want.
For more information on how to do this visit: www.MobileRealEstateID.com
