The Future of Zap
The goal in 2016 is to continue expanding the number of Realogy franchised companies on the Zap platform and to help agents leverage the system’s full capabilities, giving more and more franchises and agents their own “superpowers.”
“As more brokers talk to each other and hear the success stories, the interest and appetite for Zap will continue to grow,” Perriello says. “We believe we have addressed the leading concern for every broker in the country as it relates to technology—how to keep pace and remain relevant with the online consumer.”
David Winans, broker/owner of Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate David Winans & Associates in Dallas, Texas, is anticipating the implementation of the Zap platform at his brokerage.
“We believe Zap will enable us to drive lead conversion rates higher than they’ve ever been in our 32-year history thanks to its unique ZapScore algorithm. Realogy’s leadership and innovation have yet again added tremendous value to our company, recruiting and retention efforts, and bottom line,” says Winans.
2016 will also see the launch of the ZapStore, which allows seamless integration of third-party applications into the Zap system. (See sidebar above).
“The vision of the ZapStore is to solve the technology integration challenges for the brokerage,” Wilson explains. “It makes available to brokers and agents the third-party tools that they never would have been able to integrate so easily before, and those add-ons will be one click away in the ZapStore.”
Continuous Improvement
For Baker and Wilson, the ZipRealty team’s goal is to continue to improve on the Zap product and build value for Realogy-affiliated brokerages. “The more brokers and agents on the platform, the better it becomes for everyone,” says Baker.
The Zap team uses an “agile development” process whereby users (brokers and agents) share feedback that helps drive new features and functionality on an ongoing and frequent basis.
“Zap is constantly evolving, and everyone benefits in real-time,” says Wilson. “Changes to the operating system are applied seamlessly to all Zap users so no one will ever be left out using last year’s model.”
“We’re solving problems that the rest of the industry doesn’t even know exist yet,” says Perriello. “We’re delivering solutions that are way ahead of the competition because we have all of the pieces in place—not just within the Zap product, but also within Realogy and our portfolio of iconic brands. Few others have our expertise and years of experience, and no one has our team in Emeryville.”
ZapStore: ‘Supermarket for the Super Agent’
Even in the comics, superheroes sometimes require outside help. Just like Batman has his
utility belt, Realogy brand-affiliated brokers and agents on the Zap platform will have the ZapStore, an online marketplace where they can access innovative third-party applications, products and services that will seamlessly integrate with the Zap platform.
There are a lot of innovators working across the globe on technology solutions for the real estate industry, but they all face the same challenge—how to integrate with myriad broker and agent platforms.
“The ZapStore will be the next ‘big thing’ in our industry,” says Alex Perriello, president and chief executive officer of the Realogy Franchise Group. “We are taking the dysfunction out of innovation.”
With the ZapStore, the advantage for innovators is that they only need to integrate their application once—with the Zap platform—and their product will be instantly accessible to and ready to implement for all of the brokers and agents on the platform.
“ZapStore will help us attract innovators and increase the value of the Zap platform to brokers and agents,” says Lanny Baker, chief executive officer of ZipRealty. “These third-party products will fill in the gaps between big bricks that ZipRealty is building, and make the whole Zap platform stronger and more compelling.”
Once a product is in the ZapStore, brokers can access the product, and with one click it will be available for their use seamlessly within the Zap platform, rather than having to operate separately.
Currently ZapStore is only available to brokers. The ZipRealty team is working on simplifying the integration process for third-party vendors, which will expedite the number of available products and services once the agent version of the ZapStore opens later in 2016.
“As more vendors place products in the ZapStore, it will create more excitement and enthusiasm for the Zap product as we go forward,” says Perriello. “I like to think of it as the supermarket for the super agent.”
For more information, visit www.realogy.com.
