2014 coldwell banker digital platform guide

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The New Coldwell Banker Real Estate Digital Platform Feature Overview & Guide

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The new platform will certainly distinguish you from the competition. Make certain to download the Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide so you can understand the strategy behind the new platform and some of the exciting new features. If you have a beautiful listing and hi-res photography that you would like considered for front page display at launch, please email the photos and the photo submission form to [email protected]. We are also looking for agents who have sellers who would like to share their content - property memories, photos, videos, etc. - on the platform at launch. Please let us know at the above email address and we will reach out to them.

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Page 1: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

The New Coldwell Banker

Real Estate Digital Platform

Feature Overview & Guide

Page 2: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Welcome to Our World - Innovation Since 1906 Those of us who love business and entrepreneurship have seen the word “disruptor” tossed

around routinely. With that said, let’s go back to 1906 when Colbert Coldwell, later joined by

Benjamin Arthur Banker, became one of America’s first Silicon Valley disruptors. He was a

23-year-old who brought leadership, ethics and integrity to the San Francisco real estate

industry in the aftermath of the city’s great earthquake. He was a pioneer!

Coldwell Banker® has ALWAYS been a leader. It’s in our DNA.

And now for the next chapter. We are thrilled to unveil another innovation, another way to

lead the real estate industry and create unrivaled opportunity for you. We are proud to

launch the NEW Coldwell Banker digital platform, for your desktop, phones and tablets!

Coldwell Banker is changing the game! For the first time ever Coldwell Banker Real Estate

will bring together agents, sellers and buyers under one digital platform with you as the

guide!

Technology, the Internet and a wave of new real estate related media websites have enabled

consumers to access housing and listing information like never before. It has taken what is a

very special and emotional moment in one’s life and turned it into a homogenized financial

transaction. We call it the “sea of sameness,” a world where vanilla content and acronyms

devalue the home buying and selling experience.

It’s time to truly empower the consumer. And, at the same time, truly empower you! With

the new digital platform:

Sellers can actively participate in telling the story of their home and neighborhood

through rich media tools. All while keeping you front and center in the process.

Consumers can provide “real-time” feedback on a listing’s amenities and photos

creating rich insights to buyer behavior and listing performance.

Buyers now have a simple way to utilize their friends and family on their journey to

home ownership.

A new layout rewards hi-res photography to really make your listings pop!

Agents now have access to a digital platform that provides them the ability to connect

and manage consumer engagement like never before. Only you, the Coldwell Banker

agent, can provide this level of service to your clients.

At Coldwell Banker we see innovation as a journey not a destination. So reserve your tickets

today for Gen Blue Hollywood and get ready for the industry’s next chapter of innovation.

Sean Blankenship

SVP, Marketing

Page 3: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Table of Contents

Take a look at our new digital environment. We are thrilled to provide you with a

sneak peek plus showcase some of the key features of coldwellbanker.com, mobile,

tablets and apps before we unveil the new platforms in late September. We think

you’re going to love what is in store:

Seller Involvement p. 4

Agent/Seller Dashboard p. 5

Like Options p. 6

Personalized Buyer Tools p. 7

“+2” p. 8

The “Handlebar” p. 9

Mobile & Apps p. 10

Photography p. 11

Video p. 12

What Isn’t Changing? p. 13

Additional Resources p. 14

Page 4: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Seller Involvement

Putting the family home up for sale is clearly a daunting task. Your clients face dozens of financial and emotional decisions during the entire sales process. They look to you as their leader and guide from start-to-finish. But up until now, sellers have been largely ignored as a valuable resource. The new Coldwell Banker digital platform will revolutionize the real estate process and give us an unrivaled platform as we become the first national brand to allow sellers the opportunity to participate directly in the marketing of their home. Yes, you heard correctly! The seller, if they choose, and with your approval, can be directly involved in

the marketing of their home. Here is how:

1. Upon completing a simple registration process, home sellers can easily upload their own photos, videos and personal accounts of the home for you to simply approve and post. From sharing fond memories to providing rich details about the home as only they know, the seller is now an active participant. And who better to share the home’s story than the sellers themselves.

2. Later this year, sellers will have access to a private dashboard of property activity, including property views and how potential buyers rate the home. They crave feedback and these proprietary analytics will allow you to engage with your sellers in critical and continuous conversations about staging, pricing and marketing the home.

3. Most importantly, none of this happens without your approval. Your value as the

leader has never been stronger.

Page 5: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Agent/Seller Dashboard (Coming Soon)

(Above image for display only)

Track your stats! Independent sales associates will now have their own access to the backend of coldwellbanker.com. The agent dashboard feature, which will be available soon after launch, provides the ability to manage listings, monitor analytics and keep clients informed of movement/ activity on any given property. Agents will find detailed data on:

Property listings

Total page views for a property (Sample on next page)

Average page views

Average photo and video views

Photo and video likes (Sample on next page)

Property feature likes

Featured / shared listings

Printed property listings

Page 6: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Like Options

The advent of social media has given us all a voice. We now have the ability to judge everything from restaurants to hotels. This type of referral also provides valuable real-time feedback. And with the new Coldwell Banker digital platform, real estate has joined the party. When a listing goes live, visitors to the Coldwell Banker platform will have easy access to use the traditional “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to rate the following:

Key features of the property description (ie. Beds, Baths, Lot size, etc.)

Property photos

Property videos The real-time feedback results are NOT public. You and your clients will be the only ones with access to this immediate snapshot of consumer sentiment. And that access can present incredible opportunities:

Does the property description need to be altered?

Are the posted photos and videos having their desired effect?

Are you getting the traffic you hoped for? If yes, what a great way to tout your skills! If not, what an amazing resource to tweak your marketing efforts, upgrade photos and enhance your video presence. And, if needed, you can re-engage the seller in important discussions about such things as pricing and staging. This feature will launch several weeks after the debut of the overall platform as it takes some time for this data to accumulate and be valuable.

Page 7: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Personalized Buyer Tools

Fact: Human beings are social creatures Fact: We love to share Fact: Social media has made it easy to share! Fact: Most consumers LOVE input from their family/friends during the buying process

The Buyer Section allows potential buyers to upload their own photos of a property, make notes and comments, all within the confines of the Coldwell Banker platform. And, most importantly, they can then share these with their selected circle of friends and family. We know that couples need and want to share their thoughts throughout the journey. Families do too. First-time buyers may need even more support from their friends and family. This is where we step in. This easy collaboration brings a more personal touch to the buying process, especially for first-time home buyers. They have the option to get feedback and support from those closest to them. Clients can also include you (the agent) in their circle, providing even more insight on their mindset than ever before.

Page 8: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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“+2”

No math equations here…Just searching made simple! Narrowing down where to live is one of the most challenging aspects of a home search. It is even more difficult when potential buyers do not have local knowledge of nearby communities. And, best of all, you can compare and contrast properties in multiple towns side-by-side. The new Coldwell Banker platform minimizes that challenge. Visitors can now search up to five locations at once. For example, a consumer might have their sights set on a property in a particular town, but not even be aware their dream home is actually two towns over! With “+2” that dream home could be theirs. Along with providing consumers with an expanded pool of potential homes, this new feature gives your listings the potential for increased exposure.

Page 9: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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The “Handlebar”

Do you like searching my maps? Some do. Do you like searching by lists? Some do. Hold on to the “handlebar” and welcome to a new way of searching for a home. The new “handlebar” allows website visitors to easily customize the way they view properties when using the traditional mapping feature. Website visitors can slide the “handlebar” to the left to increase the map view on their screen and to the right to increase the list view on their screen.

Page 10: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Mobile & Apps

Keep Coldwell Banker in your pocket.

All of our mobile platforms are now fully integrated offering an

amazing user experience on iPads, tablets, iPhones and Androids.

And those “power users” who download the new Coldwell Banker

app will notice it has been redesigned to provide a more

personalized user experience. Once a user logs in, a customized

display offers more options and capabilities than before, such as

collaboration between sellers and agents, as well as agents and

buyers via features such as activity feeds on listings and better app

navigation!

Make sure to update your Coldwell Banker app when we launch and

make sure to install our brand new iPad app!

Page 11: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Photography

We live in an era when taking and sharing photos has never been easier with Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Yet as the number of photos per listing has increased, the way those listing images are displayed has not changed much. Until now! The new Coldwell Banker platform provides you with an incredible opportunity to better showcase your photos with a fresh, contemporary look and feel. To enhance the power of gorgeous hi-resolution photography, images that meet digital resolution requirements will be displayed in an eye-catching “Pinterest-style” format when they appear in community search results. Those listings with beautiful high-res photos will be eligible to be featured on the coldwellbanker.com (coldwellbanker.ca) home page. Visitors will be immediately presented with a regionalized and rotating view of the most beautiful listings in their region based upon their location. As your excellent listing photography is more prominently showcased, make certain that your property descriptions tell a story that is just as beautiful and detailed. Remember to avoid real estate jargon. Common industry abbreviations such as “BR”, which are so familiar to us, can sometimes be foreign to a consumer.

Page 12: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Video

You already know Coldwell Banker was the first real estate brand to integrate with YouTube, creating the first dedicated real estate channel, Coldwell Banker On Location. The channel was quickly populated with thousands of listing videos, along with neighborhood and local market conditions, as well as trends and tips for home buyers and sellers.

Last year, Coldwell Banker partnered with Videolicious to offer you the opportunity to create free and simple videos completely integrated with the On Location upload tool.

As you have come to expect, it is now time for Coldwell Banker to up the ante with real estate video. While we will continue to prominently feature listings with videos, the new Coldwell Banker platform will ONLY feature true videos.

The truth is that slide shows provide very little consumer value. Routinely, they are the same pictures that appear in your photo carousel only set to music. That is why we have made the decision to NO LONGER accept virtual tours. For your video to appear on the platform, it MUST be submitted with a YouTube URL.

We believe that ONLY true video showcases the story of the home and/or the personality of the agent. Let’s really take them through the home and allow the video to provide a different perspective than potential buyers can get from traditional photos. And do not be afraid to let your personality shine through. After all, buyers choose to work with you because of who you are as a person along with your skills and success!

Page 13: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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What ISN’T Changing

The way listings are sent

Nothing changes in how your listings are submitted!

The way Agent/Office Profile Pages are updated

Agent Profile Pages can still be updated in real time using the in-line editor directly on

coldwellbanker.com or the SECURE site on coldwellbankerworks.com. Office profile pages

can also continue to be updated on the SECURE site.

The way leads are received

Yup, nothing changes

REN still powers the site

The Coldwell Banker platform will continue to be powered by a combination of your Coldwell

Banker listings, those from sisters brands (ie., Century 21 and ERA) and listings made

available through the REN Network, a partnership with ListHub and other franchisors which

allow us to share listings based on simplified display rules.

Page 14: 2014 Coldwell Banker Digital Platform Guide

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Additional Resources

For additional resources, please refer to Coldwell Banker Works: Info for photography & video General information about the new digital platform Additional items may be included as needs arise.