In the real estate industry, a firm's online presence - its ability to have superior technology solutions, complemented by a team of experts - is critical. Without that support, and without the resources to maintain a firm's regional or national visibility on the web, success can quickly become its own worst enemy. Meaning: real estate firms with aggressive marketing campaigns must maintain the connectivity and bandwidth necessary for substantial increases in traffic. This assistance is the direct result of working with a colocation provider with the infrastructure to handle these issues, which include running multiple servers and having the expertise of talented professionals available at a moment's notice.
These principles of access, intelligence and mobility (AIM) are the critical difference - for companies in general and real estate firms in particular - between one colocation provider versus another. In the absence of AIM, real estate firms risk selecting the wrong colocation provider, which can cause a negative impact on brand reputation, new business opportunities and existing relationships with clients.
I write these words not to condemn the competition, nor to sound unnecessarily alarmist, but realtors need to know the facts: that access, a network of offices throughout the United States, which can support a firm's online growth, backed by technical experts who will remedy any unforeseen developments and guarantee 100% uptime -- all of these things are essential for real estate firms that seek to appeal to current and prospective clients nationwide.
Remember: a firm's website is often the first point of introduction for people interested in working with a broker, or listing a home with a specific branch. If that firm has unreliable connectivity - if it loses valuable, confidential data, or falls victim to poor hosting services - it will damage its respect in the marketplace. Indeed, the sheer force of social media - the disparate number of blogs, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages - will all say the same thing: that this real estate firm has a shoddy web presence, a site easily overrun by even the slightest increase in traffic and thus not worth visiting or retaining.
All of which brings us back to working with the right colocation provider. In fact, the concept of AIM - strengths that apply to any business - is something realtors should replicate in their dealings with clients. Start with the notion of access, that, as a professional, you will be available to accommodate the needs of your clients; that you have the offices to be a credible force within your industry. Secondly, emphasize the technical expertise that defines your commitment to excellence; assemble a team of distinguished leaders, who share your vision for solving complex problems and customizing solutions for each client. And thirdly, have the mobility to go anywhere, at any hour, to maintain the quality of service your clients deserve.
These rules are our unofficial motto; but they have added importance concerning the union between real estate and technology, because - in the absence of a reputable colocation provider, one with a suite of integrated services and on-call experts - everything is liable to collapse. In that situation, everyone is the victim of false promises and unrealistic expectations. Put another way, behind most successful online companies there is a successful colocation provider. Our advice to real estate firms is, therefore, simple: choose the right colocation company. Period.
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