Keeping up with the fast-paced, ever-changing real estate industry isn’t something that HomeFinder.com takes lightly. In fact, the company made its first foray into the industry 10 years ago as Homescape, and in 2009, branched off from Classified Ventures, LLC and launched as HomeFinder.com in order to better compete with sites such as REALTOR.com®, Zillow and Trulia. While the company started off providing software to newspapers and powering real estate search for media companies such as Gannett Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co., HomeFinder.com, an online real estate search site and provider of digital marketing solutions for real estate agents, is now focused on working closely with agents, brokers and builders.
“We have spent the past few years really working on the customer service part of our business,” says Doug Breaker, President and CEO. “In fact, every email that we send out as a company provides the recipient with a chance to rate their experience, which has enabled us to be transparent when it comes to how well we’re serving our customers.” And they must be doing something right since 86 percent of their interactions have been classified as ‘very good.’
For Mark Tepper, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, the company’s evolution has been one of the most significant feats in getting the company to where it is today. “Since joining the company in 2007, I have seen it transform into one that is very customer centric and we have put a lot of time and effort into really understanding our customers and what they’re going through.”
Understanding their customers is more important than ever before as the industry continues to make its way through today’s challenging real estate market. The past few years have been nothing short of trying for real estate professionals across the board who have gone to great lengths to pull out all the stops just to try and stay afloat. As any real estate agent can attest, it hasn’t been easy. “It’s been a tough couple of years for agents,” says Tepper. “Not only are agents making less money today, they have also stopped investing in themselves.”
This was the motivation behind HomeFinder.com’s decision to launch the HomeFinder.com Agent Makeover Sweepstakes, an industry-wide program that will award five lucky agents the chance to fly to Chicago for a business and style makeover.
“The motivation behind putting together this sweepstakes is to re-energize agents,” says Tepper, who explains that the two-day event will be chock-full of tools agents can introduce into their business to set them on the path for success as we head into the future. “We want real estate professionals to associate HomeFinder.com with the brand that really gets agents and REALTORS®,” says Breaker.
Not only will the winners receive a business and style makeover, they’ll also have the chance to take part in coaching sessions with local industry experts who will share real estate specific best practices related to social media, online marketing and SEO. In addition, agents will learn how to capitalize on the constantly changing real estate landscape. “This is a great way for us to give back to the community and to give agents something that’s of benefit to them,” adds Breaker. “We’re making it very simple for agents to get all the support and guidance they need to set themselves up for success while at the same time showing that we’ll do whatever we can to help them achieve their goals,” says Tepper.
The Agent Makeover Sweepstakes began on May 15, 2012 and will run through August 10, 2012. Agents can submit their name twice: on HomeFinder.com and through the company’s Facebook page. The winners, who will be chosen through a completely random drawing, will be announced on or around August 15, 2012.
5 Lucky Agents Will Win:
-Flight to Chicago (Sept. 12-14, 2012)
-Two nights in a fabulous downtown hotel
-Stylish new outfit
-Spa treatment
-Professional photo shoot
-Coaching from local industry leaders
-Training on real estate specific social media, SEO and online marketing
For more information, visit www.homefinder.com.
