Reaching the digital consumer

Innovating through technology

How does a 100-year-old company stay relevant? Royal LePage has tackled this challenge through constantly innovating with new technology and improved marketing approaches. We seek out and evaluate the newest products and trends to ensure our network is equipped to offer the best service possible to their clients.

Even in its early years, Royal LePage was a company that thrived on innovation. Our founder, A.E. LePage, was well-known for his ability to think of new ways to get his business noticed. From building a house in a day, to filming and screening stately homes and cottage-country resorts, A.E. LePage didn’t shy away from a little showmanship to generate business buzz.

Today, Royal LePage’s goal is to help consumers access the resources they need to educate themselves and to put them in touch with an agent who will make sure the home buying or selling experience is a positive one. Our most effective way to deliver on this goal is through technology and its innovations.

When you think of technologies that are important in your business life, you will undoubtedly think of the Internet. Over the last two decades, the Internet has become so vital to human interaction that the United Nations recently declared it a basic human right.

Consider the timeline below that illustrates some of the ways Royal LePage has demonstrated its technological leadership.

Mobile

Do you know where your cell phone is? Chances are it’s within reach. Mobile devices have become the indispensable all-in-one gadgets that people used to dream of owning. An ever increasing number of people have web browsers on their mobile devices and by 2014, mobile Internet traffic is expected to surpass desktop Internet traffic. It has already happened in India, when in May, 2012, mobile Internet usage edged past desktop Internet traffic*. Mobile is always considered when Royal LePage develops new products and services for agents and clients. We work to ensure that our sites are attractive and easily navigated on small screens that often use touch instead of keyboards or a mouse. Our efforts helped us win a Horizon Interactive Award in the Mobile Website category. And, mobile devices offer other features like cameras, calendars, directories and

Leading the way with technology

• www.royallepage.ca: First national real estate website in Canada • Mobile version of the website • www.rlpintranet.com: Launch of an Intranet for Royal LePage’s network of agents and brokers • first to offer virtual reality home tours

1995 – 2000

• Royal LePage University: Online technology courses that, in some provinces, are recognized as continuing education courses • Hands-on technology training for agents • Integration of listing data with the Canadian Real

Estate Association and with the Greater Montreal

Real Estate Board (agents need only enter their listings once for them to appear on both www.mls.ca and www.royallepage.ca)

2001 – 2004

• ClientClick: Simple and cost-effective agent websites • Royal LePage Marketing Centre: High-quality, template-based marketing materials for print and online powered by Imprev • GIS interactive listing maps and neighbourhood data

Thanks to online social sites including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, engaging with people who share common interests has never been easier.

apps. One useful mobile application, especially for real estate, is Global Positioning System (GPS) that can pinpoint exact locations. And that, leads us to our next consideration...

Local

GPS allows Royal LePagers to find neighbourhood content such as homes for sale, schools and restaurants along with local news and weather. We can even modify language options to use different choices that reflect your location, for instance French in Quebec or using the term “rancher” in Alberta instead of the Ontario-favoured word, “bungalow” to describe a single floor house. Knowing a consumer’s exact location helps us to match that person with the right agent in that exact location.

Social

Consumers can ask questions and compare notes with others in their social network when looking for information on buying or selling a home in a specific neighbourhood – next door or across the country. Social media allows those with expertise in a field to demonstrate their knowledge. To make it easier for consumers to select just the right agent for their needs, Royal LePage is actively looking at ways to help agents promote their expertise in real estate, in the neighbourhoods they service and in the types of properties they work with.

By employing useful technologies, providing support and training to our agents, and partnering with industry leaders, Royal LePage continues its 100-year tradition as a marketing and technology innovator.

*Internet Trends: D10 Conference 5/30/2012 – Mary Meeker – Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers

©iStockphoto.com/iPandastudio

• rlpNetwork: Re-launch of an Intranet for Royal LePage’s network of agents and brokers with enhanced email handling, listings administration and integration with third-party product suppliers • GetHomes.ca: A lead generation program available exclusively to

Royal LePage agents

2005 – 2010

• www.carriagetradeproperties.ca: Royal LePage’s luxury program gets an online treatment • Royal LePage TV: Videos to educate consumers on home buying and selling that can be embedded on an agent’s own website • Personal Orientation Profile™: A system for brokers to evaluate prospective agents • www.royallepagecommercial.com: A separate and distinct website created for agents who work with commercial real estate

2010 – 2012

• m.royallepage.ca: Relaunch of Royal LePage’s mobile website