Is Competition a Threat or an Opportunity?1293
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 WGAN ForumFounder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi All, I remember when we bought a Matterport Camera in July 2014, among my questions for the Matterport Rep was, "Would we be the first photography service company in Atlanta to buy the Camera?" When the answer was "Yes" ... we bought the Camera. Now, this may be counter-intuitive, but perhaps I should have waited until there were others. I say this for two reasons: 1. Most of the in-bound referral requests we receive are in markets that have many Pros (On the map above, click on your location.) Typically, the real estate agent says something like, I noticed that other real estate agents are using Matterport 3D Showcase tours, so can you connect me with a Matterport service provider in our area for the first listing I would like to try this for? 2. After spending months developing business with a major brokerage in Atlanta – a lot of educating, emails and meetings – they bought a camera instead: as did at least one other brokerage that we help educate. (Has that happened to you?) The good news is that we notice more inbound inquires because a few brokers own their own Cameras in Atlanta. Again, we hear, "I saw a listing in Atlanta by _________ with a Matterport 3D Tour. Can we meet?" So, it seems like the more Matterport Pro 3D Camera Photographers in the SAME market, the BETTER OFF we all are because it generates MORE inquires for all of us. The above sounds counter-intuitive. What do you think? Is competition a threat or an opportunity for you? Best, Dan |
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vincent private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Competition equals opportunity. Teaching people what a product is and what it can do is a more time consuming and costly sale. More participation is better. The sooner 3D explore-able VR walk throughs become just another tool the better. |
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Hilton Head Island, SC |
CathieRasch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Competition is also a great opportunity to show value. We have a competitor in our market which has pushed us to improve our service and show how we can bring more value with incorporating video and marketing. | ||
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Jamie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| We have (I believe) 7 cameras in my area. I was the first and do the most. It can be a good and bad thing I guess. If your competition is low pricing they can kill the market..you can follow them or keep your prices where they are. I have a guy here that does scans for $79. Yep... try charging a few hundred when someone does that.  |
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Hilton Head Island, SC |
CathieRasch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I fee3 your pain, Jamie, we have someone doing scans for a low price in our market but I've run the numbers and I don't think that it's a sustainable business model. He also doesn't do nearly as much work cleaning up the scans as we do. We're also converting the scans to a 'walk through' video and incorporating some of that in a community/lifestyle video (those products are both additional charges) Anyone else have ideas for adding value? |
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Noel private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi, I am looking at having the Floor plan drawn up into 2d format, based off the 3d scan, as an adding value feature. I did see some adverts for a 3d Scan for $au99 pre Christmas 2015, however there were other conditions for the offer. If you take the time to Style the home and move as much rubbish out as possible the better. But if you are only charging $au100 for a 3 bed home you do not have much time to clean, scan, and back end process. Yes ask the vendor to clean things up, but we know that not everyone does. |
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Hilton Head Island, SC |
CathieRasch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Great point Noel! We have a 'staging' checklist. As a real estate agent I work with the seller on the home staging before the scan is done but my husband has a list of things that he does before he begins to scan. Turn on the lights, turn off the ceiling fans, put the toilet lids down, check the lighting in each room, etc. It's hard to imagine that the people that are charging $100 are traveling to the job, using a 'staging' checklist to prepare the home, scanning the home, traveling home from the job, cleaning the scan,and uploading the scan for that price. And don't forget, you're supposed to be paying off your investment in that camera, your business expenses and advertising also. That's all before you pay rent or mortgage, food and gas. If you're going to go into business for yourself, you should do it with the expectation of making a living! |
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Jamie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Yep some people do that. I had a pizza frachise many years ago. The franchisor got into a price war with the competition and ended up sending most franchises bankrupt. While collusion might be frowned upon, it's a good way to at least try and ensure everyone involved makes money. I have my set prices. I give some discounts for loyal clients, for large or multiple jobs, or even better I'll throw sometime else in for free. Generally a youtube video from photos works well. It's quick to make and has more impression than I think it deserves. |
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RenderingSpace private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I believe over 15,000 homes sell in the United States alone each day. That's a lot of potential scans! I keep that in mind because even when competition comes, there's so many homes that need to be marketed that it's not like we're all going to run out of opportunities. | ||
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DoyleRealtor private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Embrace your competition, as more people adopt the technology the demand for digital showings goes up. Provide additional value such as floor plans, included professional photography, and a single property website. | ||
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Here's an example of competition helping We Get Around in Atlanta. I received this email from a potential client on 25 February 2016: --- "I work as a Graphic Designer for [division of] at [large commercial real estate brokerage], here in Atlanta. Our brokers here are interested in creating some 3-D tours for some of the apartment properties that we are marketing. We have found that the 3D tours on apartments.com use matterport technology, and we did a little research to see if we could find matterport photographers here in Atlanta - and that's how I arrived here. I would like to learn more about matterport photography, and am wondering if you can help us with this. Please contact me at [email address], or [phone number] if this is something that you can help us with. I look forward to learning more about this technology! Thank you, [Name] --- We Get Around Associate Photographer and Architect @YairYepez and I met with the potential clients yesterday (3 March 2016). I anticipate that we will receive a test and learn order within 30 days. This brokerage has a ton of properties in Atlanta and other states. For other states, it is likely that we will either engage or refer We Get Around Referral Network Members. It's a great example of where competition – apartments.com – has created an opportunity for us. Your thoughts? Is competition helping or hurting you? Best, Dan |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| An example of competition is good. An agent that owns a Matterport Camera ran this ad (below) in a local flyer. (Free cutting-edge 3D Tour for all listings.) As a result of this ad, an agent called us earlier this month and we did a $1.2 million / 6,300 sf listing that was published today (17 March 2016). Anyone else get business as a result of competition in your market? Dan    |
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Jamie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Nice. Shame our market is so hot. An advertisement here would be Agent x sold our home $350,000 over asking on the first day, and didn't even take photos It's no wonder it's hard to get agents to spend money, even when they are making tens and hundred of thousands in commission. |
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