Just 10 Short Years Ago,
- FACEBOOK Didn’t Exist
- TWITTER Was A Sound
- THE CLOUD Was In The Sky
- 4G Was A Parking Space
- LINKEDIN Was A Prison
- APPs Were What You Sent To College
and
These words came from Thomas Friedman, author of the best-selling book THE WORLD IS FLAT. Amazing what has happened to our world in just 10 short years!
In that same period, Zillow was born. Having lived in Seattle during the period of its inception, I am very familiar with the Zillow story. Today, Zillow has a market cap of over $800 million and its recent stock value gains are impressive as is the power of their consumer brand. From day one, Zillow was viewed as in industry "outsider" and in some circles still is. That said, they will have a meaningful impact on the real estate brokerage world despite the fact that they (presently) vow not to get into the "brokerage" business. After you watch this video, think closely about what the "brokerage" business is today and what it will look like tomorrow.
Zillow has done (and continues to do) some impressive things in the context of consumer acquisition. Smart brokers and agents who look forward to staying in the brokerage business for the next 10 years would be well served by paying close attention to what Zillow and other "outsiders" are doing. For example, Zillow's apparent success with mobile is foretelling. Any brokerage company that is not laser-focused on the mobile platform is living in the dark ages.
Back to Friedman's words. The brokerage industry is reacting to these significant technology innovations and the resulting human behavioral changes that have and will continue to occurr as a result. With every new innovation will come opportunity. They will also pose threats.
The time to "re-think" your business is now. We need innovation and leadership and creativity and risk-takers. We need you in your business and we need you in our Association.
The opportunities are here. Someone will seize them. The only real question is will it be you.
'Till next time,
Russ