Comments on: TourFactory: A Example To Study To Tune Your Marketing http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/ Helping Real Estate Photographers Be Successful Fri, 25 May 2012 18:09:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Warner Rede http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-34787 Warner Rede Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:26:23 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-34787 I surely have been within advertising for a quite a while but my own teammate continues recommending to me that our team should really have a shot at (blank) voice broadcasting for a technique to be able to crank out prospects. Naturally i simply just believe it difficult to be able to acknowledge the fact the idea seriously works best. Everytime My spouse and i receive 1 of these phone calls I really merely hang up the phone as soon as possible but this guy affirms the fact it supplies a amazingly cost effective way for you to bring in prospects. I am nevertheless on the fence but nonetheless , I am aware that our other strategies we're using tend to be simply growing to be a whole lot more (blank) expensive. I surely have been within advertising for a quite a while but my own teammate continues recommending to me that our team should really have a shot at (blank) voice broadcasting for a technique to be able to crank out prospects. Naturally i simply just believe it difficult to be able to acknowledge the fact the idea seriously works best. Everytime My spouse and i receive 1 of these phone calls I really merely hang up the phone as soon as possible but this guy affirms the fact it supplies a amazingly cost effective way for you to bring in prospects. I am nevertheless on the fence but nonetheless , I am aware that our other strategies we’re using tend to be simply growing to be a whole lot more (blank) expensive.

]]> By: Herb Dierks http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21482 Herb Dierks Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:05:11 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21482 Thank you for the compliments on the marketing piece. The quality of the photos is always a struggle. At present about 40% of our tours are shot by our photography network (our full-service product offering). The other 60% is shot by agents, assistants and independent photographers that work directly with agents (just like Kim) through our patented self-service application. Our focus on the appearance of the tour template serves two purposes – dressing up the agent AND dressing up the home. Both are important, since effective marketing is a game of presentation. To answer the million dollar question, there are really two approaches, and both are used widely. 1. The volume-based model is best suited for folks that want to focus on photography and leave the rest to us. The photographer is contracted to shoot photos for TourFactory on a work-for-hire basis, and TourFactory marketing is used to attract new clients. We provide all of the order processing, billing, technical support and syndication trouble-shooting through our highly-evolved web site and our customer service center, which is staffed by real live Americans. In this model, photographers setup their product offerings (from basic photo shoots to HDR night-photography with an aerial pole shot and everything in between), and they can configure the price point for each product by zip code. Since the photographer sets the price that they want to get paid for the work, they can dial in the price level to a point that works well for their market. We limit the number of photographers that we bring aboard in each area to keep their order volume up, so we do not have these positions available in all markets - but many good markets are still available. 2. The other approach is for photographers that contract with the agent directly, and load their photos into the agent’s TourFactory account using the agent’s username and password. This model works better for photographers that don’t mind spending time on things like chasing agents for payment, don’t mind spending hours in post-processing, or feel that they need to retain copyright ownership of their photos. Due to the higher level of quality, these photographers typically charge more for their photos. However, this level of service appeals to a small percentage of agents, so the orders are quite a bit less frequent. There are hundreds of independent photographers out there working directly with the agents in this manner, most of which work with only a couple dozen agents. The one caveat that we have is that a photographer has to pick one or the other – they cannot do both at the same time. If you’re new to TourFactory, please check us out. I think you'll find that working with a company with 13 years of experience in the space can be a big benefit. If you’d like to find out about the first option above, just head over to: http://www.tourfactory.com/company/jointeam.asp Herb PS – We have been working on something new that will raise the bar for virtual tour companies again. I am excited to share it with our customer base all across the country. @Larry: I'll send over some details before we do our formal announcement to share a sneak peek with the PFRE community. Thank you for the compliments on the marketing piece.

The quality of the photos is always a struggle. At present about 40% of our tours are shot by our photography network (our full-service product offering). The other 60% is shot by agents, assistants and independent photographers that work directly with agents (just like Kim) through our patented self-service application.
Our focus on the appearance of the tour template serves two purposes – dressing up the agent AND dressing up the home. Both are important, since effective marketing is a game of presentation.

To answer the million dollar question, there are really two approaches, and both are used widely.

1. The volume-based model is best suited for folks that want to focus on photography and leave the rest to us. The photographer is contracted to shoot photos for TourFactory on a work-for-hire basis, and TourFactory marketing is used to attract new clients. We provide all of the order processing, billing, technical support and syndication trouble-shooting through our highly-evolved web site and our customer service center, which is staffed by real live Americans. In this model, photographers setup their product offerings (from basic photo shoots to HDR night-photography with an aerial pole shot and everything in between), and they can configure the price point for each product by zip code. Since the photographer sets the price that they want to get paid for the work, they can dial in the price level to a point that works well for their market. We limit the number of photographers that we bring aboard in each area to keep their order volume up, so we do not have these positions available in all markets – but many good markets are still available.

2. The other approach is for photographers that contract with the agent directly, and load their photos into the agent’s TourFactory account using the agent’s username and password. This model works better for photographers that don’t mind spending time on things like chasing agents for payment, don’t mind spending hours in post-processing, or feel that they need to retain copyright ownership of their photos. Due to the higher level of quality, these photographers typically charge more for their photos. However, this level of service appeals to a small percentage of agents, so the orders are quite a bit less frequent. There are hundreds of independent photographers out there working directly with the agents in this manner, most of which work with only a couple dozen agents.

The one caveat that we have is that a photographer has to pick one or the other – they cannot do both at the same time.

If you’re new to TourFactory, please check us out. I think you’ll find that working with a company with 13 years of experience in the space can be a big benefit. If you’d like to find out about the first option above, just head over to: http://www.tourfactory.com/company/jointeam.asp

Herb

PS – We have been working on something new that will raise the bar for virtual tour companies again. I am excited to share it with our customer base all across the country. @Larry: I’ll send over some details before we do our formal announcement to share a sneak peek with the PFRE community.

]]> By: Rich http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21481 Rich Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:20:22 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21481 I think Tour Factory looks kind of cluttered...........but it's not bad. I find TourBuzz, in it's current iteration, a bit difficult to navigate, and even more cluttered looking than Tour Factory--but certainly useful. I like the look of vicaso.com the best. Very simple design and a plain dark gray background for the photos. Obeo.com can also look good, if the photos are good. I think Tour Factory looks kind of cluttered………..but it’s not bad. I find TourBuzz, in it’s current iteration, a bit difficult to navigate, and even more cluttered looking than Tour Factory–but certainly useful. I like the look of vicaso.com the best. Very simple design and a plain dark gray background for the photos. Obeo.com can also look good, if the photos are good.

]]> By: KH http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21479 KH Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:42:03 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21479 I also contacted a VT company, although not Tour Factory, after seeing an ad in CraigsList on how to make an easy couple hundred a day. Besides having to buy some 800 dollar tripod head, the pay was 20 dollars a house.. they said oh easily you can shoot a house in about 15 min, do 10 a day... I just laughed.... I also contacted a VT company, although not Tour Factory, after seeing an ad in CraigsList on how to make an easy couple hundred a day. Besides having to buy some 800 dollar tripod head, the pay was 20 dollars a house.. they said oh easily you can shoot a house in about 15 min, do 10 a day… I just laughed….

]]> By: Alan Pinstein http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21478 Alan Pinstein Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:21:33 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21478 Judy- We are actually just finishing up an iPhone version for both TourBuzz and Neybor now. It should be ready to start showing off next week. Essentially there will be an iPhone version available for all properties in TourBuzz and/or Neybor.com, so you won't even have to do any additional work! Alan Judy-

We are actually just finishing up an iPhone version for both TourBuzz and Neybor now. It should be ready to start showing off next week. Essentially there will be an iPhone version available for all properties in TourBuzz and/or Neybor.com, so you won’t even have to do any additional work!

Alan

]]> By: larry http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21477 larry Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:19:14 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21477 Judy, PDFs can be displayed on the iPhone... I'll have to see if PDF slide shows work. Another alternative is to use a Javascript (NOT Java... Javascript) based slide show that doesn't use Flash. I'm working on creating such a slide show. Judy, PDFs can be displayed on the iPhone… I’ll have to see if PDF slide shows work. Another alternative is to use a Javascript (NOT Java… Javascript) based slide show that doesn’t use Flash. I’m working on creating such a slide show.

]]> By: Judy Peterson http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21471 Judy Peterson Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:04:10 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21471 I'm looking for a slide show or VT that can be viewed on the iPhone. If, as NAR says, 84% of the home buyers begin their search on the internet, then I'd wager that 83% are using iPhones or soon will be. Photoshop Elements 7 lets you create a nice slide show as a pdf file. Could a pdf viewer be embeded into a slide show product? Any other ideas? I’m looking for a slide show or VT that can be viewed on the iPhone. If, as NAR says, 84% of the home buyers begin their search on the internet, then I’d wager that 83% are using iPhones or soon will be. Photoshop Elements 7 lets you create a nice slide show as a pdf file. Could a pdf viewer be embeded into a slide show product? Any other ideas?

]]> By: Kim http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21467 Kim Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:44:34 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21467 I have called once to see if they have anything for independent photographers. They said no. They make their money off of their cheaply paid photographers and not very good ones. I almost worked for them but once finding out what they would pay, I bailed. The TF Rep who interviewed me said that they I would have to "contain my post processing" admitting that it was not worth what I would be getting paid. I have worked with TF for a Realtor that has her own account and like it. But as a photographer I will be looking at TourBuzz and excited to see what their templates will look like - If tour buzz gets video hosting capabilities, they will be golden! I have called once to see if they have anything for independent photographers. They said no. They make their money off of their cheaply paid photographers and not very good ones. I almost worked for them but once finding out what they would pay, I bailed.
The TF Rep who interviewed me said that they I would have to “contain my post processing” admitting that it was not worth what I would be getting paid. I have worked with TF for a Realtor that has her own account and like it. But as a photographer I will be looking at TourBuzz and excited to see what their templates will look like – If tour buzz gets video hosting capabilities, they will be golden!

]]> By: KH http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21466 KH Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:20:23 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21466 again, not trying to be the eternal pessimist, but in many markets, agents really do not care, it seems, what the photos look like, just how cheap can it be done (and in most case, free when they walk around and snap a few on their own) but the opening piece was good on it... I just suspect many a real estate agent chuckling and thinking 'good thing I decided not to be a surgeon!' again, not trying to be the eternal pessimist, but in many markets, agents really do not care, it seems, what the photos look like, just how cheap can it be done (and in most case, free when they walk around and snap a few on their own)

but the opening piece was good on it… I just suspect many a real estate agent chuckling and thinking ‘good thing I decided not to be a surgeon!’

]]> By: Alan Pinstein http://photographyforrealestate.net/2009/10/20/tourfactory-a-example-to-study-to-tune-your-marketing/comment-page-1/#comment-21465 Alan Pinstein Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:43:56 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/?p=3304#comment-21465 TourFactory does look great. It has become the standard look that people hold TourBuzz up against and say "we need that look in TourBuzz", and has caused us to start working very hard on design. We will be rolling out a new design (in fact more than one) soon that you can choose from that is specifically meant to make your tours look as good or better than TourFactory. We are interested in your feedback on this process, please feel free to comment here: http://community.tourbuzz.net/forum/topics/tourbuzz-design-improvements TourBuzz's strategy is to provide independent photographers with the tools that they need to compete with these large national chains. We have recently added an interactive floorplan feature as well as a single-property-website tool with syndication to 10+ sites through our new Neybor automated marketing platform. Alan PS - that is *great* copy. I am going to share it with a few people! TourFactory does look great. It has become the standard look that people hold TourBuzz up against and say “we need that look in TourBuzz”, and has caused us to start working very hard on design.

We will be rolling out a new design (in fact more than one) soon that you can choose from that is specifically meant to make your tours look as good or better than TourFactory. We are interested in your feedback on this process, please feel free to comment here: http://community.tourbuzz.net/forum/topics/tourbuzz-design-improvements

TourBuzz’s strategy is to provide independent photographers with the tools that they need to compete with these large national chains. We have recently added an interactive floorplan feature as well as a single-property-website tool with syndication to 10+ sites through our new Neybor automated marketing platform.

Alan

PS – that is *great* copy. I am going to share it with a few people!

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