OnTheMarket board member Ed Mead says the original target for the new portal was to have 750 participating offices at launch, rather than the 5,000 target set more recently.
Writing in the London financial daily CityAM, Mead - who is executive director of London agency Douglas & Gordon - says the original idea for Agents' Mutual, the firm operating the new portal, came several years ago, in a darkened basement dining room.
That was the location for a meeting of agents who discussed a common bond, which was chronic irritation with an advertising medium - whose data we supplied - which we all agreed was starting to take the mickey with its ever-increasing fees says Mead.
His article stoutly defends the portal from accusations from other agents and consumer groups that it limits consumer choice. Given Rightmove has around 90 per cent coverage, how does dropping one of the two major websites in favour of ours affect that in any significant way he asks.
He also takes a swipe at the raft of City analysts who have been broadly critical of the new portal's long term prospects by writing: Analysts and brokers love Rightmove and Zoopla. With £97m pre-tax profit on turnover of £140m, what's not to like In case anyone's in any doubt about how they make this profit, it's by advertising estate agents' properties.
Mead also addresses those critical of OTM banning private sales and online agents. Private sellers and online agents are welcome in the market if they help to drive standards up, but, in a difficult market, I suspect the public prefers a human touch he writes.
Last week CityAM's digital and social media director, Martin Ashplant, wrote that although OTM may gain traction once its TV and newspaper advertising kicks in from this week, the real key to success was whether it succeeded at Search Engine Optimisation.
Ashplant described Rightmove and Zoopla as two seasoned experts [in SEO].
Comments
User should get all the info written in an article with the blink of an eye. And This is what you have done in your article. Your efforts are appreciate able.
Hurry up OTM, People are asking us what the balloons are everywhere What a miss, people havent a clue what the balloons are doing splattered across our windows because there is no name on them...
The 'recently added' property is all over the place. And you needed somebody famous to launch it..remember Ian Wright was Rightmoves man. Beckham, linekar...anyone,,hurry!!!
I used to enjoy visiting this site, sometimes there used to be an article worth reading & the comments worth interacting with. The OTM "coverage" has been pathetic, childish, ludicrously biased & it has taken away what remaining appeal eatoday once had. I get having a difference of opinion, but when it becomes so obviously agenda driven you have to wonder why you waste your time & visit the site. Which I wont be doing any longer, ill take my clicks elsewhere.
This AM lark is great publicity, beats being on that TV show I'm sure!!
PrimeResi magazine have reported a while back that this was all conceived in Zafferano's in 2010. And AM is here to save them money Scoff!
Have I posted this opinion before
For the last few months I have supported the introduction of OTM PROVIDING the participating agents themselves really 'hit the ground running' with heavy local advertising, within their offices and out, at the launch to give it a chance. Yesterday I read the property section of the Times and had to actually SEARCH the adverts to locate any mention of OTM - there were only ridiculously small logo's - if one could find them!
What on earth is the matter with these people OTM is dead in the water if they do not get a grip quickly. The TV ad Confusing and not punchy eneough. It will be interesting to see what the local agents do this week.
That was supposed to be a reply to OA, but you get the point.
Good point. Allagents isn't the world's most reliable rating website - there are quite clearly good and bad reviews planted on there in most cases - but it gives a fairly good indication of which estate agents offer good customer service and which don't. Ead probably needs to get his own house in order before trying to change the portal market.
@sooo Surely they are more than welcome to come back once they have as many hits on their sight as Rightmove or Zoopla ;)
Isn't this the same Director who likes to go naked in his garden and doesn't care about property prices what a waste of time site. this is what happens when people talk too much but can't deliver. i'm so happy i told otm sales person don't bother coming back.
Ead should focus more on improving his firms customer service than how to reduce their costs. It's one of the worst rated in the UK according to allagents