TV property pundit and owner of online agency Tepilo has spoken out for the first time about new portal OnTheMarket.
Beeny is quoted in the latest issue of Marketing Week as saying: It's not saving the customer money or giving them a better service, it's trying to ensure high street agents don't have to pay [Rightmove and Zoopla] as much, as it's hitting their profit margins.
Her opposition is, perhaps, predictable given that Tepilo - launched in 2009 as a For Sale By Owner site and relaunched in 2013 as an online agency - is banned from OnTheMarket, along with all other online agencies.
The article quotes OnTheMarket chief executive Ian Springett in response. He says the new portal is a much needed competitor to Rightmove and Zoopla and that the site has been designed to attract serious buyers, rather than people who are casually searching.
The rest of the article is given over to a familiar debate about the possible threat to high street agents created by new online agents, saying that the rise of firms like Purplebricks means buying a house could be the next service to become disintermediated.
However, while citing familiar differences in fees between high street and online agents, the piece turns to Beth Hilson, marketing director at Marsh & Parsons, who says that although many industries have moved online we separate ourselves from the companies that rely purely on using the web to generate their business and their enquiries.
Hilson says although portals obviously generate leads we actually get more enquiries direct from our website because we're constantly investing in getting people to come to us.
%20-%20IMAGE%20Client%20Accounting%20%E2%80%93%20what%20are%20your%20options.jpg)
Comments
...and both of them are big names in the industry and considerably richer than YOU, 'Brian'.
I didn't know billshut came in such a bright and shiny shade of green...
I hear Springett is on a selfish big wage. Beeny's even cock up and upset the council in the past on her own renovation.
Couple of Twats brought together in a single article. Both have got about the same chances. Bob Hope and no hope.
When Sarah Beeny first began her Tepilo venture, I recall interviews where she commented that traditional agents will always be needed and will always offer something that online companies can't. Nowadays, she seems to be at the forefront of estate agent bashing.
Also, why on earth is she talking about profit margins Tepilo's profit margin must be slimmer than Mo Farah after all those TV adverts. The only way for an onlinie to make any money is to rake in huge amounts of stock and to charge a lot more than 400. As much as it pains me to admit it, Purplebricks seem to be the only company to have found the correct balance (although with all those local 'experts' and shareholders,a s well as all that tv advertising to pay for, I doubt their profit margins are much to shout about!).
Simon....I can assure you having come off of Zoopla of the following.....
The same people looking at Zoopla are the same people looking at Rightmove are the same people looking at OnTheMarket.
It's the same people, the same buyers, the same tenants, it is the SAME human beings!
Perhaps what Mr Springett is suggesting is that the OnTheMarket leads are serious leads, as opposed to the leads from Zoopla that are perhaps people looking for a bit of fun and actually just wanted a Zoopla valuation.
It won't be Sarah Beeny or any other individual that determines the fate of OTM, it will be consumers, the agents themselves and possibly the authorities that have the final say. I find it interesting that this is the first time I can recall Mr Springett bringing up the issue of serious buyers so directly. I would be fascinated to understand his reasoning on why 'serious' buyers should choose OTM. I guess he would refer to the 48 hour head start, tenuous ground I feel. Perhaps the real reason for this emphasis on serious buyers is that he hopes it will stem a rising tide of dissatisfaction from agents who may be starting to realise they invested in the finest set of the Emperor's new clothes.
" If It wasn't for right move and zoopla most estate agents wouldn't survive."
Utter, unadulterated baloney.
"When a vendor is choosing an estate agent on there high street do you think they google reviews as much as they would an online agent! NO of course not...."
So... IF 'it's all done online, innit' as you purport in your first ridiculous statement, then the playing field is entirely level between the various models - which then blows your entire argument clean out of the water.
Leading traffic to your own website is important I do agree, but it is also very expensive! If It wasn't for right move and zoopla most estate agents wouldn't survive. Online agents have very small margins to play with and the reputation of there business SOLELY relies on getting properties sold. When a vendor is choosing an estate agent on there high street do you think they google reviews as much as they would an online agent! NO of course not....
There will always be this kind of debate and argument, all the while onthemarket trade as they do. I'm all for driving RM & Z prices down, however giving the public less in terms of properties to view by dictating who can and cannot advertise, and forcing agents to drop a portal is not somewhere that me as a home finder would want to visit. Also trying to suggest that the public 'needs' a competitor to RM & Z Why home movers already have 100% of property available at their finger tips, why the need for another portal Especially one that will simply not have 100% of property available on the market on it!
The reason I wouldn't visit is simply RM & Z do their job well, they give the public what they want, a way to make their lives easier without having to jump to and from 50 websites. If I could search for 100% of property available to me on 1 website why would I search on 3 It takes up more of my valuable time. I can see how agents want to cut costs, but if zoopla or RM were not that important to them, whoever they dropped, why pay for another portal that had less traffic and no customer awareness, or very little anyway in conparison As one agent friend of mine who dropped zoopla pointed out to me, everyone checks rightmove anyway! Ok, so why join onthemarket instead Why not just have one portal If that's the thought process
If it helps drive the costs down, I'm all for it but I predict we will all be paying for 3 portals in the near future.
Who or what is a "Sarah Beeny"! Is that some sort of silly hat that the kids wear....
Glad that Marsh & Parsons understand that driving customers to their own web site is the best way to build brand awareness. Purplebricks, Tepilo.com and others would give their right arm for the number of hits on the Foxtons web site, but that's never going to happen.