Keys to Technology Adoption: Part 2

Today we're continuing the white paper from Michael Audet of the WAV Group. We'll be releasing the white paper in a series, so stay tuned for the next 2 installments.

Looking at examples of business software gaining adoption and use in our industry we see several keys worth noting.

Key #1 - Easy, easy, easy – Fast, fast, fast
In the same way we say real estate is “location, location, location”, technology has to be, “easy, easy, easy”; and benefits have to be “fast, fast, fast”.   If users can’t use software successfully on their own, or with very little training and have success quickly they won’t come back.  Our attention spans have become shorter and shorter as we get inundated with data from every side every minute of our life.!  Think of all the ways your attention is being assaulted and it is entirely understandable.  By necessity, all of us review new information whether it is a blog post, a software product or an email very quickly and we make almost immediate decisions as to read it, review it or trash it.  We have to or we would never get through our day.  As a result, if something is going to be successful, especially in software, it has to be “easy, easy, easy” and “fast, fast, fast”!

Software today needs to be intuitive enough that users can get benefits on their own with minimal training or at the least, training they can do at their own pace such as online videos.  Successful products engage you quickly and easily and provide immediate value.  Look at how successful iPhone applications have become and you see this principle in action.  Quick, easy and inexpensive solutions that take little time to learn and use

Key # 2 - Flexibility
Business software today needs to allow for a high degree of individual control, without being over complicated.   Great software today is flexible enough to allow new users to use it within their existing business processes in key ways that allow for quicker adoption.  Software that makes you redefine your business processes completely meets heavy resistance.  This doesn’t mean that good software won’t introduce new and innovative technologies to redefine the way things are done in a process but in doing so it should allow the users, for example the broker and agents, to incorporate existing processes and the terms they are familiar with, the statuses they are comfortable with already, as an example.  This understanding that all real estate companies have unique ways to deal with their business is very important to gain broad adoption and reduces resistance when it is introduced.

Key #3 - Innovation vs. Incrementalism
Game changing innovations don’t just automate an existing process or simply improve existing technology. When real innovation occurs, in fact, most consumers are completely surprised by the simplicity of the approach. You hear people say things like, “I wonder why no one did it that way before”, because the solution, now visible, seems obvious.

Most so-called innovation however, is nothing more than an incremental change from what people know and expect today.  Lately though, we are seeing more and more examples of true innovation in real estate technology.  In our last paper we saw an example in how CoreLogic is not just supplying software but is also incorporating extended data access right into their products.  This is an example of innovation using their strength in the data world to create something really new

In our case study interviews later in this paper we look at DotLoop that is also a great example of real innovation.  We spoke with Austin Allison, CEO of DotLoop, who believes every real innovation starts by looking at a problem you want to solve, not by trying to improve on an existing solution.  He said, “When we started DotLoop, people looked at us as a new approach to transaction management.  Our product though, is a solution to a completely different problem.  Almost every real estate transaction involves multiple people, in different locations, all of which have to work together to reach an agreement.  DotLoop solved this problem by bringing people together in the same virtual workspace rather than sending files back and forth. This solution is the first of it's kind in the industry!"

Key # 4 – The Science Behind Connectivity and Sales

Play nice in the sand box
Today’s software has to play nice in the sandbox with other software!  The competition for users has created new rules both in working with other products and how products are introduced.  Companies that get this today are not afraid of working with other software products, even if they offer some of the same features in their own product line.  They understand that in the long run they need to provide accessibility to data within their products even if it means handing that data off to another vendor.

Lone Wolf, a company featured in our white paper titled “Brokerage Technology – an Industry Needing Backbone”, is a great example of this.  When we interviewed Jim Homolka, president and CEO of the RE/MAX Equity Group in Portland, Oregon he explained that they were installing the DotLoop product for their company to help them create paperless transaction processes.  But, they also use the Lone Wolf product for their back office management system and other services.  When they approached Lone Wolf to let them know about their DotLoop implementation, Lorne Wallace, CEO of Lone Wolf was more than willing to work with them, as was DotLoop, to create as seamless an integration as possible to pass data back and forth and eliminate duplicate data entry.  These are great examples of companies that get what it takes to be successful technology partners today!

Another great example of “playing nice in the sandbox” is evident in the Keller Williams, eEdge product where MarketLeader, DotLoop and Imprev have been brought together by the client “Keller Williams” to create a full product suite.  From all accounts this arranged marriage is working great.  DotLoop closes the loop on leads that come through Market Leader, referred to as “the only Click to Close” solution and Imprev provides the marketing component in the suite.  We asked Ian Morris, CEO of MarketLeader about this, especially working with Imprev, since MarketLeader recently bought Sharper Agent, a company that offers similar services as Imprev.  Ian made it very clear that MarketLeader was thrilled to work with Imprev in the eEdge platform and would be happy to work with them on other projects if clients desired this.  Ian stressed that willingness to collaborate and integrate was an absolute key to software success moving forward and you can’t expect to always have all the products in your own house or that clients will want to use just your products even if you do. We believe this is a definite “key to adoption” for successful companies and products moving forward.

Think of all the great examples of huge adoption over the last few years, things like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc., and you see this willingness to play nice together.  We need more of this in the real estate industry!

Value Sales
Technology sales methods have really been revolutionized over the past several years and the changes in this arena are not over.  The days of high paid sales managers flying all over the country pushing software and systems has changed dramatically.  Most software is offered at a price that does not support this type of “on the ground” sales.  With that approach it is a classic case of the more you sell the more you lose money!

Software companies today need to have multiple ways to enter a market and they also have to be willing to sell on value.   In our industry this might mean offering products through a MLS, an association or a real estate company.

Software companies are also more willing today to let the quality of their products be the basis for sales. Companies today are finding ways to introduce software to new users at a zero price point through creative introduction channels, from advertising, to extensive trials to inviting them into a process for free as a guest who receives real benefits while experiencing the “value” of a system.  Payment may come from a 3^rd party or after the initial value is realized.

One real world example of this approach in our industry is RE Technology.  RE Technology is offered free to MLSs to provide to their members.  It gives them access to the largest list of real estate technology tools in the world as well as numerous articles on how to use technology.  MLSs and agents aren’t charged for this.  The site is monetized via advertising opportunities for the technology companies that would like to reach this industry channel.  MLSs, brokers and agents win by getting access to great technology content and vendors win by having a way to advertise their tools affordably.

Vendors using value sale introductions know that if their product is really producing value this approach will work and their sales costs will be lower which translates into lower cost to the user in the end.  It is the foundation of “viral expansion”, every software developer’s dream!   And, best of all, when successful, adoption is a non-issue.

Another great example of this approach is from DotLoop, the company and product we are featuring in our Case Study examples.  DotLoop is a product that allows for real time collaboration by agents and consumers during a real estate transaction.  Users can create and share documents, digitally sign documents along with many other features.  The “value sale” feature we are talking about here is the ability DotLoop offers to agents who are not currently customers to actually use and realize value from the DotLoop product if they are invited into a “Loop” by a DotLoop user.  Without incurring any fees at all this invited agent can realize all of the benefits of DotLoop during that transaction.   Even their clients can use the online tools at no fee. The result is their introduction to a product and process in the real world, where they experience real value at zero risk or cost.  This greatly increases the likelihood that an agent experiencing this value will want to sign up for the service after experiencing it.

Key #5 - Lead vs. Follow – Avoiding the Standards Trap
If you think about the real innovators in technology I think it is safe to say they avoid the “standards” trap.  Standards can be great and at times they can really make time to market quicker and less dangerous buy they also include limitations and tradeoffs.  While using a proven plug in or partnering with a proven product to solve one part of a system can work, it may also create a long-term limitation on a product or service. There are times when it makes sense to take the harder approach and do it yourself if that means you ultimately achieve better data integration, control of the interface and a better overall user experience!  Apple didn’t jump on Microsoft standards; they moved in their own direction and achieved a level of integration with their products that never could have happened using any other approach.  Standards, while they are necessary on certain levels for everyone, also have the capacity to reduce those using the standard to the “lowest common denominator”.  They also have the capacity of slowing up innovation in general when everyone has to wait for a standard before they can move.  Standards should never inhibit innovation.

To view the first installment of the white paper, click here. If you can't wait for the next installment, you can download the full white paper here.