MARKETING
Affinity and beyond Andrea Kirkby asks, how useful are affinity networks? F
rom Team to INEA, from the Guild to Home Sale Network, there’s a huge range of networks available for UK estate agents to join. But networks can be very different from each other, not just
in their market positioning, but in the way they operate and the value they have to offer the agent. For instance, some are exclusive, such
as The Guild of Professional Estate Agents, which only admits one agent for each geographical area. Others, like Team and INEA, are non-exclusive, often with several agents in a single high street – for example, Team has four agents in Leigh-on-Sea. Some, like the Mayfair Office, focus on
the top end of the market; others have a more mid-market appeal. Some operate as referral networks, while others focus more on adding a national (or London) presence to their local members. They differ in size, too; The Mayfair Office has 300 offices
52 OCTOBER 2011 PROPERTYdrum
(100 firms), while one of the largest, Movewithus, has 1100 branches. In choosing a network, agents need to
consider exactly what they want to get out of it; more instructions? Better marketing for their properties? Additional sources of income such as conveyancing and overseas property? Or a brand that can stack up against the bigger agents?
HORsEs fOR cOuRsEs The way networks are set up and staffed reflects the concerns of their members. The Mayfair Office, for instance, was set up to give independents serving the top end of the market a London presence and national
marketing. It has a small central team based in the West End, handling services including advertising and PR; composed of professionals with long experience as estate agents. On the other hand, Team has no full
time central staff – it’s run by its members, who provide a part time central staff. So chairman Neil Parsons for instance, spends two days a week in the business, the rest of his time running his agencies in Dereham and Reepham, Norfolk. “Every member of Team has a vote,” he says; “they can vote me in and equally they can vote me out.” Perhaps the most clear division in the sector is that between marketing led
The portals have done a fantastic job of making agents
fall out with each other.” TREVOR MEALHAM INEA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68