“We strive to make the best solutions accessible to real estate professionals and support our members,” says Cameron Paine, CEO of Connecticut Statewide Multiple Listing Service.  “I’m excited to help make Goomzee’s mobile technology tools readily accessible for Connecticut REALTORS® and help them meet the needs of today’s on-the-go home buyers.”

Goomzee’s mobile marketing tools include text message call capture, QR code and branded mobile IDX.  The service allows agents to place codes on signs at the property and consumers can text in, or scan a QR code, and instantly receive home information, pricing and even photos on their cell phone.  The agent is notified of buyer interest and can follow up to provide more responsive customer service.  According to the company, over 200,000 real estate professionals in the United States already have a Goomzee account, growing from 100,000 agents this same time last year.

“Mobile technology is critical to meet the needs of today’s consumers, and more professionals are recognizing the importance of our lead capture tools that solve common problems and increase agent’s sales efficiency,” claims Mike Sparr, Goomzee’s CEO and founder.  “CTMLS continues to push the technical envelope to offer solutions that benefit their customers, and we look forward to helping them fulfill that mission.”

Mobile technology continues to grow in importance in the real estate industry.  According to Pew Research Centers, 92% of smart phone subscribers cite text messaging as the most important feature of their mobile device, and Internet browsing has grown to 84%.  Goomzee’s mobile technology suite delivers a complete mobile offering for real estate agents, brokers, franchises and MLSs that reaches the most mobile devices including standard phones, smart phones and tablets.

ABOUT GOOMZEE
Goomzee provides mobile technology tools that allow real estate agents to deliver property information to a buyer’s cell phone while they are standing at the property or on the go and helps convert more leads into sales.  With the company’s industry-leading product suite, Realty Connect, Text Message and QR Code marketing, and Mobile Property Pages, are automatically generated and reusable. The suite also includes Mobile MLS and Branded Mobile IDX features. Goomzee’s products seamlessly integrate with MLS property listing databases to provide accurate, relevant information for the real estate professional and their clients.  To learn more, visit us online at http://www.goomzee.com or contact us toll free at 1-855-GOOMZEE.

ABOUT CTMLS
Founded in 2006 by the Connecticut Association of REALTORS, Inc., the Connecticut Statewide Multiple Listing Service provides the highest quality, most comprehensive MLS information to REALTOR® members in every town and every county in Connecticut.  To learn more about Connecticut Statewide Multiple Listing Service please visit us online at http://ctmls.ctreal.com.

Goomzee’s mobile marketing tools include text message call capture, QR code and branded mobile IDX.  The service allows agents to place codes on signs at the property and consumers can text in, or scan a QR code, and instantly receive home information, pricing and even photos on their cell phone.  The agent is notified of buyer interest and can follow up to provide more responsive customer service.  According to the company, over 200,000 real estate professionals in the United States already have a Goomzee account, growing from 100,000 agents this same time last year.

“We’re excited to offer Goomzee’s mobile technology in the new Metrolist Marketplace, an online one-stop-shop coming soon,” says Patricia Bybee, President and CEO.  “Mobile technology is a must-have to reach today’s tech-savvy homebuyers and we look forward to making this available.”

“I’m excited to work with Metrolist and their 16,000 real estate professionals in the Denver area,” states Mike Sparr, Goomzee’s CEO and founder.  “As more MLS’s help their agents go mobile, it’s exciting they continue to select Goomzee as their preferred mobile technology partner.  We now service many of the largest MLS markets in America, and as a Montana-based company, this partnership is even more exciting since Metrolist is one of the largest solution providers in the Rockies.”

Mobile technology continues to grow in importance in the real estate industry.  According to Pew Research Centers, 92% of smart phone subscribers cite text messaging as the most important feature of their mobile device, and Internet browsing has grown to 84%.  Goomzee’s mobile technology suite delivers a complete mobile offering for real estate agents, brokers, franchises and MLSs that reaches the most mobile devices including standard phones, smart phones and tablets.

ABOUT GOOMZEE
Goomzee provides mobile technology tools that allow real estate agents to deliver property information to a buyer’s cell phone while they are standing at the property or on the go and helps convert more leads into sales.  With the company’s industry-leading product suite, Realty Connect, Text Message and QR Code marketing, and Mobile Property Pages, are automatically generated and reusable. The suite also includes Mobile MLS and Branded Mobile IDX features. Goomzee’s products seamlessly integrate with MLS property listing databases to provide accurate, relevant information for the real estate professional and their clients.  To learn more, visit us online at http://www.goomzee.com or contact us toll free at 1-855-GOOMZEE.

ABOUT METROLIST
Metrolist is the largest MLS in the state of Colorado, supporting the largest network of REALTORS® with the most comprehensive database of real property listings. Realtor owned since 1984, Metrolist provides leading technology solutions to real estate agents and brokers to better serve buyers and sellers. More information about Metrolist is available at www.metrolist.com.

As we round the corner on the second half of 2011, let’s go to ScanLife’s latest report for a radically different snapshot of QR code adoption.

In mid-2010 ScanLife was only recording 10 QR code scans per minute.  As of this report, they are currently logging one scan per second. As you can see from the graph above, QR code adoption started slow but has grown exponentially since July 2010.  As U.S. handset companies begin to incorporate QR technology into their base models, expect the ‘per second scan rate’ to only increase.

Another golden nugget gleaned from the report is the increased usage among mainstream Americans, detailed in the image above.  As expected the 25 – 34 year old age group leads the charge, followed closely by 35 – 44 year olds.  The first-time homebuyer bracket (25 -34 years of age) has traditionally preferred to interact on mobile devices, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see that the 35 – 44 year old age group is:

1.) so close to the younger age group in number of scans, and

2.) scanning at a higher percentage/rate than the younger age group.  At the current rate this will result in a surplus of tech-savvy homebuyers spread across more age groups than ever before.

—-

The report also contains some interesting stats regarding mobile OS market share, scan rates per city and country, and an interesting comparison between 1D and 2D barcode scanning.  Click here for ScanLife’s Q2 2011 Trend Report.

-  Austin Smith, Goomzee Community Manager

“It’s exciting to be involved at this stage of the company. The tremendous positive feedback we’ve already received from our MLS partners on rollout execution and responsiveness of our engineering team energizes us to achieve more,” stated Mrs. Wills-Brown.

Mike Sparr, Goomzee’s CEO and Founder, added “Cereta has over a decade of experience managing and leading teams for some of the world’s largest companies. We’re thrilled to bolster our team with someone of her expertise.”

Goomzee currently supports over 185,000 REALTORs with it’s mobile technology products that include mobile MLS search, branded mobile IDX websites, text message marketing, and lead-generating QR code marketing tools. Many of America’s largest REALTOR associations and multiple listing services have chosen Goomzee as their mobile solution partner to provide their subscribers with mobile technology solutions. By adding Cereta Wills-Brown to the Goomzee team, the company will continue to deliver it’s flawless market rollout track record and further increase it’s responsiveness to ever-changing mobile and web technology.

About Goomzee
Goomzee provides mobile technology tools that allow real estate agents to deliver property information to a buyer’s cell phone while they are standing at the property or on the go and helps convert more leads into sales. With the company’s industry-leading product suite, Realty Connect, Text Message and QR Code marketing, and Mobile Property Pages, are automatically generated and reusable. The suite also includes Mobile MLS and Branded Mobile IDX features. Goomzee’s products seamlessly integrate with MLS property listing databases to provide accurate, relevant information for the real estate professional and their clients. To learn more, visit us online at http://www.goomzee.com or contact us toll free at (877) 324-1796.

But it has, and not just for me but for everyone!  The “mobile shift” that we discussed in hushed tones last year, possibly in fear of it turning tail and crossing the Atlantic from whence it came, is now an undeniable paradigm switch that Nielsen has labeled a “Mobile Tsunami”.

Below are some of the latest mobile statistics that reflect just how drastically cell phones have permeated today’s America.  Since outrunning a tsunami is borderline impossible, just sit back and let the waves of progress wash over you…

-  USA cell phone penetration currently at 96%

• Up from 13% penetration in 1995

-  37% of all mobile subscribers have smartphones

-  40% of smartphone users have downloaded a QR code reader

-  49% of smartphone users who have seen a QR code have scanned it

-  Average data usage is up almost 200% across the nation

• 230MB/month in 1^st Quarter of 2010, 435MB/month in 1^st Quarter of 2011

-  Average data usage per user has increased 89% in last 12 months

• 582MB/month average for Android users, 492MB/month average for iPhone users

-  Cost per unit of data had dropped 46% despite increased consumption

• Dropped from 14 cents per unit of data to 8 cents

Mobile statistic aggregators are also reporting fluctuations in more areas of the mobile industry than just data usage:

-  Foursquare now has as many users as Bolivia has citizens (10 Million)

-  12% of U.S. internet population (ages 8-64) own a tablet

-  35% of new tablet owners report using their PC significantly less, or not at all

-  32% of laptop owners reported the same

-  96% of small business owners report that they would not be able to remain relevant without using mobile technologies

Feeling refreshed yet?!

(Data points above were collected from independent aggregators, not affiliated in any way with Goomzee.  For citations or other bibliography-related inquiries, please email:  asmith (at) goomzee (dot) com.)

- Austin Smith, Goomzee Community Manager

Mohr noted that most businesspeople think of marketing only in the advertising sense, or the desired outcome, but often neglect the foundation that begins well before the latter stages. As an entrepreneur many times over, I can attest to the importance of them firsthand and will try to share the breakdown below.

1. Define And Know Your Customer
Although this is known by most, Jakki went so far as to challenge businesses to truly isolate who it is they are marketing to, and ignore the others despite temptation. She noted a common mistake businesses make is the fear to leave money on the table and desire to serve and sell to everyone – a fatal mistake in her words. This rings true and many businesses would be better served identifying their best customer, then becoming experts in identifying and solving those people’s problems and establishing thought leadership, relationships, and brand.

2. Identify Your Value Proposition
The only way someone is going to purchase your product or service is if it delivers value to them, and you can articulate what that value is. Mohr noted that most the entrepreneurs in the room were selling to other businesses and there are only two value propositions they will make a purchase decision on, saving money or making more money. If you cannot clearly describe and ideally prove how you are doing one or the other, or both, then you are wasting your time and money in advertising. Mohr’s advice to businesses was before you spend a dime on advertising, make sure you have #1 and #2 clearly defined.

3. Execution
Execution is quite simply delivering on the promises of #1 and #2. If you establish yourself as the leader in customer service, but you partner with companies that provide poor service, you are not delivering on the promises you’re brand messaging are stating. As such, this can diminish your brand and credibility and lead to wasted investment and lost business.

Jakki went on to note that after these first three key elements of marketing are executed, the practice of measuring the effectiveness of your marketing becomes very important. You need to determine what factors drive your business and measure whether your marketing efforts meet your objectives. She joked that some of her students told her they decided to go into marketing because they were bad with numbers and she just shook her head – the numbers are very important so make sure you have a plan, goals, and way to measure how you are performing and spending your hard-earned money.

The last point of the evening was that most businesses should plan to invest in marketing, and it should be a relative percentage of their budget to what they spend in building their product or service. There are no exact ratios and the best advice is to research other companies and find industry averages with businesses similar to yours to determine if you’re investing the proper amount.

To test our theory and take advantage of a chance to “geek out”, something my CEO duties prevent more and more as our company grows, I built a simple Java Server Page (JSP) illustrating the alternate way of storing time zones.  See below for a useful code snippet.

<%@ page import=”java.text.*, java.util.*, java.sql.*” %>

<%
String userTzPref = “America/Denver”;
String inquiryTimestamp = “2011-06-02 19:21:53″;

// assemble message
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(“MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm a”);
sdf.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone(userTzPref));
String time = sdf.format(Timestamp.valueOf(inquiryTimestamp));
%>

<html><head><title>Timestamp Test</title></head>
<body>
<h1><%= time %></h1>
<h2><%= userTzPref %>  (time zone)</h2>
<h2><%= inquiryTimestamp %>  (inquiry timestamp in DB)</h2>
<body>
</html>

You can test the time zone changes by editing the userTzPref to “America/Los_Angeles” or “America/Chicago” or “America/New_York” or even “America/Phoenix” and confirm your timestamps display the proper time for the user’s locale.  I hope this is useful in case you too face issues with timestamps and Daylight Savings Time.  Happy coding!