The Feel-Good Home By Maria Patterson
The story of how longtime friends Larry Smith, PhD, a clinical psychologist from Seattle, and Jack Cleeves, a builder turned investor from Arizona, found themselves marketing to Realtors is fascinating enough in itself. But what’s even more fascinating than the genesis of the product they created is the product itself.
For Smith and Cleeves, what began as a search for a way to incorporate the principles of Positive Psychology into something that would really help people with everyday life, resulted in a Web-based service designed to take some of the cost—and a lot of the stress—out of owning and maintaining a home. What the pair later learned, however, was that their product could also be used as a unique and comprehensive marketing tool for Realtors.
HomefreeTM, from Ethix Media, debuted at NAR last October and officially hit the market last month. Based on the response, Smith and Cleeves strongly believe that Homefree is a winning product for both homeowners and Realtors alike. While Homefree has broad features, great functionality and a superior overall design, the secret to its success lies in the fact that it fulfills a need for homeowners.
Upon first glance, Homefree appears to be just a Web-based newsletter program for homeowners, distributed via Realtors as a “branded closing gift that keeps on giving” (read more on this below). But don’t stop here—look underneath the hood and you’ll find the many features and components that stand to set Homefree apart in the marketplace. With a sleek design, extremely user-friendly interface, and, most importantly, a wealth of home maintenance advice, robust reminder database and lifestyle information, Homefree is more like an interactive partner for homeowners. Each homeowner customizes his or her program by describing the homes’ attributes and then receives reminders on everything from when to clean the furnace, to when to service the spa, to when to renew the home warranty.
In addition to providing automated reminders, Homefree also stores valuable records surrounding the home, including inventory lists, maintenance and improvement records, and resource lists of contractors, electricians, plumbers and so on. Such information becomes even more valuable when it can be provided to a new buyer when the homeowner decides to sell. According to Cleeves, it, may in fact, become a key selling point for Realtors. Think CarFax for homes!
Aside from these layers of interactivity, Homefree is also content rich. Ethix Media has gathered national experts including authors, television and radio hosts in several areas including home maintenance, improvement and safety, who contribute regularly with columns and materials. Currently, there is a library of over 500 articles, which is expected to grow to over 1,500, covering topics such as legal matters, organization, finance and conservation.
Additionally, users have the chance to communicate not only with these experts, but with other homeowners. Such features were paramount to Smith and Cleeves, who created not only a home-maintenance product, but a product that enhances the user’s lifestyle through building a true community of people committed to caring for their homes.
For the founders, it’s about fostering a positive experience.
From the beginning
With a PhD in clinical psychology, Smith says he has always been driven to “help people feel better.”
That’s why Smith was drawn to the Positive Psychology movement. “For the first 100 years, psychology was primarily dealing with what was wrong with people…pathologies and eliminating the symptoms,” he explains. “In more recent years, the practice of Positive Psychology developed—the concept of what could go right with people. What is happiness and can we study it scientifically?”
Smith shared the concepts behind Positive Psychology with his decades-old friend, Cleeves. “We started talking about it and we started thinking about how to weave [Positive Psychology] into some sort of business application,” says Cleeves. “How could we bring this theory to people in a way that would really make a difference to them?”
This is where the real-world experience kicked in. Smith was in the midst of remodeling his kitchen, which was turning out to be far from a positive experience. “I had taken time off from work to meet with some contractors who just never showed up. I realized how out of control things can get with homeowners and contractors and staying on top of maintenance.”
As a multiple property owner, Cleeves could relate. “Larry and I started talking about these homes we had that we just couldn’t keep up with,” he explains. “That’s when it hit us that there were no great products out there that could help with maintaining your home. Looking at their own lives and their in-the-trenches experiences as homeowners, they struck upon the concept of Homefree.
With Smith’s input, they commissioned a scientific statistical survey to be administered by WestGroup to learn more about the marketability of their idea. The survey of homeowners in 10 different markets who use the Internet at least two times per week generated great insight and a solid confirmation that the market would like and use Homefree. Sixty-two percent of the respondents said they lacked time and knowledge to stay on top of home maintenance (this response was echoed by a separate Harris Group survey) and a majority said they’d value and use a service like Homefree.
Armed with solid market research, Cleeves said, “We felt that this could be more than just a business…we could create a movement!”
In developing Homefree, the entrepreneurs brought in industry veteran, David Gray, as their vice president of business development, who realized that Smith and Cleeves had created a product that could be a tremendous co-branded marketing vehicle for Realtors. With a range of experience including positions at Prudential Financial and Prudential Real Estate, Homefair and Homestore, Gray was able to understand both the technological goals of Homefree, as well as its broader applications to the real estate industry.
“I’ve always thought that there is a need to somehow form a longer lasting relationship with the people who are part of the real estate transaction,” says Gray. “I realized that by placing the agent’s photo and information on every Web page and reminder, the agent would be able to improve their customer retention and referral rate through a thoughtful closing gift that keeps on marketing after the close. When I attended RISMedia’s Power Broker Forum last October and heard the panel members talk about the importance of client retention, I knew we were on to something big.
For a Realtor to be in a position to communicate to their client every month is an amazing opportunity; and this is a sincere and honest piece of correspondence. Realtors can say, ‘I helped you buy it and now I’d like to help you care for it.’”
Much more than a reminder system
According to Cleeves, laying the foundation for Homefree involved “five months of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with different people to develop a network” that ultimately built the tech team that brought Smith and Cleeves’ vision to life.
These programmers worked for nearly two years to create a multi-faceted and featured product with tons of flexibility and user-friendly functionality.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What would it be like to be reminded about things that needed to be done around the home? What would it be like to be able to communicate better with contractors?’ and we tried to design these elements into the software,” Smith explains. “We knew people had these problems because we were having them ourselves. We wanted to promote well-being through information and content and adding in Positive Psychology wherever we could. We could help people make good choices for themselves.”
One way to put people in control of their homes, was to automatically let them know what needed to be done and when. Homefree’s “reminders,” therefore, are a key focal point of the program.
“Our research indicated that busy people don’t have time to remember what type of maintenance a house needs,” explains Cleeves. “This program does it for them—they can spend five minutes providing information about their home when they first sign up and then receive the basic reminders every month.”
It’s easy to get started. By indicating the year the home was built, the ZIP code where it is located and answering 15 simple questions—such as the number of beds and baths, whether you have central air, a basement or an attic—the Homefree reminder system will deliver customized information relevant to the specific home and its location. The Realtor can go even one step further and begin the customization for the homeowner, making the gift even simpler for the homeowner to get started.
“Each reminder e-mail is customized—it’s based on the different answers for each home,” explains Gray. “We wanted to build a smart system that knows you don’t need a reminder in Phoenix about winterizing your home and you probably aren’t going to be backwashing your pool filter in New Hampshire in December.”
According to its creators, Homefree’s reminders will save homeowners not only time, but significant dollars. “Fifty to seventy percent of things that happen in a house could have been prevented. People don’t know to do something, they don’t have the time, or they forget,” adds Cleeves. “You can improve the serviceable life and save a major piece of equipment by doing specific maintenance at the right times. That’s what we do!”
Another extremely attractive feature of Homefree is its use as an inventory tool. And, with the capability to manage three homes under one subscription, homeowners can track inventory and maintenance on multiple properties.
Going one step further in functionality, reminders can be turned on and off for any given property, such as a vacation home in the months when it’s not in use. As Gray says, “We don’t want to alienate people—we want it to be flexible and serve their needs.”
Thanks to its ability to ensure that homeowners stay on top of proper maintenance, a significant application of Homefree is that it can actually help build equity and salability. “A well-run home with a lot of care is something that shows,” says Cleeves. “It’s bragging rights when you have a potential seller to be able to say, ‘here are all of the records of how I’ve maintained the home, who my favorite contractors are, etc.’” Cleeves adds, “We believe a Homefree home will be easier to sell.”
Additionally, after the resale, the home-specific information is provided to the new home buyer for 60 days to see if they want to renew the Homefree subscription.
At press time, an annual retail subscription for Homefree will run $96, but agent pricing is only $129 for a three-pack or $349 for a 10-pack, says Gray. At the 10-month mark of a subscription, the agent is notified that a given subscription is about to run out. The agent can renew on behalf of their clients and continue the relationship via the branding.
The Realtor takes center stage
With Gray’s help, Cleeves and Smith realized that the Realtor could play a pivotal role in the marketing of Homefree.
“Realtors are looking for ways to be in touch with homeowners,” Smith explains. “They want to be able to demonstrate that they really do get it and they really do care. Through Homefree, Realtors can say, ‘I’m your considerate host for this fantastic program. I care about you and here’s the evidence of that.’ As the homeowner, I’m reminded daily that this real estate agent made this possible.”
While many traditional closing gifts may not attempt to brand the Realtor to the homeowner, Homefree provides a way to build that branding right into the home itself, explains Gray.
“It’s less than or the same amount of money as a traditional closing gift,” says Gray. “With Homefree, you get the benefit of a closing gift that doubles as a marketing campaign—and each Web page and e-mail reminder carries your brand and links back to your Web site.”
Realtors are able to track the number of impressions generated over a previous year via the online administrative tool. This report tallies the pages that were viewed (articles, checklists, profiles, reminders and more), seasonal and new feature e-mails that have been delivered, reminders that have been viewed, etc. And, even if homeowners utilize the minimum amount of interaction with the program, sponsoring Realtors will benefit from 17 relevant and timely client communications a year.
Taking the application one step further, Homefree also becomes a referral tool when homeowners choose to assign specific reminders and tasks to outside contractors or family members. “I can assign all electrical stuff to my Dad and he will receive the reminder e-mails with the agent’s branding,” explains Gray. “Or, reminders can be assigned to go to a professional handyman, a housecleaner, etc.
Smith believes that Homefree will stand apart in the marketplace thanks to the product’s built-in value. “The thoughtfulness should be evident,” says Smith. “Consumers should feel like the product is really solving some problems for them and if they get a sense of increasing satisfaction and feel more empowered, those positive outcomes will become an ‘aha’ experience for the user.”
More to come!
Looking ahead, Ethix Media will continue to add features and functions to Homefree based on feedback garnered from Realtors and end-users. One feature the creators hope to implement is the ability to upload a home’s Homefree maintenance records directly to MLS listings. “Buyers will be able to know when the house was last re-roofed, or when it had an air conditioning or heating system put in, and whether the seller indicates that he’s conducted timely maintenance,” says Gray.
Another future plan is to sync Homefree with weather service alerts so that homeowners can prepare for approaching inclement weather (wind, freezing temperatures, hail etc). The creators are also looking to design elements specifically targeted to the younger members of the household so that the whole family can participate in the care of the home. Such enhancements speak to the overall goal of making homeownership a positive experience.
Ultimately, Smith and Cleeves believe that Homefree will have a much broader scope than simply a marketing product for Realtors and a home maintenance guide for consumers. “This is something that can benefit all homeowners and their families and create better communities,” says Cleeves. “I believe we share this goal with the real estate industry.”
For more information, please visit www.homefree.com |
