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Home Insider Blogs Frederic Guitton's Blog How do you select the ILS you use?
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Aug 31
2010

How do you select the ILS you use?

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Posted by: Frederic Guitton on Aug 31, 2010 11:53

With a variety of ways to generate a lead on the web as well as the different pricing models out there, how do you figure out which ILS platform to invest in? 

It is my belief that keeping the focus on "true" lease acquisition cost is the best way to get this one right. The key is to define what goes into cost... Let's look at 2 examples;

  1. An ILS that sends 20 leads a month and generates 1 lease every other month for $200 per month. The true cost is more than $200. It is costing the time the sort through the 39 other prospects, the time to design the ad etc...
  2. An ILS that costs $300 per month, generates 5 prospects and 1 lease. Now you only work through 10 prospects and depending on how you value that work this is probably your best deal...

So do you actually track these performance metrics? If so what seems to work best for you?

Now here is the last question; If you saw that an ILS generated less leads and get the same number of leases generated than another. Would you be willing to pay more for that service?

There is a risk in trying to generate more leads. It can simply result in lowering their overall quality. Get people that are not all that interested to complete a registration form. This will in turn cost more to manage without necessarily impacting the net outcome. I see different strategies being used when it comes to capturing contact information from a web shopper and as we cast wider net there is a real risk that "true" cost of lease acquisition is actually being pushed downstream. I look forward to your thoughts on this subject!

Frederic Guitton | activSalesAgent | Live Chat Solution Provider


Comments (5)Add Comment
62
written by Brent Williams, September 07, 2010
That's really interesting, Fred, although I wonder how many companies are ready to reach that level of analysis. I know many communities still struggle with just identifying the traffic source, let alone analyzing direct and time costs associated with each program.
3407
written by Frederic Guitton, September 07, 2010
There is no question that it is a challenge for many to track the result of their marketing efforts. In a conversation with a management company not long ago the person I spoke with knew the lead conversion rate for each of their ILS partners and they were negotiating or canceling service based on that measure. It was interesting because it helped them redefine "price" versus actual value.
105
written by Mary Gwyn, September 08, 2010
Fred, LOVE your analysis. In the "old" days of newspaper and scrutiny of close ratios, ads that drew "lots of visits/low close ratio" resulted in changing the ad, making sure price was included, increasing the feeling of exclusivity, and other methods of trying to improve the quality of traffic (not just quantity). With the advent of the ILSes, you don't have the same kind of controls, and we were initially sold that they were so "inexpensive" you could participate in many or all, but not when you measure the true costs, including labor! Thanks for this post!
Oh, and your question "How do you select the ILS you use," unless it was rhetorical, we look at ENERGY COST - OURS! smilies/tongue.gif
4817
written by Melissa Mortensen, September 14, 2010
A very good point. Correctly analyzing internet marketing reports takes much more than just looking and leads, clicks and views. Not only do you have to think about the time it takes to process that lead and turn it into a lease, but also about the actions of your customers and internal process of qualifying leads and capturing marketing metrics. What is the renter’s first action when looking for a place to rent? What action do they take when they come across an online listing? Do you use individual call center numbers to track the calls associated with different ILSs? How well are your employees or call center service agents trained on attaining lead metrics? Great post. I am interested in hearing from more PM companies on how and if they measure and analyze leads from ILSs.
4201
written by Kaitlyn Michaelis, October 05, 2010
I'm also curious about different approaches PM's take to manage all of their property advertisements on different ILS's. Do they update each one separately or are they using tools to update them simultaneously? I know that some software providers (Vautlware, Property Solutions, etc.)have ILS tools that manage advertisements and also provide analytics to help PM's identify their most effective ILS's.
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