See-snap-buy?

When they're online, consumers rely on Google to bring them instant answers, and they're starting to expect the same instant knowledge gratification to be available in the offline world. Using REDphone, that's exactly what real estate agents can offer potential buyers.

Earlier this year, we reported on Text a House – a nifty Dutch sms service that works with real estate agents to instantly provide text information to potential home owners on their cellphones, based on unique sms codes on ‘for rent’ and ‘for sale’ signs. No surprise then that consumers, who are in a READY TO KNOW state of mind AND always prefer visuals over texts, are taking well to Brisbane-based Real Estate Depot (RED). RED delivers promotional images of real estate directly to a potential customer’s mobile phone, in two steps (very similar to the Dutch Text a House process). First, the real estate agent creates a mobile message on REDPhone’s website, which processes a PIXCODE for each property. This is the number that potential customers will sms/text to receive a propertie’s pictures and text. Second, this number is published by the real estate agency on properties, in magazines, on street front signage, etcetera. The key for passersby is to spot the PIXCODE, send an sms, and instantly receive up to six colour photographs of the property, along with descriptive text and contact details. RED charges real estate agents a set-up fee of AUD 195 (USD 145 / EUR 124 / GBP 84) to create an account, with their logo, photo and contact details, which are automatically pre-loaded into each message. While they’re online, consumers rely on Google to bring them instant answers. It’s not going to take long before they expect the same instant knowledge gratification to be available in the offline world. And not just when it comes to real estate: REDPhone is already branching out into MMS services for the retail and restaurant industries, with plans to expand to Europe soon. Talk to them now, or start your own ready to know or even better NEED to know services! Oh, and make sure you partner with one of the big wireless service providers in your country: they should be drooling over paid MMS services that consumers actually appreciate! 😉 Spotted by: Keith Ahern