ZipRealty, a high-tech brokerage that also powers an online referral network, has rolled out a mobile-optimized version of Zap, its customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Though agents could previously use some of Zap’s desktop features on mobile devices, the new mobile version offers access to all desktop functionality as well as a more intuitive user experience, said ZipRealty spokewoman Stacey Corso.
The new version of Zap also provides mobile-specific functionality like geolocation and touch-to-call features.
Zap, which has been continually developed for more than 14 years, is available to agents who work at its brokerages and to agents at brokerages that are part of ZipRealty’s Powered by Zip referral network.
Powered by Zip funnels consumers who use ZipRealty.com to brokerages located in markets where ZipRealty does not have an on-the-ground presence.
The new version of Zap “gives agents access to all of the tools and resources they need to effectively conduct business and provide outstanding customer service while on the go,” Jamie Wilson, senior vice president of technology at ZipRealty, said in a statement. “Additionally, their activity is synced with desktop Zap, so they can easily go from working on the move, back to working in the office without skipping a beat.”
One of the primary features of the app calls attention to the contacts in an agent’s database the app determines are most likely to be on the prowl for homes, ranking them by scores based on their search activity on ZipRealty.com.
Corso said the new Zap “is unlike any other in the real estate industry because of its ability to predict key consumer behavior patterns.”
Like some other CRMs, the platform also lets agents see granular information on contacts’ search activity, showing details like the number of homes a contact has saved on ZipRealty.com, how many times that contact has signed into the site and how many times that contact has requested a showing.
In addition, the app notifies an agent when a contact requests assistance or a showing, and lets the agent call, text or email the contact from within the app. An agent may choose among message templates in the “email script library” to customize and send to clients.
Agents may also use the app to add showings as well as comments about properties that will appear on the properties’ ZipRealty listing pages. They also can access their daily tasks and notifications on Zap.
During the beta launch of Zap, agents using the app made 41 percent more phone calls, sent 20 percent more emails, added 25 percent more comments to ZipRealty listing pages and added 7 percent more home showings, ZipRealty said.
Brokerages in ZipRealty’s Powered by Zip network typically pay a combination of a monthly and transaction-based “success fee” for its full “software as a service” (SaaS) solution. That solution includes a co-branded website, online agent marketing, leads, a brokerage-operating system part of Zap, and the Zap CRM.
Fees from Powered by Zip, and revenue that ZipRealty earns from marketing arrangements with mortgage lenders and the sale of online display advertising, accounted for about 7 percent of the $21.7 million in second-quarter net revenue the brokerage generated, up from 5 percent a year ago, the company said in its latest earnings report.