1. What is included in my initial investment?
Hardware investment may include:
- PC’s
- Touch Screen Monitor(s)
- Flat Screen TV (s)
- All cables and parts for hardware installation
- Labour for installation and setup of software including TV aspect ratios (if purchased through us), calibration of touch screen and optimization of PC’s
2. Can I purchase the PC’s and monitors, and then have your team install the software? You can just tell me what to buy and what the OS configuration looks like, then can you install EstateVue remotely and train us how to use it?
No. We cannot support this option. Unfortunately, we are not able to effectively support the software when it is procured by the client. There are too many variables involved with the software to have us removed from the hardware purchase equation. The only things we can allow the client to purchase are the TV screens. We will need to be involved in this purchase to some degree as we do require mandatory specs such as HDMI cabling etc. You could look at this the same way as buying a car- you wouldn’t buy a car but then go and source the engine on your own.
3. Why can’t my I.T. guy do the same thing? Why do I need to use your proprietary software?
We have spent years developing the EstateVue kiosk software. This is not something that can be done by one I.T. guy overnight. Just having the software talk directly to the IDX data is an animal in itself that requires 3 dedicated staff from quality assurance and support all the way through to our programmers. We have yet to see anything comparable to the level of sophistication and automation that our solution has. It is virtually no maintenance and with the advertising component it is also set up to turn the kiosk into a money making machine.
4. Where can I get my own Touch Screen monitor and CPU unit?
We spent the better part of a year sourcing a touch screen supplier and negotiating rates, contracts, waivers etc. to buy directly from this supplier. It is very difficult to find a touch screen for commercial public use that does not subject easily to vandalism and is smooth to the touch.
5. How does the monetization model and ROI of this model work? WIIFM – What’s in it for Me in terms of payback versus cost of having my “I.T. Guy” reinvent this wheel?
If you wanted to have your own I.T. guy or internal person set this up and manage it, the following would likely occur:
• The software would be cumbersome to manage and would likely require daily updates in order to make sure that it is current and in line with the data. (keep in mind we have 3 full time staff dedicated to data from our office)
• This would obviously result in additional costs incurred by your team to pay for the person required to manage this as it could easily become a full time job.
• It would be very unlikely that there would be any chance of making money from offering advertising on the kiosk because it would be near impossible to recreate the software to the level that we have available
Monetization:
• We develop a media kit specifically tailored to your local area with ad rates and key selling points to make it easy for you or your agents to sell advertising.
• We have an ad share program where we can participate with you in the ad program and sell ads on your behalf. We find that most brokers already have preferred companies that they do business with i.e. Mortgage Brokers, lawyers, moving companies, insurance companies etc. and they have no problems getting these people to sign up on the spot
• Our advertising program is a unique and enticing program for advertisers because they are able to generate leads from a public medium that they would normally not be able to reach. Leads can be sent directly to the advertiser from the system.
• Once a sale is made we can assist with ad creation, developing further ad relationships
• We handle all uploading and maintenance within the ad system
• We provide automatic monthly reporting direct to the in box of the kiosk owner on kiosk stats, how many visits, how many properties viewed, how many emails processed, how many ads clicked, how many advertisers contacted etc.
6. I already have a kiosk and a location. How can I integrate your technology?
If you already have a kiosk set up in a mall or other location, we can certainly look at retro-fitting your existing kiosk structure with a screen/software only order. This is a great way to update your pre-existing kiosk with the latest and greatest in technology. Contact us for more details.
7. Can’t I just use an iPad rather than a touch screen monitor?
We do not recommend iPads or other tablet style devices for the touch screen hardware. These tablet style devices have not been designed for commercial use and are not ideal to run software applications. The main reasons we discourage the use of tablet style touch screens are security issues, durability and overall screen size.
8. How many kiosks are currently in operation?
This number changes monthly as the word spreads about the product. We have dozens of requests daily from across Canada and the US. Your sales person should be able to assist you with the details should you require this information. There is a combination of products in use from screen ware only to permanently fixed kiosks.
9. Why is your software packaged online? Why don’t I get a disk for installation?
Our software is web based. We have been using web based technology for years developing our other real estate solutions and the benefits far out weigh the pitfalls. For one, the client (you) benefits by always having the latest and greatest features at no additional charge. So in the same way that Facebook can change their interface or add in a new feature like ‘tagging’, we can also add features to our software that all clients whether you’re in northern Canada or sunny Florida will benefit from. We like to call it zero shelfware, meaning your software will never become stale.
