A 12-branch firm in south east Wales has quit OnTheMarket to return to Zoopla.
Roberts & Co’s business covers Newport, Monmouthshire, Caerphilly, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent and said that after an internal review, it felt that returning to Zoopla Property Group offered its vendors and landlords the best possible marketing for their properties. It specifically cited Zoopla’s acquisition of the Property Software Group as part of the reason for its decision.
Mark Roberts said: “It was the right time to review our portals with Roberts & Co re-branding, the opportunities that Zoopla Property Group can now offer us as a result of the PSG acquisition are very exciting and now is the right time to be part of this.”
It said that PSG would provide it with intelligent business reporting, plus the effective marketing tools and functions it wanted.
Comments (32)
To put it in perspective these are the counts of properties on the three portals for the area that we mainly serve;
rightmove 245
zoopla 290 (yes more than rightmove!)
onthemarket 36
We have been on both (RM&Z) for years so how can we drop an equal split of leads to bolster OTM…when that is clearly not best for our vendors.
Guess which portal most buyers in our area don’t use and don’t even know about? I would be happy to spend time to try and generate awareness of OTM …..except the rules stop me joining them.
They have shot themselves in the foot with that clause really. Should’ve waited until they were making a significant dent in rightmove and Zoopla’s numbers before trying to impose that clause. Advertising would’ve also made a difference so that traffic was diverted to their site and people actually knew who they were!
I understand peoples concerns over the seemingly ever increasing costs of advertising on rightmove but without doubt they are the number 1 port of call for the significant majority of house buyers due to the money they have ploughed into advertising over the years. It’s certainly the portal that 99% of the potential vendors we see expect us to advertise on. Ask the same people about OTM and the response will be ‘Who? Never heard of them” or similar. Herein lies their problem. They simply have not spent enough on advertising to raise awareness of who they are with Joe public. And on that basis, then trying to restrict anyone from signing up and advertising on any other portal is simply a recipe for failure.
It’s not over yet.
We have a relatively local agent who bangs on about their success and their not being on Rightmove. It only takes a few pebbles to start the avalanche.
I mentioned months ago, the concept was an excellent idea but poorly delivered, the advertising was poor and the website itself was as basic as it comes.
It lacked more imagination.
I have been a supporter of OTM since the start, and I am growing concerned that this massive opportunity is fading quickly.
The number of leads generated is lessening and I cannot remember the last time I saw or heard an advertisement. All of the supporting agents in my locality have pushed this opportunity but I am now greatly concerned.
I note today that OTM has launched commercial properties on their site, but would it not have been wiser to improve the back office, maybe dedicate time to offering users tools that can be offered to potentially new members ? Maybe invest in a back end system to compete with Zoopla’s recent purchases of the software firms ? It would appear as they have the talent to put this into place, so why not add value to existing members with a view to attracting more ?
Looking at the comments above , no marketing presence , no real desire to compete or change lanes. In danger of missing their goal ……what if their goal was to launch a high end London Centric portal for Savilles ,Knight Frank et all without actually having to stump up the enormous costs themselves ? How are they doing then ? They have launched an overseas portal, recently signed deals with Country life and Aspire ( i think thats the group , was done very quietly a couple of months ago) who’s titles include “Chateaux and Relais” amonst others . I didnt see a magazine for “3 bed semi in Wales” anyway. Once you shift the focus of what the goal is you will realise they aren’t doing that badly after all. Its just you thought they cared about you because that’s what you where told…..
Danny….this is not the first time I have heard this said…and someone else said it to me again over the weekend….if it is true and at the heart of OTM….. it is hypocrisy and betrayal.
My heart wants to believe otherwise. So come on OTM engage, listen and prove this is not the case!
“The truth lies in the actions, not in the lies”
If Zoopla win, they will only look after the shareholders just like RM. All the idiots who want OTM to die will regret their decision. OTM is the only portal who want their customer agents to succeed.
That makes complete sense. Portals that make money from agents want agents to fail. Portals should be a minor cost factor in your business Id focus on other areas to either save money or increase income.
OTM cannot and will not work.
A fantastic idea in principle and all that was needed was all of us to leave the other portals and join them. Job done. Unfortunately companies in our industry bottled it in the thousands and what could have saved our industry millions now looks set to die a slow death due to our own blinkered short term view that “you have to be on rightmove”. Thousands of companies out there have chosen to stay with the portal that they spend countless hours complaining and moaning about. In a tough market which looks set to get tougher we continue to be held to ransom by rightmove, paying ever increasing fees to line shareholders pockets.
A huge percentage of our industry are responsible for the failure of OTM. We waited a decade for a company to rise up to knock rightmove of it’s comfy perch and when it comes along we as an industry don’t support it. So many thanks to all you legions of silent moaners who can’t see the wood for the trees, you’re the reason the guys at rightmove are laughing all the way to the bank.
I agree with some of what you say….we have all made mistakes ….but so to did OTM. Talking to other agents they will not listen to suggestions from existing/prospective members.
There is still time for this situation to be rescued and OTM to become a main competitor to other portals…..but they need to start a process of full engagement with new ideas and strategies. So how about it Mr Springett…… how about asking for and setting up a think tank group of independent agents, consisting of both members and prospective members, to formulate suggestions and ideas to help OTM get back on its path upwards?
Mr Springett appears to be too stubborn to listen to reason or advice or warnings as he steers the good ship OTM. Iceberg? What Iceberg???
I personally beleive ZPG & RM to deliver fantastic value in terms of products, marketing, innovation and lead generation. Swathes of the market are perfectly able to run profitable business yet bemoan at being held to ransom by the major portals. Yet, so many of the agents that yell this from the rooftops, spends thousands in print advertising and mailshots and yet do nothing to measure it’s ROI or bundle bucket loads of money on pintless PPC campaigns and 1st page of google swindles.
Many of us agents didn’t ‘bottle’ signing with OTM we saw it as what it was- a fundamenatlly flawed concept from launch. The sole premise was to destabilise the ‘monopoly’ and to reduce agents costs- nothing else. It wasnt to create a unique interactive site. It was to deliver a streamlined viewing booking experience (akin to movebubble). It wasnt to create an enhanced UX with larger photos, viewed more quickly. It hasnt championed and adopted evolutions to date in PropTech such as VTs. I could go on but so many of us saw it as exactly what it is- a cheap, scaled back version of the market leaders.
With public perception of agents always in the doldrums explaining to a client that we had dropped a major portal to save on advertising costs was madness. Are the same agents that complain about this the same agents that complain about reducing fees and battling with competition?
OTM need to either start completely from scratch with the endeavour dto deliver something truly inspirational and innovative or bow out and let the big boys get on with it.
OTM appears to be in real danger of going down as the missed greatest opportunity this industry has ever seen. The OTM window logos are beginning to fade and so is OTM.
Unless they up their game considerably – and soon – they are going to fail.
They have virtually disappeared off the radar in terms of marketing and there is absolutely no sign of any charismatic leadership nor a compelling message for agents to rally to. The public hardly know of them, they have squandered the momentum that they launched with, and they are seemingly content to quietly bumble along without anyone tub thumping the proposition and rallying the troops. There is no fire, no passion to be seen in any of it.
Meanwhile, Zoopla regains its losses and RM grows ever stronger. The mountain is getting steeper by the day.
It is time for OTM to DO SOMETHING really creative to arrest the growing perception that they are a spent force.
One hundred per cent in agreement with you….I have some really good suggestions of what they could do and should do…but unfortunately they will never ask me.
How are agents officially leaving OTM as I was under the impression they were tied into 5 year agreements when they signed up?
Not the £50ers Jonny. You could dip you toe in and try it short term. Court case to leave if your a lifer (Life of OTM or 5 years whichever comes first?)
it’s far too late. this is now a death by 1000 papercuts, will be long and drawn out, and right until the very end Ian will be releasing statements about how this was a record month for clicks and that the magic 7500 is in sight.
The best thing people can do now is put it down quickly by leaving in their droves.
In my usual style I see things a bit differntly; if the biggest challenge OTM face is a bit of maundy money being thrown from the balcony by ZPG it shouldn’t be too hard to outperform that.
OTM has two competitors, both are legacy systems, that restrains their ability to compete with OTM which ought to be far more agile and open to change.
Zoopla has shackled itself to a problem, transitioning, training and supporting agents onto a new platform. Bear in mind I have gone through that process twice, I know the business crippling effects that is going to have. Work out how to transition agents onto a new system that is already over running. 20 staff transitioning 4 agents a week, 8500 agents to get through is a two year lead time.
OTM doesn’t have a legacy issue, it doesn’t have a logistic nightmare it ought to be a David whacking a rock onto Goliath’s forehead and then seeing if his brother wants some too!
Loving the last line RM!
At the risk of repeating yourself (which in this case you do 😉 ) ‘ought to be’ just doesn’t cut it. How things ought to be be and how they actually are, are sadly miles apart. Where you see Zoopla ‘shackled to a problem’ most see OTM as the one holding the shackles on themselves and their customers, namely the OTP rule. I fear it will be too late before OTM finally become ‘more agile and open to change.’
Thank you for acknowledging my consistency! You are right ought to doesn’t cut it, they do need to do more. The reason for me sticking my head above the parapet again is to encourage the discussion that things need to change and for the mutual members of AM to do something about it rather than delegating all responsibility to one group of people doing what they think is right.
OTM need to do something much more dramatic than that if it’s to survive. Their profile seems to be shrinking weekly. It needs a massive marketing injection for existing and new agents, but even more importantly for the general public who actually don’t know who or what OTM is in big enough numbers for them (OTM) to provide a descent volume of enquiries to its agent members.
OTM please review your stance on the one other portal rule. The strategy is now hindering your progress. It feels as though you are going into reverse…….and we all really want you to succeed.
I am a 1 branch agent, guided the ship on a budget since opening the crash of 2008.
Thanks to onthemarket,( which i binned after a few months) i had to come off zoopla because all other spineless agents in my town went with rightmove.(Even though they sat in meetings saying how much rightmove was a rip off!)
I now pay £1000 to rightmove instead of £350 a month to Zoopla.
Now I pay (an independant agent who OTM was supposed to be helping!!) £8,000 more a month.
Nevermind…the kids wont mind having an apple for Christmas this year.
i meant 8k a year…
Bless you…..we may have some ideas that can help you get more business to compensate (no money needed). How can we contact you?
Why on earth do you want them to drop the OOP rule? That is total madness. The whole premise of OTM was to destabilise the ‘monopoly’ (failed) and to reduce agents marketing costs. ZPG & RM appear to continue to go from strength to strength so why on earth would any agent want to pay 3 portals in stead of 2. There is simply no logic in that. Portals dont create leads they funnel them- 3 major portals or 2 major portals you get the same volume of leads so why pay a 3rd wjell that delivers little or nothing.
Simply because the rule is stopping a lot of agents joining, and causing others to leave. Growth is slowing to a halt …so they have to adapt by giving the choice. If some agents want to be on all three portals , then that’s up to them… what does it matter if it helps OTM get far more Interest and properties. Once they have then grown in size, got far more properties onboard and therefore generating far more leads….even more agents will be attracted and there will come a consolidation tipping point.
its just a view…….but we will see where it will lead if they don’t do it…won’t we, and I for one don’t want the outcome to be what I fear.