Thomas George
Thomas George, Cardiff's largest residential lettings agent, have recently made
the move into sales, opening up their new estate agency in August 2007. The launch
required an exemplary online presence to match their offline reputation and gave
Magnetize the opportunity to create our third website for the company.
Thomas George wished to create a rich, interactive experience for their customers,
both online and in-store. This demanded a number of bespoke features to be included
in the project.
Visit www.thomasgeorge.net
In-store Terminals
To provide an enhanced viewing experience for their clients, Thomas George wished
to introduce an innovation into their estate agency which enabled potential buyers
to effortlessly browse their property database in relaxed, comfortable surroundings
at their offices in central Cardiff.
To answer this requirement, Magnetize have built a bespoke version of the website
which can be viewed from a number of touch-screen kiosks at the agency office.
Software Integration
Both the lettings and sales teams had established software which was used to manage
the database of properties to let or for sale through Thomas George. They required
a site that would integrate with this existing software, minimising work for their
agents and ensuring continuity of information between their online and offline portfolios.
The result is a site that draws infomation directly from the main Thomas George
databases, providing the visitor with a wealth of information about each property,
laid out to be user-friendly and fully searchable.
Integration with Agency Staff
The website plays a key role in Thomas George's sales process, but its ultimate
purpose is to drive customers to contact agency staff who can complete the sale.
To accomplish this, it was necessary to include obvious and enticing calls to action
throughout the site through the use of buttons and boxes, giving users every opportunity
to arrange viewings, speak to an agent or request more details with a click of a
mouse.
In addition to this, Magnetize have created an account facility for users. This
feature encourages users to sign up for an account which will then enable them to
produce their own shortlist of preferred properties which can be saved for later
and made available to sales staff in the office. This also allows Thomas George
to collect contact information from their customers and actively contact them about
new properties that may meet their requirements.
Enhanced Search Facility
The main requirement for the Thomas George websites has been an enhanced level of
searchability, providing the user with the simplest and most visually engaging method
of finding their ideal home.
This has been achieved through the use of Google Maps as the main search interface,
allowing potential tenants and buyers to view and choose available properties through
a map, rather than a list. Search criteria are also applied to the map, enhancing
the search process for the user and creating a simple and enjoyable way to browse
properties. Users can also view local amenities, such as rail stations and schools,
on the same map, giving them a clearer picture of the area they are looking at.
In order for this to work, Magnetize interfaced the Thomas George website with a
third party geocode service, which converts postcodes to map co-ordinates, allowing
each property to be accurately displayed in its correct location.
Search-engine Friendly
Both the lettings and sales websites have been designed to be search-engine friendly,
ensuring that they appear in the listings of the top search engines under relevant
search terms. To facilitate this, keyword research was undertaken, optimised copy
was written and an XML site map and breadcrumb trails were added to the site.
Additional Services
In conjunction with web development, Magnetize have also provided Thomas George
with a number of offline services for their group of companies, including branding,
company stationery, signage, flyers and brochures.
Customer Satisfaction
Magnetize are delighted to have completed three successful web development projects
for Thomas George and to have established an ongoing working relationship. We are
also grateful for their faith in our skills which they have shown by recommending
us to other businesses who have subsequently become valuable clients themselves.
Visit www.thomasgeorge.net