Totomic
Marketing
Inman Rating

Totomic's big data shows how (and who) to target for your next home sale

Software combines a host of non-standard data types to build lifestyle segments best suited to listings in agents' inventory
Totomic
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  • Big data tools, like bots, are quickly infiltrating the real estate industry. Totomic creates entire brokerage audience profiles by analyzing 18 months of transactions.

To paraphrase a classic line from “Fletch” — “It’s all big data these days.” Totomic consolidates non-commoditized data sources, such as deep property information, lifestyle and behavioral data, and social activity to categorize the people who live around a listing.

Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.

Totomic uses big data to offer real estate agents the best possible customer profile and marketing approach for a specific listing.

Platforms: Browser-based
Ideal for: Top-producers; marketing-savvy agents; agents looking for new marketing advantages

Top selling points

  • Makes practical use of big data
  • Encourages action, not just analysis
  • Segments audiences

Top concerns

  • Requires time to absorb and an understanding of how true marketing is done; a more cerebral process

What you should know

To modify a classic line from Fletch, “It’s all big data these days.”

Totomic consolidates non-commoditized data sources, such as deep property information, lifestyle and behavioral data; and social activity to categorize the people who live around a listing.

 

The data mix makes all the difference.

The process starts by completing a property profile form. The more information you enter about a listing, the better.

Totomic blends shopping habits, personal interests and activities, neighborhood points of interest, size and value of current residence, internal finishes and other data points with the results of a social network analysis. Totomic has a partnership with Acxiom, the largest consumer data resource in the world.

That mash is then strained through Totomic’s proprietary algorithms to build a set of audience profiles within its Best Buyer report.

It then offers a recommendation on which of those groups is most likely to contain the person who will buy a listing and suggests the most effective ways to reach that person.

A couple of advantages for agents should immediately stand out:

  • Most agent marketing tools use only the most accessible data sources (for example, MLS data, market reports), meaning agents are using the same data as their competitors
  • Segmenting audiences helps marketers create distinct messaging for each group

The ensuing Best Buyer Analysis is a color-coded, charted and narrative breakdown of Lifestyle Segments derived from Acxiom’s system of audience classification, which consists of 70 nationwide demographics. Examples include:

  • Established Elite
  • Corporate Connected
  • Active and Involved
  • Summit Estates
  • City Mixers
  • Casual Comfort
  • Career Building

What I like about Totomic is that it does more than offer reports; it actually recommends action, which is where almost every marketing plan fails.

Strategy is worthless without the tactics to carry it out.

The software will create a list of recommendations based on the report that may include staging, open houses, advertising or social media.

It even offers messaging language tips and suggestions for how the listing should be staged.

It also includes advice on how to use Facebook’s advertising tools to most effectively reach the recommended lifestyle segment.

 

The company claimed that Pacific Union agents using Totomic reports to drive marketing reported a 50 percent higher click-through rate on their ads.

Other features: Seller’s Map and C-suite dashboard

Brokers will benefit from Totomic’s Seller’s Map. This tool analyzes your last 18 months of transactions to create a similar report for the company as a whole.

The C-suite dashboard details deals month-by-month to build specific customer profiles for each, which can be viewed and segmented using an array of graphs and tools.

Brokers can use the data to:

  • Adjust their office’s marketing messages
  • Narrow down their ideal type of listing
  • Recruit agents best suited to their audience
  • Make better choices about leads

A number of brokerages are already leveraging Totomic’s data-driven marketing tools, including Zephyr Real Estate, Pacific Union and Seven Gables Real Estate.

A number of real estate platforms harness big data to help agents understand their market. I find Totomic excels because it shows agents the practical applications of using such information.

Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe

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