Passion + Big Data = Riding the Bleeding Edge of Tech in Real Estate

Coldwell Banker puts a stake in the ground as the industry leader with a tech package no one can match

The ability to enhance the customer experience through the combination of the CBx Listing Experience, Smart Home initiative and the CB Zap web platform has become a true differentiator and raises the value of agents and brokers affiliated with the original real estate disruptor – Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

That is the premise of the cover story in Real Estate Magazine’s March issue, where the reporter took an in-depth look at how Coldwell Banker continues to disrupt the fundamentals of the industry.

The article starts out discussing how Coldwell Banker has maintained a position of one of the most established and profitable real estate brokerages, yet still manages to remain not only relevant but an industry leader through technology.

The vast majority of interactions that brokers, agents and clients have – with each other and with the Coldwell Banker brand – occur online with the more than half taking place on mobile devices. The article showcases how Coldwell Banker recognizes and embraces these facts to develop an interconnected suite of mobile-first technologies designed to bring the buyer, the seller and the agent together, creating an exceptional experience surrounding the entire real estate transaction.

Real Estate Magazine reporter Paige Tepping honed in on the three key components of this technology suite: CBx, the brands smart home initiative and CB Zap.

CBx, the brain child of Coldwell Banker’s CMO Sean Blankenship, is an exclusive app for Coldwell Banker agents. CBx allows an agent to create specific marketing plans and targeted ads for every home using the power of big data to understand the profile of the potential buyers and the areas where that buyer is most likely living right now. Anthony Colantuono, a REALTOR associate with Coldwell Banker Hunter, spoke to Tepping for the article and said: “It’s unreal how accurate it is when it comes to determining a listing price for a specific property.”

As for Coldwell Banker’s smart home efforts, Blankenship was quoted saying: “When it came to smart homes, it felt like there was a lot of movement happening in the space, and no one in the industry was putting a stake in the ground.” Coldwell Banker spent the last few years building a smart home program that has made an impact across industries  – whether that’s from its research with CNET or an industry first smart home education curriculum in partnership with CEDIA or partnering with NEST, August Locks and Lutron to provide Coldwell Banker agent’s an exclusive smart home staging kit for their sellers.

The article concludes with showcasing the CB Zap platform, a new web-based platform which allows brokers and agents to understand, anticipate and serve their clients’ needs. It includes: CRM, lead management, individual agent and broker websites, mobile apps for the consumer and the agent, consumer insights and predictive analytics which allow the agent to know how ready a client is to make a move.  Coldwell Banker’s President and CEO Charlie Young states in the article: “CB Zap is all about providing the consumer a worldclass experience by giving agents and brokers the backend tools they need to better market to buyers we’re experiencing today.”

Interested in learning more about what Coldwell Banker is up to? Check out the Career section. Or stop by a Coldwell Banker office and meet your local team.

Athena Snow

Senior Manager, Public Relations & Giving for Coldwell Banker. Grew up in Sarasota and attended college at Western Carolina University. Athena wanted to wake up in that city that doesn’t sleep so headed to Madison Avenue to start her marketing career. She has been with this awesome brand for more than 15 years and can be found generating buzz about CB in every way possible. Athena helps to grow the brand’s position as the most storied real estate company within the industry and has led many high-profile endeavors; she was at the forefront of the brand’s pioneering smart home campaign, raised $6 million in two years to build 130 Habitat for Humanity homes, and led the Homes for Dogs program in partnership with Adopt-a-Pet.com that resulted in tens-of-thousands of dogs finding their furever home. She currently leads the CB Supports St. Jude program, which encourages the Coldwell Banker network’s 96,000+ real estate agents to make donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital for every real estate transaction they represent. In her spare time, you can find her either digging up a new area in her yard for another flower bed or planning her next travel adventure. She's the proud mom of three cats Jolene, Ziggy and Lucy.