It seems to be that being perceived as part of the ‘local’ community is the lofty goal of nearly all self respecting 21st century corporations and bureaucracies; whether it is the fast food outlet, community newspaper, major retailer, bank or even institution of higher learning.
Given that most of these monolithic organisations are almost by definition not local in any real sense can they ever truly be considered as becoming a genuine part of the community?
Well yes and no but as any academic (or pollie) will tell you: it’s all about how you define it!
Certainly if you take a traditional approach and pose some elementary questions such as :
Who owns the entity?
Where do its revenues/profits end up?
Are the senior managers from the area and/or live in the area permanently?
Are the policies and guidelines governing their operations developed locally?
Do they spend their earnings in the local area?
Can decisions on expenditure be decided without reference to higher authorities based in other areas or even countries?
I think you will agree it’s pretty obvious that just about no one passes this basic test.
Clearly the definition should be reviewed or virtually any spin merchant or opportunist will be able to claim this appellation for their own ends.
Some suggestions to consider :
Do the management and/or those making claims or producing media releases for the organisation actually reside in the area and have any commitment to it?
Are locals the first choice or favoured when employment opportunities arise?
Do the organisations ‘buy local’ and help create extra jobs in the area?
Are buying decisions not to support other local organisations questioned or have to be justified in any way?
I would venture to say that any organisation adopting the suggested criteria would be setting a refreshing ‘enlightened’ example and would be entitled to truly call themselves part of the local community.
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Until recently newspapers have overwhelmingly been the favoured source of property information but finding somewhere to rent or buying a new home online has now eclipsed the traditional paper based means and based on industry feedback is here to stay.
What this means for the long term future of newspapers, who have propped up their dwindling circulations with increasing property advertising, is unclear but obviously recent moves by the country’s major print media to develop more new online properties indicates they also see the writing on the wall.
The raw statistics are compelling. Local agents claim over 60 per cent of all leads are now coming online … in fact they say it’s now unusual for a prospect to make contact before they have checked it out on a website first.
It’s perhaps not surprising that leading portals such as www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au are substantially upping their advertising rates but agents are being forced to question their on-going commitment to newspapers when their sellers, who underwrite the majority of the advertising spend, are reluctant to fund any increases in marketing costs.
What’s more, the whole approach to online real estate sales is also about to undertake a further sea change.
At present most web users go direct to a dedicated property portal such as Australia’s market leader www.realestate.com.au and from there they have to first search for the state they live in then add the usual filters such as price range and type of property to find a property.
It is interesting that these portals host information rather than simply link to a local agent’s website, which is probably a plus for a buyer since it displays all the opposing properties but it does duplicate the listings, does not have all the data on the agent’s own website and presumably adds to costs.
The new focus recognises that four out of every five prospects for a new property already lives in the local area (which of course is why newspapers worked so effectively in the past) but agents are starting to see that if they can tap directly into ‘local’ web surfers it makes a lot of business sense.
In future columns we will discuss YOC’s soon-to-be-launched VIDEO-on demand website and the new ‘local internet’ options which will be available to real estate agents.
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