Is Your Web Site User Friendly?

For Rent Media Solutions^TM asked this very question to its users by conducting a robust series of usability tests, with real apartment shoppers viewing eight different apartment listing Web sites including ForRent.com and its competitors. Usability testing is a technique used to evaluate a product by testing it on actual real users. A July 2008 MarketingSherpa.com study showed that highly engaged visitors have a conversion rate of about five percent, compared to about 0.2 percent of poorly engaged visitors -- a 2500% difference. Did you know that Web users form first impressions of web pages in 1/20th of a second? ¹ That is literally in the blink of an eye."The world's most powerful functionality will falter if users can't figure out how to make it work." ²

In 2008 our Product Development Team videotaped users while navigating our site and our competitors' sites to find out what worked and what didn't work. They gathered comments and page ratings from OpinionLab, a third party leader in Voice of Customer (VoC) business intelligence. VoC plays a critical role in defining an organization's ability to recognize and react quickly to shifting market forces and customer defined opportunities. Seventy five percent of web users admit making judgment about the credibility of an organization based on the design of its website.³ The Product Development Team surveyed direct email lists of consumers in ForRent.com’s demographic. In addition, they conducted in person interviews with people who were actively looking for apartments to get their opinions on their search experience. Throughout development, prototype testing was conducted. We videotaped test users carrying out specific tasks on the proposed design of the new search.

The purpose of this testing was to find design and functionality errors at an early stage. As a result, we learned that apartment shoppers felt they had very little control, could not maneuver through any of the eight sites tested and felt the sites did not produce relevant results. We listened to users and redesigned our search functionality to eliminate their complaints and bring a "smarter search" experience for all. For Rent Media Solutions is proud to announce the launch of the all new Intuitive Search functionality and enhanced search results pages. Watch the ForRent.com Intuitive Search video here for more information.

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Marketing to the Gen Y Consumer

"Gen Yers," "Echo Boomers," "Millennials," "Net Generation," "Trophy kids," whatever you want to call them, are you ready to market to them? The largest generation since the Baby-Boomers, the Y Generation is defined by their numbers. Generation Y, born between 1977 and 1994, makes up over 70 million people in the U.S.; which equates to 20% of today's population. ¹ Growing up in the age of technology has definitely given them an edge. In a world where YouTube^TM videos, MySpace^® friends and common lingo including terms like 'OMG,' 'LOL,' 'I Facebooked you,' 'BBIM,' and 'I tweet,' building and sustaining relationships with consumers has become increasingly difficult, forcing marketers to reach beyond familiar and traditional strategies and techniques.

Web 2.0 platforms, mobile devices and video sharing sites are not merely evolutionary changes in the world of marketing. They are revolutionary. As marketers we need to reach Gen Y through an integrated marketing strategy which includes advertising on multiple platforms such as print, Internet, social networking sites, video sharing sites, text messaging, mobile Web sites, and the like. In a study conducted by Junco and Mastrodicasa: "Research on ‘The Net.Generation,'" they found that 97% of students owned a computer, 94% owned a cell phone, and 56% owned an MP3 player (iPod, Zune, Sansa, etc.). In that same study, 69% of students polled reported having a Facebook account, 28% reported owning a blog and 44% reported reading blogs.

To learn more about who they are and four tips on how you can successfully engage with Generation Y in this ever-changing marketplace, view the full article here>>

Moving Up and Moving In

For Rent Media Solutions is proud to acknowledge the recent promotions of Brock MacLean to senior vice president of national sales and development, Paige Forrest to vice president of sales, the addition of Mike Bozeman as vice president of ForRent.com and the promotion of Paul Sipe to assistant vice president of development for ForRent.com.

MacLean is a 15 - year veteran in the multi-housing industry. Since joining For Rent Media Solutions in 2006, he has found his niche in technology. He spearheaded efforts to create Community Theater^®, the industry's first online video package, followed by a text messaging product, mobile Web site, and most recently, an iPhone® application.

Forrest has been dedicated to the multi-housing industry for nearly 20 years. In 2001, she joined Dominion Enterprises as the general sales manager in Richmond, Va. Since then, Forrest has advanced within the company, holding various titles, including national sales manager, and her most recent position as assistant vice president of sales. In her new role as vice president of sales, she oversees sales operations for the company’s Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions, as well as national and inside sales efforts.

Bozeman will join For Rent Media Solutions as the vice president of ForRent.com on June 1, 2009. He has been instrumental in leading innovations at the Employment Guide, a Dominion Enterprises' business, as the director of web development. He has a tremendous ability to understand the needs of a sales organization while translating commercial goals into an engineering and development design plan. Bozeman has an extensive background in information technology.

Sipe has been promoted to the role of Assistant Vice President of Development for ForRent.com. Sipe has been with ForRent.com for over three years and continues to demonstrate great leadership. He has played a critical role in guiding the Engineering and Development team through the recent launch of the LEADS^TM Dashboard and the exciting advancements in the new ForRent.com.

Congratulations to all!