RealTown's RealTalk

On the 21st, I e-mailed RealSupport, trying to find out some basics about their services; no reply as of yet

Either they are overwhelmed or?.......

Thanks,
Meir Aloni CRS, RECS & Team
Delivering results to Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County since 1985
All Star Realty Inc.

http://www.WeSellBroward.com

Direct# (954) 338-5220

From: RealTown Editor [mailto:RealTalk@RealTown.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 1:40 PM
To: Meir Aloni
Subject: RealTalk: RE: Advanced Access websites not functional ID00DS1G

		RealTalk Powered by RealTown Communities
	Websites-Blogs RE: Advanced Access websites not functional RealTown Editor Information Technology , CA Apr 21, 2009 Hi Marlow. Don't dump anything until you get it changed over. You might want to contact RealSupport, they are a Point2 Approved Virtual Assistant company. Give Erica Parpan at RealSupport a call and see what is involved in moving over the content. As you know, content is king and you need to make sure you have it all. Erica Parpan Operations Manager RealSupport, Inc. 1232 West Northwest Highway Palatine, IL 60067 Office: (847) 705-1655 x201 | Fax: (847) 589-8989 |Cell: (847) 420-8794 | Erica@RealSupportinc.com >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Marlow Harris Licensed Real Estate Agent Seattle, WA April 20, 2009 1:04 AM I've had an Advanced Access website for 10 years and was very happy with it the first 5 or so, until the company was sold to Dominion. Since then, Customer Service is a disservice and the product continues to suffer. They've had periodic outages almost every month, and this last week, they've announced several "down times" late at night, but this weekend, the sites are out without explanation, we have no access to our "Virtual Office" to make needed updates and changes to our listings for our Open Houses on the weekend and no one is replying to emails and "Online Chat" is closed. No one is receiveing emails and, to add insult to injury, no one is in the AA office and you can't even call because the voice mailbox is FULL! I thought maybe I was the only disgruntled AA website owner, but I found pleny of other unhappy customers (soon to be ex-customers, I'm guessing.) I know many people on these Forums suggest Point2 websites and Internet Crusade, but does anyone know, if I cancel my AA website, won't I have to re-create it all again (I have 100's of pages of original content) and don't I risk my page rank and standing in the search engines? I am so sick of their unresponsive customer service and power outages. They knew they were moving all their data to new servers, why not have extra people on staff to work on the problem or at least answer the phones over the weekend. View / Reply on the Web Reply to Community You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to RealTalk on RealTown Communities. If you have forgotten your password, click here. To unsubscribe from this list, please visit http://www.realtown.com/community/users/preferences.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again.... there is NOBODY like Advanced Access.� They have given me great support.� Once in a while it took them a week or two to respond, but they have been terrific.� When I found my home page blank, I decided it was time anyhow to redo it.� I save the home page every so often so some of it is back up.� As I have time I'll add more and more.� I wrote them NOT to restore my home page as it was before but to leave it like it is now.

Thank you Advanced Access for all your good work in the past.� I'll bear with it until you "get it fixed," but I do hope it is soon.

I found Point2 very cookie cutter and did NOT like their templates at all.� I like to customize everything, and sometimes use a few features provided by the website.
�
I tried Z57 and iHouse, but after AA, they would not suffice.

So, listen up everybody, stop complaining, relax a bit, so you� and I lost a few leads... but register your email with Internet Crusade.� I did get leads during the last weeks which came from my AA website.

Let's be grateful for the "good stuff" in our lives, stop complaining and start counting our blessings.�

Wishing everybody well and a good year ahead.

Regards,
Marilyn Jacobs



--
MARILYN FARBER JACOBS - Your Friend, Your Neighbor, Your Consultant

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There are continuing problems with AA sites, I'm sad to say. Alot of agents have moved past using AA's webmail and working with Outlook, Top Producer or their current company to manage their mail. We have a site that we are working on right now that is an AA client and they have not been able to get into the Virtual Office for more than a year. Which means that you can't even check your address book to see if anything has been lost through the cracks.

When you do get access to your email, please check your Intellicards and Address Book. Export the names that you have into a comma delimited file, AA can help you with that, it's really easy to do on your own.

I want to also emphasize that if you do host with another provider, you also need to do 301 redirects on any links that you may have from your site. We are doing this for all our clients now, who have moved from other web hosting companies and didn't want to lose their rankings.

Check out our newest site www.az-homes4u.com. We have a slick golf course map that was turned into a print piece, beautiful.

Cherie Young
Online Marketing Strategies
www.CherieYoung.com
760.782.0103

Anna,

It is nice to see you here, but this does not address the problem. You and I had several conversations quite some time ago, I expressed my concerns over what was happening. AA continues to sell my designs as though they are doing this. I have not pursued this, because frankly it brings me business. But the sales department touts that my work can be done on the AA platform, even though the sites cannot be managed properly.

The end result was a screeching halt to referrals from AA and I no longer built our beautiful designs on that platform. BUT AA SOLD MY DESIGNS AS THERES. I tried the last couple of months again to put one of our designs on the AA platform. Only to find that there were still issues with the 4.0 that should have been fixed more than 2 years ago. I was disgusted and, at my own cost, rebuilt the design elsewhere. I thought it would be good for business as everyone needs business right now. But it was business as usual, emails not working, forms not working, etc.

I miss the old AA. The sites were antiquated, but clients loved the customer support and were loyal because of the support. AA has without a doubt great customer support, but the wait times are long and cannot support our advanced designs that are still hosted with AA.

Last week we were moving over one of the AA clients (we move lots of them) and helping our client get her listings (which she hasn't been able to get to), when all the sudden the images were gone, then the listings were gone. All web hosting providers have issues from time-to-time, but this is now an expected thing with AA.

I hope AA gets this straightened out. There were a really good company, and when I worked at Z57 the one to beat.

Cherie Young
Online Marketing Strategies
www.CherieYoung.com

We specialize in providing Web-Centric Real Estate Marketing solutions, and use Point2 Agent as a platform for real estate websites.

Some of the things written in this thread by people who do not have Point2 websites, or who tried them out for a short period of time, aren't accurate. There's a learning curve required to become proficient on any website platform. The great thing about Point2 is that you can have a fully-functioning site using some of its features while learning others. But, it shouldn't be assumed that a feature of a site doesn't exist because one person isn't familiar with it.

In terms of customization, Point2 sites really are hard to beat. We help clients do everything from establishing brands and designing logos to customizing Point2 websites with custom designs, content and marketing messages. Here's one of our latest projects.

There is a 250 page limit on a Professional membership with Point2, but the Premium is unlimited. For the vast majority of our clients, the Professional membership is a great option. Very few sites get to the 250 page limit.

Transferring a site isn't difficult, especially when you look at the number of pages that are truly original content written specifically for a specific site. And, as been said in this thread before, if the transfer is done properly, losing ground in the search engines isn't an issue.

I think everyone should use the Internet solution that makes them most comfortable. But, if your existing choice isn't working as you'd like it to, there really are many other alternatives. You may find you like an alternative better than the original - once you know about, and can take advantage of, all the features that are available.

Kathleen
www.BuildRealEstateWebsites.com

Editor's Note
Thanks Kathleen. If agents and brokers are not satisfied with their current web site provider, are looking for a more cost effective approach to web marketing and lead generation and lead management, then I suggest that they try a Point2 website for free for 3 months. Point2 syndicates your listings to over 36 web portals and provides tracking and predictive marketing tools. I have looked at all the websites and website products over the years. The one that most impeesses me is Point2, which is why I took the CEO position a year and a half ago. With our current MLS strategy for Single Point of entry, none of our competitors offers anything close to what we offer, and we offer it at a starting price of free and after 3 months, if you like it, then the Standard Package is $9.95 per month. After that, if you are interested, services such as those offered by Kathleen can help you maximize your web presence. It is all up to you. Your listing is a marketing asset and you will get traffic and leads as a result of syndicating your listings through Point2.Give it a try. Go to http://FreeWebSite.RealTown.com and sign up today.What's the best software...the one you use.Saul

Most of us when beginning our adult life probably started out by renting our first residence. Few of us could go straight into home ownership. But we also knew that by owning our own place, we would have much greater control and freedom.

While Suzanne Hathcock Stephens, Kathleen Allardyce, both designers, and certainly Saul, as CEO of Point2, are keen on a solution like Point2, others here like Marilyn Jacobs and Suzanne White remain high on AA, while other RealTalkers have touted other template providers too. Keep in mind though that with all of these, you are still merely "renting" instead of "owning". Sure, you can "furnish" or "decorate" your site, make lots of enhancements and improvements, but the fact remains - you don't own it. Like renting anything, you are still vulnerable to and under the control of your "landlord"... as has certainly been pointed out in the topic of this thread. For many RealTalkers, AA had been a marvelous "landlord" in the past too.

Templates have their place, as Saul pointed out. They can be cost effective, especially as a "starter" site when you are just beginning your real estate career or developing your web marketing strategy. But when you own your custom web site - built by yourself or by a professional designer - you will no longer have to worry about your "landlord". If your web site host goes down for long periods, just take your custom site elsewhere and be back in business in a day!

As Kathleen Allardyce wrote, "if your existing choice isn't working as you'd like it to, there really are many other alternatives." Creating and owning your custom site is really one choice you should look into!

Win

************************
Win Singleton, CRB, e-PRO
Summit Web Design
(703) 536-7631
wins@summitweb.com
http://Summitweb.InternetCrusade.com
"Custom web site design that gets results!"
************************

Editor's Note
One of the nice aspects of Point2, is that it has a feature called "Listings to Go." You can have any website you like, by any provider, including a custom site by Summit Web Design (or anyone), and still take advantage of Point2's syndication network and analytical and predictive marketing tools...the "best of both worlds."As I have said for years...for most REALTORS, "Websites are billboards in the middle of nowhere." it takes a strategy and a marketing plan to get the most out of any marketing endeavor.You need a business plan, a technology plan, a marketing plan, and a website plan.Create a budget, create a strategy, execute, track, adjust. Don't just say it...do it.Saul