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Just like food and clothing, shelter is one of the important essentials that should never be overlooked. The problem is, unlike the first two, acquiring property is a serious deal; homes are never cheap and often involve long-term financial planning. Generally, everyone has a choice of either buying or renting a house or apartment of […]

Roomz.asia is the only “rooms for rent website” featuring live video tours. Because properties with a video tour is 300% more likely to find a tenant. If you are not familiar with shooting a video and uploading it to Youtube, you can contact us and we will send one of our friendly staff to shoot the […]

Roomz创业项目的启动到现在正好3个月了。项目启动前我们3个合伙人对马来西亚房屋出租市场调研，竞争对手的分析，和Roomz的定位和发展方有过很多的讨论。 但是无论你前期准备多久，大多数的问题和都是实际项目实施过程中遇到并一一解决的。下面就对目前项目的进展和近阶段的发展方向做一个简单的总结吧。 经过3个月的开发，我们上线了一款总体满意的网站 当我们一旦决定做房屋的租赁平台，那么网站第一版的基本功能可以说是标配。所以我们立刻着手平台的开发可以说是一个非常正确的选择。 网站的基本功能我们一个月就上线了，接下来的第二和第三个月我们对看似简单的功能进行了不断的改进和升级。我想说这代表了我们做事和创业的态度。用心做的产品不一定成功，但是粗制滥造的产品可以说基本没戏。 网站上线后总体表现不错，但是marketing还有所欠缺 项目开始前我们就明确了网站SEO的重要性。作为一个低频的需求，SEO将能为Roomz网站源源不断地带来精准并且免费的访客。所以在网站的开发过程中我们对SEO做了种种优化和考虑。网站上线后很多主要页面都成功获得了Google的收录并在相应关键词搜索中有所排名。目前网站在用户获取和SEO整体优化的进展可以说是基本上符合预期的。但是由于我们域名较新同时缺少相关媒体的报道和高质量的反链，网站在接下来的搜索排名中可能徘徊不前。 这是我们需要认真花精力解决的问题。 网站的快速上线也让我们很快发现主动注册并发布房源的用户不多的问题。其实想想这也完全是在情理之中的。 因为虽然我们的网站的功能和设计都不错，但是Roomz网站还缺乏自己核心的卖点。 换句话说，除了界面比ibilik好看以外内容和ibilik是一模一样的。 目前网站既没有租客也没有房东，用户当然也就没有主动注册的理由了。所以最近我们在网站的定位和卖点上有过很多的讨论和比较。包括我们的zero deposit， E-Agreement等等，最后决定把网站定位在“video”这个核心关键词上。 主要几个理由： 视觉冲击比起其他的卖点（往往都需要大量的文字进行叙述），Video是可以让用户在第一秒中看到的。用户进入我们的网站并第一秒中发现我们内容的与众不同，这是最重要的。 卖点前置其实和上面一点相似，我们其他的功能（如：E-Agreement, 和zero deposit）都需要客户找到满意房源后才能体现。 大多数客户往往走不到这一步所以对他们来说然并卵。但是视频的卖点是前置的，也就是说全部的访客在第一秒就可以看到我们房源的video tour。 Again, very important! 社交推广除了SEO，Facebook和其他社交媒体上的推广也将是我们的重点。 社交媒体上内容传播的首要条件是差异化和趣味性。 video比起传统的图片更具备传播的属性。 我们下一步的计划是明确网站卖点，获取数据，并完成market validation 明确了Roomz的定位和卖点后，下一步就是具体的执行了。 首先我们需要一定数量的优质视频房源。 为了能够给visitor营造一个有说服力的网站内容，预计我们需要至少100个真实房源的Video tour，平均每天至少3到5个高质量视频房源的更新。这个任务将由国豪完成。 视频房源的累积过程当中我们将对网站进行改版来充分突显“The only website featuring live video tour”的卖点，并对各个细节进一步的完善和丰满。这个阶段我们预计将花费2到3个月的时间。阶段后期我们将对用户注册，房源发布，视频上传等数据进行统计。并validate我们定位视频的策略是否能够转化为真实效果。 Risk和风险 当然定位视频并不是没有缺点和风险。 首先视频的拍摄和上传有较高的操作门槛。 用户连照片都不愿意认真上传怎么会花费精力来拍摄和上传视频呢？ 所以早期我们网站的video tour都将是我们自己生产的。我们试图改变用户习惯，就必须先让他们看到视频的效果后再来影响他们拍摄并上传自己的视频。 视频tour的做法是否sustainable? 这也非常关键。 除了吸引眼球，我想视频是否sustainable的关键在于它是否在房屋出租过程中起到实际的作用并带来更多的价值。 除了租客喜欢，video是不是能够有效减少租客实地看房后不满意的几率。Video tour的可持续性问题在于我们能否成功挖掘和发挥video tour在实际交易中所发挥的作用。 如果它有实际的作用和价值，那么就可以justify前期不管是Roomz还是客户拍摄上传视频的成本。 Action items接下来几个工作的重点 […]

Lately, many landlords are having trouble promoting their properties online after so many scams have been exposed. However, with the help of Google Street View, they can now showcase their property through a VIRTUAL TOUR and help their potential tenants understand more about their properties. This gives valuable insights into the building that they are going to […]

Being the capital city, the inhabitants of Kuala Lumpur is made up of literally a melting pot of language, culture, and even nationalities. The bustling city life that teems with fresh opportunities does not only accommodate locals but also expatriates – and just like everybody else, they too are in need of a home sweet home – […]

Rental negotiation can be pretty tricky if you do not have the know-hows. A poorly-prepared landlord would not be able to offer good counter-offers to convince his or her tenant that the rental was reasonable. In the worst case scenario, he or she might even miss a chance to grab hold of a good tenant […]

Who Can Save the Malaysian Property Market? The current Malaysian economy has caused much worry among the majority of Malaysians – especially those who aspire to procure homes of their own. Gasp! Malaysia’s Economy Outlook  The Job Market  In its most recent review on the job markets in Kuala Lumpur, Robert Walters Malaysia reported that while there is […]

Everyone knows that real estate, especially rental property, is a business with much potential. For starters, properties rarely depreciate, and people are constantly demanding for more and more housing, all the more when you are in an urban area. But at the same time, just like any other trade, it is also a known fact that it […]

Finding good housemates that you can live with harmoniously is never easy, but if you can ever find some, it would certainly be advantageous, convenient, and even fun to live together under the same roof. While some may have their own preferences, such as the need for extra privacy or personal space, there are many benefits that […]

So, you don’t get along well with your tenant. Well, that is actually not big news. Most landlords have or will encounter situations in which they do not get along well with their tenants. The question is: while some tenants are really terrible and unreasonable, is there still a way to mend your relationship with […]