Roxanne Barton had no idea how well prepared she was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the economy ground to a virtual halt.
“Honestly, I have had the best six months for my business—ever,” says Roxanne.
Homebuyers went online when the pandemic struck, and they wanted a lot more information than in the past—virtual tours, 3D tours, 360-degree tours, and floor plans with square-footage measurements for every room.
The Roxanne Barton Media Group delivered, thanks to the leading edge property tech combined with the founder’s work ethic and experience.
This veteran shooter had never seen anything like the iGUIDE Camera since she founded her real estate photography business in 2002.
Based in Frisno, she employs a drone pilot, another photographer, and office support to cover the 11 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. This is the economic and cultural hub of northern Texas.
In May 2017 Roxanne bought her first iGUIDE camera to differentiate her business in this prosperous and competitive market. During the next six months, she did 17 iGUIDEs.
She calls the technology a marketing platform. It is quickly integrated with a client’s website, social media, and MLS listings. Everything is delivered to the client in a single email attachment within 24 hours of the shoot.
She soon had clients who used iGUIDE from the start, and that helped prepare her Media Group for the unprecedented surge in demand.
“Things went haywire and I was doing 55 a week practically in April and May, to the point where the April numbers were more than the previous two or three years combined,” says Roxanne. “That’s when it took off.”
For a while, she was doing all of that work on her own because she had only one camera.
“It was a ton,” she says of the demand. “In some cases, I was doing three or four a day.”
So, in May, Roxanne bought a second iGUIDE.
The interactive-floor plan developed by iGUIDE is simply the best way to market a property she has come across during her decades as a professional photographer.
“End of chat.”
The technology and its presentation are the next best thing to a walk-through, and it made her stand out from competitors.
“Still when I saw the iGUIDE and the whole engagement, it wasn’t just a flat piece of paper, it was a whole walk-through experience,” says Roxanne.
“I like images that give a viewer or buyer a visual sense of how the house flows, how that space relates to another space that is contiguous to it, or off of it so that the house makes sense,” said Roxanne.
“Otherwise it is just a picture to me,” says Roxanne. “That’s what I liked about the iGUIDE, it helped the house make sense.”
She’s done 250 iGUIDEs so far in 2020.
Roxanne bundled prices to attract more clients in the increasingly competitive real estate market she serves.
“So, my argument is: ‘Here is the bundled pricing, it makes a lot of sense, it is not that much more to add this.’ I reference the demographic stats that say this is the information agents want, way more than video,” she says.
“So, if you are looking at your marketing budget and you are balancing video versus interactive floor plan, I would pick interactive floor plan hands down every time because there is a far-reaching, broader application for that.”
While it seems impossible to predict the future during a pandemic, the very worst so far has not hurt the Roxanne Barton Media Group, thanks in part to iGUIDE. So, the technology “always” figures into her plans as a staple of her business.
“If you look at my price list, I have one bundle. Actually, I have a bundle that includes video if you want to add it to a house where I am already doing an iGUIDE. But I have one bundle, and it’s photography, plus an iGUIDE,” says Roxanne.
“I don’t intend to change it, I don’t expect to,” said Roxanne. “Is it a part of my plan going forward? Absolutely!”
With continual improvements to firmware and software, the iGUIDE Camera and back-end support beat all competitors, she says: “All day long, and twice on Sunday.”