Businessmodel of Move

Customer Segments

Move has a multi-sided business model, with two interdependent customer segments that are both needed in order to operate: realtors that provide property listings and homeseekers who view them.

Value Proposition

Move offers three primary value propositions: convenience, accessibility, and brand/status.

The company offers convenience by making life easier for its customers. While it operates one reportable business segment, its offerings can broadly be divided into two groups: Consumer Advertising and Software and Services. Each provides an end-to-end solution as follows:

• Consumer Advertising – Provides consumers with the tools, information, and professional expertise needed to make informed decisions in the areas of home selling, buying, financing, and renting.
• Software and Services – Provides real estate professionals with resources to assist them throughout their process, including advertising systems, productivity tools, and lead management tools. Convenience is also provided by the fact that approximately 90% of the active listings on Realtor.com (the flagship site) are updated every 15 minutes, with the rest of the listings updated daily.

The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. It houses a network of real estate brands that serve different purposes for different consumer needs (moving, senior housing, renting, etc.). They are: Realtor.com, Doorsteps, Moving.com, SeniorHousingNet.com, ListHub, TigerLead, Top Producer Systems, FiveStreet, and Reesio.

The company has established a powerful brand due to its success. It touts itself as the leader among online real estate information providers, providing access to listings for over 100 million properties  in the U.S. as well as properties in 36 other countries. It serves more than 30 million people per month, and has the deepest consumer engagement of all real estate sites, with visitors spending over 700 million minutes per month on its platform. It maintains advertising relationships with over 400,000 real estate professionals representing over 800 Multiple Listing Services, as well as several prominent display advertisers. Lastly, it has won many honors, including the following in 2015 alone:

• The Users’ Choice Tabby Award in the “Utilities & Tools” category for its rentals app
• Two Gold and two Silver W³ Awards in for its digital video series
• An Inman Innovator Award for its “New York City Bus Tour” site feature in the category of “most innovative marketing strategy, service or technology” ### Channels

Move’s main channel for consumers is its website, while it reaches out to real estate professionals through its direct sales team. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages, advertising, and participation in trade shows and conferences.

Customer Relationships

Move’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service, automated nature. Customers utilize the service through the main platform while having limited interaction with employees.

The company’s website provides three sections that provide answers to frequently asked questions: Realtor.com Resource Center, Homebuilders Resource Center, and Rental Resource Center. That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of phone and e-mail support.

Key Activities

Move’s business model entails maintaining a common platform between two parties:  consumers seeking homes and real estate professionals. The platform includes its website and mobile apps.

Key Partners

Move does not maintain a formal partnership program. That said, it forms strategic alliances from time to time in order to enhance its offerings for customers. Examples of these include the following:

• In July 2016 REA Group announced a partnership with Move in which the two would join to launch a global property network featuring listings from REA’s portals and Move’s Realtor.com.
• In November 2015 Apartments.com announced a partnership with Move through which it would exclusively power Move’s apartment community listings with advertising content from Apartments.com and ApartmentFinder.com. ### Key Resources

Move’s main resource is its proprietary software platform, which serves over 30 million people monthly.

It depends on human resources in the form of technology employees to maintain and update the platform and customer service personnel to provide support.  Lastly, it places a high priority on intellectual property with at least nine patents issued in the United States.

Cost Structure

Move has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation and low-price value propositions.

Its biggest cost driver is sales/marketing costs, a fixed expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of administration, product/website development, and cost of revenue, a variable expense that includes the costs of operating and hosting its sites and mobile apps.

Revenue Streams

Move has one revenue stream: revenues it earns from the fees paid by real estate professionals to advertise their listings on the company’s platform.