Our MLS software currently processes hundreds of thousands of searches every day to send out updates regarding new and changed listings for agents to consumers. This is an obviously valuable service from the agent and a core tool of the MLS system. However, we know a large number of these e-mail updates go unopened and are just hanging around consuming resources and sending out unwanted mail (i.e., spam). To address this, we’ve been thinking about the best way to purge the “dead wood” and so I thought I’d bounce some ideas around here and see what you all think is best.
1. Simple Expiration — One approach is to simply set an expiration date on every prospecting event and require the agent to renew the event at expiration. The advantage of this approach is that it’s clear and provides a regular reminder to the agents to review their prospects. The downside is that the agents may not want to conduct such a regular review and will see it as an unwanted hassle.
2. No Activity Expiration — We could expire an event if the links being sent haven’t been accessed by the recipient in a certain number of days (e.g., 30-60).
3. Combination — Another approach would be to combine the two and require an annual review/renewal of all links (whether accessed or not) and a shorter-term renewal (30-60 days) if the link hasn’t been accessed.
Vote for your choice below.
Best approach for expiring e-mail update events?
( polls)
A related question is how much advance notice of the expiration should be given to the agent? A week? Two weeks? More? Any other considerations I’ve missed?
