SAMSA Completes Design and Development Project for Real Estate Client

SAMSA recently finished up a website design and development project for its client Michigan Listing.com. Michigan Listing.com is an alternative to utilizing traditional real estate firms or For-Sale-By-Owner websites. Their new website features a listing program, completed by SAMSA, where sellers can directly list their property for sale on the website.

The site was made to show real estate home listings both from an IDX (Internet Data Exchange) Website as well as listings that are specific to the Michigan Listing.com website. SAMSA programmer, Josh Taylor, explains, "In regards to storing and managing the listings, services, and orders, everything is stored in a mySQL database and displayed with PHP programming. For Michigan Listing.com staff, all of the listings and order information are manageable via an easy to use custom-made administration panel designed for ease-of-use." With the guest listing services offered by most of the states' MLS systems, Michigan Listing.com can place property in any of the local MLS systems, which is used by agents and brokers to find properties for their buyers.

In the near future SAMSA will be working on a new development for Michigan Listing.com that will involve a "mash-up," or web application that combines data from multiple sources into an integrated experience, of Google's mapping API with RealComp. Google Maps give potentially interested real estate buyers a visualization of the area in which the real estate is located. RealComp is a real estate database offered through RealComp Internet Data Exchange in which participating brokers consent to display their active listings on other IDX participants' web sites.

Headquartered in Brighton, Michigan, Michigan Listing.com has been serving real estate buyers and sellers throughout the state of Michigan since 2004. Michigan Listing.com offers four unique selling programs from For-Sale-By-Owner to Full Service, all that saves money for both buyers and sellers throughout the state of Michigan. Programs include Virtual Tours, Home Warranties, and listing on high trafficked sites like Realtor.com, Yahoo Real Estate, MSN, and AOL. Agents for Michigan Listing.com are licensed realtors and members of the Michigan Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors.

 

Newsletters ("ListServs") Serve as a Marketing Tool

Electronic newsletters (commonly called "ListServs") are a very important tool for an organization of any size to keep customers up to date with its latest products and company information. Newsletters also have a unique marketing advantage - by offering an opt-in newsletter subscription to its customers, an organization can showcase new products to repeat customers or offer special discounts, resulting in increased sales. Compared to the costs incurred in producing and distributing print newsletters, the cost is very low to utilize an online newsletter.

This email based communication tool allows an organization to send out news, coupons, and other promotional material in a simple way that reaches an unlimited number of people. One or multiple ListServs may be set up. SAMSA is able to set up two-way messaging that allows list members to respond to messages in a way that reaches all members - or SAMSA may tailor a one way ListServ that prohibits responses to mailings. It is SAMSA's guarantee that all information will be securely protected if you choose to have your ListServ in a password-protected area with member-only access.

Newsletters can be maintained in both plain text and HTML formats. Plain text is the simplest form, displaying only the written content. The HTML format shows a branded look that includes color, graphics, etc. Subscribers have the option of which format they prefer to receive.

Newsletters distributed via the World Wide Web have great flexibility. They can be sent via email, posted to a website, or a combination of both. When posted to a website, they can be archived on the site for future reference.

There are some federal guidelines to follow when offering a newsletter subscription. The Federal Trade Commission's CAN-SPAM Act has four major provisions for commercial emailers that must be followed when offering newsletter subscriptions. They are as follows:

-Header information must not be misleading; it must accurately identify the routing information and sender
-Subject lines cannot be misleading in regards to subject matter
-The organization must provide an opt-out method for the customer should they decide they no longer wish to receive the newsletter
-The emailed newsletter must be identified as an advertisement and list the sender's valid postal address

For more information on the CAN-SPAM Act visit the Federal Trade Commission website.

For more information on Newsletters and how SAMSA can assist you with your unique commercial emailing needs, visit SAMSA's Website Discussion Board Creation and ListServs page.

 

SAMSA Completes Programming and Web Development for Client Offering Various Builders Exam Practice Tests

System and Market Services of America, Inc. (SAMSA) recently completed programming and designing a website for client ETG Solutions, Inc. ETG Solutions, located in Livonia, Michigan, is a testing preparation website for various builders licensing state exams and in the near future will expand to offer a Continuing Education course via its user-friendly online customer interface. In developing the site, ETG's primary consideration was scalability in order to accommodate as many testing markets as possible into their product list. SAMSA hosts the site.

After creating a business plan for the project, designing their system logic and database, ETG began its search for a firm that could deliver their specifications. Matthew Endersbe, President of ETG Solutions explains, "We interviewed companies from Nevada, Iowa, Arizona, India, and Texas. We found SAMSA on Google, interviewed them, and found the staff to be very knowledgeable. We talked to the President and developer about our system logic and database blue prints (ERD), and they gave us feedback that indicated a high level of expertise in the Server Side programming that we were seeking to incorporate into our website. From the beginning, ETG Solutions had a very good feeling about its decision to employ SAMSA as its Information Systems developer, and now in hindsight, we are comfortable to say that we made the right decision."

In regards to working with the SAMSA team thru the process of getting the website running live, Endersbe states, "Our site was a very difficult task. It was designed from the ground up and SAMSA saw the entire project through in a timely and professional manner. SAMSA has been an invaluable component in the design, development, and implementation of our proprietary site. They have been there from the beginning and stuck with us the entire way through. As a former professor of mine said, "Tough times don't last but tough teams do;" SAMSA did just that. They were dedicated to the project until it was completed and completed correctly. ETG will be returning to SAMSA for its future Information System needs and will continue to recommend SAMSA to business associates and partners."

ETG plans to systematically add additional states to their website for the Building and Construction industries that is scheduled to be completed within the next six months. After all conforming states have been added, ETG will begin work on its second phase of adding the Continuing Education resources for those states that are in most need of these services.