Brian Columbus

This is a legacy brand with some high intrinsic value on Day 1 of the launch. It will be very interesting to see how Sherry Chris' team pulls that legacy together with technology of a new era in real estate. Brian Columbus Founder & CEO HomePerks.com

Steve: HomePerks is NOT a coupon or green stamp site. HomePerks is a loyalty system that provides professionals tools to engage consumers throughout the life cycle of a property transaction. Client retention is a monumental problem in our industry and our team of career real estate professionals is working hard to crack the loyalty code. Various reports from NAR/CAR/others show that 70-90% of consumers say that they "would definitely" use their real estate professional again but only 10-20% actually do! We're working to give pros such as yourself a better tool than just the recipe cards, "just sold" postcards and magnet calendars. We're combining social media with tried & true tenets of rewards programs (Airlines, Hotels, Retailers, etc). These programs drive repeat business, referrals and overall loyalty that can save individual marketers and corporations alike huge sums of marketing dollars. At Starwood Hotels , one example, more than 50% of the chain's $6 Billion sales come from members of their Starwood Preferred Guest program. This program has certainly not diminished luster of their luxury brands (Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, Le Meridien, etc) and their program is certainly not "low-class" despite co-branding with retailers and service providers. Loyalty programs are not for everyone, but the average US household has membership in more than 40 of them. This market requires creativity and although this concept may be out of the box for real estate, I wouldn't dismiss the value of our service in our first public week of business. Brian Columbus Founder & CEO HomePerks.com

Online communities of every category are in their infancy stage. It's not ALL about conversations and dialogue. Business models will continue to develop around this media shift and we most certainly will see prosperous commercial communities rather than just online watercoolers. Brian Columbus Founder & CEO HomePerks.com