Serial Entrepeneur Ann Watson, managing director of DevelopADream, approached Montpellier Marketing Communications in the very early stages of setting up her latest venture. The profile was a web-based concept in which she envisaged allowing property developers and investors to ‘social network,’ and to tap into and exchange knowledge and a supply base online.
Years of personal experience in developing their own portfolios give the DevelopaDream team a unique footing on which to help others achieve their goals.
Ann Watson now has a sizeable and varied portfolio of properties and has increased her personal wealth by more than she imagined possible. Her mission today is to share that knowledge to enable others to achieve what she herself has achieved – but only faster. She enlisted Montpellier to help her do this.
• To position DevelopaDream as a leading online portal for those embarking on the
property development journey.
• To provide an online social networking facility for property developers and investors
• To provide a simple user interface conveying detailed information quickly
• To provide an easily updateable Content Management System (CMS) system
• To optimise the business process and provide high levels of information which is
quickly and easily accessible
• Property Developers
• Investors
• Those with an interest in self build
Montpellier had an initial meeting with the client to scope out this project. As a start up company founded by one individual, the specification of functionality which she required from the site was initially very sketchy!
Montpellier’s experienced account management team had a number of very detailed meetings in which they explored the client’s vision for the new company.
Montpellier soon set about putting together a detailed site plan, highlighting all the areas of potential for a site such as this.
Key inclusions for the client were a live property searchable database of development opportunities in the UK and abroad, a networking facility for property developers, access to top industry professionals with the potential to book time with them plus the capability to sell banner advertising. Client members (subscribers) would have to sign up for a set monthly fee to gain access to these facilities, therefore a secure online payment facility, which could take repeat monthly payments, was required to be built.
This project was managed by an experienced account manager who acted as a liaison between DevelopaDream and Montpellier’s in-house web developers. This account manager also oversaw the initial rename of the company from Passion for Property to DevelopaDream and branding design.
Working with Montpellier Creative, a number of design flats were produced which were then developed with the input of the client.
Meanwhile, Montpellier’s web developers were eagerly pursuing a solution on how to provide a searchable database of new property development opportunities arising in the UK and overseas. The client believed that this part of the site would provide the most value to future members. Initially, the client believed that she would be able to obtain this information through RSS feeds. However it later transpired that this was not possible. After much research, Montpellier managed to source a feed which required programming of an XML Schema. This feed provides, on a daily basis, more than 200,000 opportunities which members can access. Due to the sheer volume of information, the DevelopaDream site is hosted on its own dedicated secure server.
While this was completed, Montpellier’s web programmers were also creating a social networking element to the site which would enable members to chat on forums, send each other messages, view each others profiles and view each other’s latest developments.
Finally, Montpellier also created a Dream Team function to allow future members the opportunity to establish industry professionals, as recommended by DevelopaDream, and book consultancy/confer online with those individuals.
This site went live on Friday June 27 2008 after extensive testing by Montpellier Marketing Communications. At the time of this award being submitted, statistics monitoring traffic to the website were unavailable.
The site was very well received upon launch and within 28 days of going live, there were already nearly 50 fully paid up members. The forums became populated very quickly and were soon thriving with active members adding regular posts.
The website was also welcomed by potential advertisers/Dream Team members. At product demonstrations, the client recorded a 95% success rate of getting industry professionals to sign up to become members of the Dream Team function.