In its third annual Internet MLS Customer Satisfaction survey, Clareity Consulting & Communications, Inc., reveals its findings about Internet MLS adoption, customer satisfaction, system performance, and vendor responsiveness with regard to Internet MLS vendors.

"We had 133 MLSs respond, more than any year before," says Matt Cohen, chief technologist for Clareity. "MLS vendors cooperated with Clareity, encouraging their customers to respond."

According to the software vendors included in the survey, FBS (19), FNIS (20), Interealty (24), MarketLinx (15), Offutt Systems (12), ProMatch (3), Rapattoni (16) , and Solid Earth (9), FBS and Rapattoni were the customer satisfaction leaders for 2003. (The number of responses for standalone MLS systems for each provider is in parentheses.)

"Rapattoni and Interealty improved their satisfaction ratings from the previous year," says Cohen. "Results this year were consistent and comparable to years past (see chart in the conclusion). FNIS improved its combined Excellent/Good customer satisfaction rating from 66 percent last year to 80 percent this year."

Gregg Larsen, principal of Clareity adds, "All of the major MLS vendors did a good job in 2003 - the new system "disasters" of previous years seem to all have been resolved with no new disasters introduced! That's good news for all."

What do the vendors get out of being rated? The consultants point out that how closely "end user satisfaction in the first 30 days" correlates to the 'overall end user satisfaction today' rating, suggesting that first impressions are hard to shake, and that the better an online vendor can do during the conversion stage, with training and successful implementation, the better perceptions will be of the system years down the road, particularly when it comes to system evaluation and a possible hunt for a new vendor.

Satisfaction with systems can be traced to systems closely matching what was promised to what was delivered (FBS, Solid Earth, Rapattoni ranked highest) with regard to implementation planning (FBS, Rapattoni, Solid Earth), data conversion (Interealty, ProMatch, Solid Earth), and the ability to hit deadlines particularly with regard to delivering the system on time (FBS, Solid Earth, Rapattoni).

The challenge for any MLS system is to provide expanded functionality while maintaining an easy-to-use user interface. FBS, Solid Earth and Rapattoni again took top excellent rankings and again for "response times during peak periods."

FBS, Rapattoni and ProMatch won top rankings for "end user support" with FBS, ProMatch and Rapattoni taking top rankings in "staff support."

As far as overall value, the report states that all vendors were given 90 percent ratings of "Excellent" and "Good."

MLS Executives provided great advice for their peers in the areas of system/vendor selection, contract negotiations, conversion planning, user training, and member communications, say the consultants. Among the top recommendations:

1. Identify user needs/wants, not just what vendor is offering
2. Pay closer attention to report layout fine details
3. More detail to Public Records
4. More specific agreement on critical functions by staff and committee
5. More attention by local committee regarding data conversion
6. Vendor onsite during planning
7. Don't run parallel very long

Published: March 11, 2004

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.