“There’s always been a performance gap between companies that embrace technology and companies that resist it,… the productivity gap between ‘leaders and laggers’.”[1]

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE) is a prime example of the leaders, harnessing modern technology to revolutionize the real-estate industry. BHGRE hopes their integration of social media into real estate processes will give them a competitive advantage over the rest of the market. The company puts all of its 7000 agents through a “social media boot camp” to introduce them to the tools they need to be better able to service their clients; better understand the needs of their clients and the properties on the market. The company has also developed an iPhone app that allows home buyers to share their potential residences with family and friends via social media.

Social media plays a crucial role in many of today’s industries and its the companies investing in the technological and social phenomena that are coming out on top. iPhone apps and social media aside, its the actual utilization of information technology to change the business processes itself, such as the way houses are marketed and sold in the real estate industry, that is the basis of modern innovation.

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[1] The 4 Ways IT Is Revolutionizing Innovation – The Magazine – MIT Sloan Management Review. (n.d.).MIT Sloan Management Review – The New Business of Innovation. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2010-spring/51330/it-innovation-brynjolfsson-article/.

In response to: Tweet me that house (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/tweet-me-that-house/article2189742/)

Additional Resources:

The 4 Ways IT Is Revolutionizing Innovation – The Magazine – MIT Sloan Management Review. (n.d.).MIT Sloan Management Review – The New Business of Innovation. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2010-spring/51330/it-innovation-brynjolfsson-article/.