Licensees and pubcos are quickly catching on to searching for property on the net
Like The Beatles and colour television, the internet was one of those things lots of people didn't take to at first.
Many dismissed it out of hand as a flash in the pan, while others appreciated its potential but were frustrated by its lack of speed and the amount of information users needed to sift through to find what they were looking for.
That may have been just a few years ago, but it seems like a world away. Now every successful business has to have a website and those without seem archaic.
People are getting news and advice online and, as security has improved, have started buying books, CDs, holidays and even cars over the internet.
So property was the next logical step for web addicts.
There are already hundreds of websites with information about buying and selling domestic property - but for a while it seemed as though licensed property was being left behind.
Licensees are notorious for being suspicious of new technology and for many years few were computer-literate and even fewer were online.
Things have changed, however. Far more licensees are technologically confident now and pubcos, brewers and suppliers are reporting more hits than ever on their new improved websites - many of which are in their second or even third reincarnation.
And so the licensed property agents are finally getting on board - using their websites to inform customers and potential customers, attract vendors, provide news about the market and monitor what their clients are interested in.
The big agents such as Christie & Co and Fleurets, use their website professionally and to their best advantage, but smaller agents have realised they too need to get in on the act.
Robert Barry & Co, Humberstones and Bettesworths are also among the agents using the internet to increase trade and find customers - largely with a good deal of success.
The Publican's Market Report 2001, a survey of 1,000 licensees, discovered that 60 per cent of publicans now have access to the internet - up from 50 per cent a year ago and three times the number recorded in 1998.
Slightly more publicans are using the net this year to buy and sell property than last year.
Christie & Co has more than 30,000 registered users on its site, which has 3,500 properties "live" - agents' website speak for "for sale". Of those properties, nearly 900 are pubs.
Its site was launched in July 1999 and since then has grown into what Christie & Co describes as "a very effective e-commerce tool for buying, selling or financing a business".
It is aimed at private purchasers and vendors as well as commercial. Christie & Co believes one of the most important aspects of the site is that it has been designed so it can be tailored to reflect each user's requirements.
The website also includes useful property-related services such as information on rating, rent reviews and selling a business.
Licensees, commercial vendors and purchasers have been logging on in their thousands. Property-related hits on the website are up 150 per cent on this time last year and 400 new users register each week.
Christopher Day, managing director of Christie & Co, said: "In establishing the website we have responded to the significant shift by consumers towards e-commerce and the use of the internet to buy and sell businesses."
Although each company will tell the story slightly differently, it is a fact that one property website is very much like another. What sets them apart from each other however, is the extra information they include alongside the basic property particulars. Christie & Co has achieved some success with its useful information sections and the Fleurets website has also been successful.
It includes a feature called "What's Mine Worth" that gives licensees a free marketing assessment of their business and arranges appointments for further advice.
All the sales particulars of the pubs that are for sale through Fleurets can be found in detail on the website - something that is relatively new for the company but is already proving successful.
"Visitors to the site have been able to look at adverts of all the properties currently being dealt with by Fleurets but now we have taken it a stage further," said Julie Footner, IT and marketing manager for the company.
A new facility has also been launched known as Pub Alert, which Fleurets hopes will keep buyers informed about available new properties as soon as they are put up for sale.
"Until now visitors to our website have been able to search our database for properties on the market using simple search criteria. We have been sending out property details to prospective buyers when we receive their requests by email," Miss Footner said.
Now buyers can be informed immediately when a new pub comes on the market, through WAP technology that will send a text message to their mobile phone.
ThePublican.com, which at the end of August had 15,200 registered users, as many of you will know, has a useful property section, which more pub companies and licensees are registering for each month.
It gives licensees the option of selling their pub independently by posting the sales particulars of their pub, along with a photo, on site for a month.
Sales and marketing manager Nigel Jaggers said: "It is useful for licensees who want to have a go at selling their pub independently, but also for those licensees whose agents do not have websites as they can make sure their pub is put on the internet, which means it will be seen by thousands of people."
He added that thePublican.com is also helpful for those licensees interested in buying a pub.
"One of the most important advantages of our website is that we don't just represent one agent," he said. "It's a key market place."
ThePublican.com also includes information about freeholds, tenancies and leases as well as case studies that give licensees vital insights into the property market.
But despite the huge advances in technology that the licensed property sector is beginning to embrace, it seems there is no substitute for doing business the good, old-fashioned way of face-to-face or at least over the phone.
While the number of hits on nearly all of the agents' websites and thepublican.com is increasing daily, both buyers and vendors are reluctant to conduct all their business on the internet.
While they will look at sales particulars on the web, they will then phone or call in to the agent to complete their enquiry.
In fact, Fleurets' website goes so far as to make a plea to those who are web "wizards" and those who are not.
"Remember there is no substitute for dealing on a person to person basis," the website reads. "Once you have the information you require and wish to take matters further, please call the relevant Fluerets office. Those of you who are not 'net wizards' and are not yet au fait with electronic through transference - call us. We would be delighted to hear from you."
Sites to visit
www.thePublican.comwww.fleurets.comwww.christie.comwww.bettesworths.co.ukwww.humberstone.co.ukwww.robertbarry.co.uk