Case Study: RMW and a 56% production volume increase with Virtual Dusk Photography

This case study features an Australia-based real estate media company and how they opened up a new service line of virtual dusk photography and a successful go-to-market plan.

The Story

RMW (the client’s abbreviated name) is a real estate photography company based in Australia, monthly producing 30000 to 50000 images. Working with Esoft since 2019, the client offers twilight photography, but for a limited number of agents with a high budget due to the costly production.

In early 2020, RMW reported a stronger inclination towards twilight photos amongst Australian estate agents due to its higher marketing performance on MLS and unique emotional and visual values. Due to the COVID economic recession, RMW is requested to provide twilight services at a more affordable price. That placed them in a “high cost – low price” situation.

To tackle that, Esoft worked together with RMW to enable high-end virtual dusk photography as an efficient solution, coming at a more economical price but still with high and realistic visual quality. After 6 months of kicking off this solution, clients reported a significantly higher adoption rate and agent satisfaction for the “virtual” alternative. 

Featured services: Virtual dusk photography services at Esoft

The Client’s Objectives

• Introduce less expensive and more marketable solutions to estate agents

• Increase profit and volume of virtual dusk photography 

• Satisfy client demand while remaining financially viable

The Approach

First, Esoft assigned a Photo Product expert to work with RMW to understand the Australian preference for the look and feel of the dusk sky. We then designed three different distinct dusk styles and ran a pilot program with RMW’s end clients to test the product concept. After introducing this service for one month, RMV gathered insights and feedback from their clients to help us improve the styles, reflecting the needs better.

The introduction to Esoft’s 03 different virtual dusk styles is the first crucial step in helping RMW visualize what benefits and feelings each type brings. Cool virtual dusk has the cold tone of the blue sky, which represents the year’s wintertime and the cold dusk morning. On the other hand, the warm style brings out the vibe of the peak of the sunset while the subtle style is the perfect balance between the other two. 

Each virtual dusk style delivers a unique perception and sensation to the home buyers. Therefore, it’s essential that RMW thoroughly understand each of the styles to select the most suitable one and maximize the effectiveness of the product. 

Building a bundle package is our next step to making the change.

Following RMW’s selection of a preferred virtual dusk style, we worked with them to allow agents to place and receive orders the next day. This solution is cost-effective as it offers RMW an extra edge to market their listings with a lower budget and faster turnaround time than dusk photography. Previously, the client sold virtual twilight service separately and never considered it an alternative to the real one. 

Esoft then worked with the client’s product and marketing team to arrange the marketing materials and launch the bundle on the website and ordering portal. 

The Impacts

After 6 months of working with Esoft, RMW reported a remarkable increase in adoption rate (ratio between virtual dusk orders and photo orders) and volume (total number of virtual dusk orders) growth of Virtual Twilight services. Additionally, RMW verbally reported a significant rise in customer satisfaction as they have a more economical alternative than the costly real twilight photography. 

Highlights

• The client’s volume skyrocketed from 70 to 125 orders per month on average (a 56% increase)

• The adoption rate of virtual twilight services jumped from 0.2% to 4.6%