Follow Up Boss is one of the industry’s most popular customer relationship platforms. It competes with BoldTrail, Chime and Lone Wolf, among others.
Its acquisition by Zillow in 2023 made a lot of noise, a rumbling from which many recoiled, reacting to fears of losing data and leads and control of marketing content. But almost three years in — and as with the Dotloop (10 years ago) and ShowingTime deals (five years ago) — we’ve learned that these kinds of moves are never as industry rattling as initially feared. It is, as they say, strictly business.
Now, the Zillow-owned CRM is in bed with another well-regarded technology provider, the marketing “super app” and 2025 Inman Innovator award winner Rechat. There’s no need to worry, for now it’s only a partnership.
A Dec. 2 press release stated that “the partnership connects Follow Up Boss (FUB) directly to Rechat, unifying CRM and marketing in one streamlined mobile-first experience.”
The companies agreed to create a two-way integration, meaning data acted upon in one will be updated in the other. Users can use Rechat’s automated, AI-supported creative and strategic marketing features to identify and contact existing FUB lists and leads.
Actions taken by an individual in a Rechat campaign, such as a home tour clicked on or a form completed, will become part of the FUB record, contributing to a healthier, synchronized database.
“It’s not about choosing between your favorite CRM and powerful AI and marketing tools; it’s about having both, perfectly unified in one workflow to maximize efficiency and growth,” Shayan Hamidi, Chief Executive Officer of Rechat, said in the press release. “Our mission at Rechat has always been to deliver a true super app experience for real estate professionals, and this partnership makes that vision a reality for every Follow Up Boss user.”
Rechat uses the term “super app” often, as does FUB’s parent, Zillow. The term refers to a specific type of software delivery model that neither meet by actual definition but teeter close enough to for the concept to have merit in their respective messaging.
Rechat provides a horizontal selection of related marketing tools that can be used as needed to scale alongside a growing brokerage and now, teams. The company provides email marketing, digital advertising, a deep integration with creative design platform Figma, regional agent databases, and social media marketing.
Along with marketing bumps to the respective players, the benefits of two-way integration usually center on reduced upfront connectivity efforts. The rollout for users becomes much easier when square pegs aren’t trying to be forced into round holes. It also means users will see little to no interruption to service and will be rapidly provided with a new, valuable business tool.
Far too much money is spent by brokerages and agents trying to get disparate but common systems to work alongside each other. Most software companies are open to working with large enough customers, but it’s labor-intensive and not something companies enjoy doing. There are data integrity concerns and risks to service.
Rechat users will find the FUB hook-up authorization in their profile module, which, in a few moments, will populate their contacts and let them start working. New records and updates are visible in each system after only a refresh, regardless of which system the data was initially populated in. FUB users will also gain access to Rechat’s AI assistant, Lucy, the Rechat agent network and more of its outreach functionality.
“At Follow Up Boss, we’re focused on helping agents stay productive and organized so they can focus on their clients,” Steve Pacinelli, Chief Marketing Officer at Follow Up Boss, said in the release. “Integrating with Rechat makes that even easier by combining the power of our CRM with Rechat’s marketing and AI tools in one consistent and highly productive workflow.”
Mailchimp, RealScout, CallAction, Fello and Adwerx are a few of the many other industry partners who integrate with FUB.
Integrations do create reasons for brokerages, teams and large enterprises to choose a specific operating system or make software investments.
Top producers and powerful teams often hold sway over how technology decisions are made for an entire operation, and if they prefer a certain email marketing engine or transaction management system that doesn’t work with what the company is considering, it can derail the decision process, unless they can be easily integrated.
This is why companies scramble to create as many partnerships as possible, as they provide pathways for new products to be onboarded while still serving key revenue producers.
