APPEA BIG
Today’s modern workplace is full of new technology providing automation, simplification, efficiency and speed. If you delve a little deeper you notice that technology is typically created for existing processes rather than driving new processes to adapt to technology.
The most prolific piece of tech in everyday use is the mobile phone. Gone are the days where people used to communicate through a phone call or email (business led). We now have Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram and plenty more.
Instead of waking up with 15 emails, we now have at least 15 notifications spread across multiple communication platforms, meaning we now need to remember which messenger protocols to use for each of our contacts.
Where once the preferred channel of communication was through a phone call, this method has become more archaic as each year passes. You would expect a phone call to be the most logical and effective tool for business, however it is used rather infrequently and oddly enough it doesn’t really work in the techy world of today.
The reasons being as follows:
- The sheer sound of a phone ringing stresses people out
- Deliberation over how long the call will take and whether it is convenient or appropriate to answer
- Quandary over who it is that is calling
- A caller is unaware of your current time zone, are you away for business or pleasure
- You have seconds to answer the call
- It immediately interrupts whatever you were doing, or whomever you are accompanied with
- Answering commits you to the caller for an undisclosed period of time
- What is the topic of conversation, are you able to discuss this topic without any notice, do you have the necessary information to hand, have they caught you off guard?
- Poor reception and loud background noise can hamper the call
- Time taken for pleasantries before starting the conversation, as being brief can be perceived as being rude
- It’s real time, so we don’t have the luxury of reviewing information or choosing our words carefully. Nothing can be retracted over the phone nor can you pause to think about it.
- You can’t log the call and revert back to it at a later point. You may also not be in a position to make any notes should you be driving for example
With the property industry absolutely rooted in traditional values, there became an opening and clearly a need for technology to be adopted to streamline the market place and increase efficiency. PropTech is the sector that has sought to disrupt the rather long winded and frustrating process that one associates with buying/selling or renting out property, both for the agent and applicant/vendor.
Opening the flood gates to new technology in all industries and sectors has enabled companies to work more wisely with their data to increase productivity.
However, introducing a re-structure to an industry steeped in tradition was no small task. PropTech has indeed been able to overcome these obstacles time and time again. This is achieved by offering a more automated way of life, at the very least minimising the repetitive administration which would initially dominate negotiator’s or manager’s time daily. Speeding up the process and removing some of the stress involved has led to an industry now rife with technology opportunities!
It was clear that the initial response to PropTech was that of caution, venturing into the unknown. However, the uptake has increased exponentially and whilst we now live in a world with a multitude of technology, there is always room for more, there is always a need for greater efficiency and greater cost savings, so watch this space……
Whilst renting a property could be something you do on a yearly basis, purchasing a property, typically in today’s market is an experience done once or if you are lucky a handful of times. Therefore, what are applicant’s expectations of an estate agent, are they looking for a 5-star customer service experience or do they simply see it as a transaction and want to get from a to b in as quick a time as possible? In addition, do the estate agents view these applicants as a one off commission payment or do they see long term value in the applicant?
If we set aside the applicant and agent perspective for a moment and relate this to prop tech such as estate agent apps, similar questions arise.
On capturing an enquiry, whether it be sales or lettings, there is fierce competition in the market place. Due to the transparency the major portals have created, there is always a battle to not only instil confidence in the applicant, but to secure viewings and eventually a deal.
Prop tech has been inspiring the market place and like Appea, other companies have created apps with a primary purpose of providing a greater degree of efficiency, transparency and simplicity to the process.
Therefore, once your applicants are using your technology it is imperative that you keep them engaged, because if not, they could easily go elsewhere due to no barriers.
Prop tech is particularly prolific with the online agents offering fixed fee commissions. As a result, enabling the vendor to choose their property photos, liaise with the point of contact and assess the viewings completed on their property. Users can log in whenever they like, from wherever they are to keep an eye on the process, constantly keeping them engaged and providing them a sense of involvement.
Whether buying a property is a one off experience, or renting a property is annual, it is clear that whilst you always need to keep your eye on the end goal of winning the business, it is what you do from enquiry that will dictate your success. By offering applicants a way of engagement with you as an agent or the process will add huge value to their experience. It is therefore vital that when you choose to invest in some form of tech, be diligent in your decision making process and find out what it can do for your end users.
The power of the phone
- by james harris
- •
- 26 Jun, 2017
- •
When someone leaves their house to go to work, pop out to see their friends or even go to the gym, there are 3 things engrained in our mind before we cross the threshold……keys, wallet and phone.
With the huge developments we have seen recently, the ability to pay using your phone has become a reality. Simply through an app, multiple credit cards and even loyalty cards can be stored and made ready for use at any point.
Going one step further, there is new technology in the market place that either replaces a current key lock or is installed over the existing lock, negating the need for a physical key. You guessed it, it is control through your phone! Whilst this obviously has many years in the making, it just goes to show the strength, power and dominance the mobile phone holds in our everyday lives.
Our phones merely hold the collection of apps that we as consumers believe are important and of use to us. That could be for a one off or seldom purchase, such as a property or something far more frequent for example online shopping.
Today’s modern workplace is full of new technology providing automation, simplification, efficiency and speed. If you delve a little deeper you notice that technology is typically created for existing processes rather than driving new processes to adapt to technology.
The most prolific piece of tech in everyday use is the mobile phone. Gone are the days where people used to communicate through a phone call or email (business led). We now have Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram and plenty more.
Instead of waking up with 15 emails, we now have at least 15 notifications spread across multiple communication platforms, meaning we now need to remember which messenger protocols to use for each of our contacts.
Where once the preferred channel of communication was through a phone call, this method has become more archaic as each year passes. You would expect a phone call to be the most logical and effective tool for business, however it is used rather infrequently and oddly enough it doesn’t really work in the techy world of today.
The reasons being as follows:
- The sheer sound of a phone ringing stresses people out
- Deliberation over how long the call will take and whether it is convenient or appropriate to answer
- Quandary over who it is that is calling
- A caller is unaware of your current time zone, are you away for business or pleasure
- You have seconds to answer the call
- It immediately interrupts whatever you were doing, or whomever you are accompanied with
- Answering commits you to the caller for an undisclosed period of time
- What is the topic of conversation, are you able to discuss this topic without any notice, do you have the necessary information to hand, have they caught you off guard?
- Poor reception and loud background noise can hamper the call
- Time taken for pleasantries before starting the conversation, as being brief can be perceived as being rude
- It’s real time, so we don’t have the luxury of reviewing information or choosing our words carefully. Nothing can be retracted over the phone nor can you pause to think about it.
- You can’t log the call and revert back to it at a later point. You may also not be in a position to make any notes should you be driving for example
With the property industry absolutely rooted in traditional values, there became an opening and clearly a need for technology to be adopted to streamline the market place and increase efficiency. PropTech is the sector that has sought to disrupt the rather long winded and frustrating process that one associates with buying/selling or renting out property, both for the agent and applicant/vendor.
Opening the flood gates to new technology in all industries and sectors has enabled companies to work more wisely with their data to increase productivity.
However, introducing a re-structure to an industry steeped in tradition was no small task. PropTech has indeed been able to overcome these obstacles time and time again. This is achieved by offering a more automated way of life, at the very least minimising the repetitive administration which would initially dominate negotiator’s or manager’s time daily. Speeding up the process and removing some of the stress involved has led to an industry now rife with technology opportunities!
It was clear that the initial response to PropTech was that of caution, venturing into the unknown. However, the uptake has increased exponentially and whilst we now live in a world with a multitude of technology, there is always room for more, there is always a need for greater efficiency and greater cost savings, so watch this space……
Whilst renting a property could be something you do on a yearly basis, purchasing a property, typically in today’s market is an experience done once or if you are lucky a handful of times. Therefore, what are applicant’s expectations of an estate agent, are they looking for a 5-star customer service experience or do they simply see it as a transaction and want to get from a to b in as quick a time as possible? In addition, do the estate agents view these applicants as a one off commission payment or do they see long term value in the applicant?
If we set aside the applicant and agent perspective for a moment and relate this to prop tech such as estate agent apps, similar questions arise.
On capturing an enquiry, whether it be sales or lettings, there is fierce competition in the market place. Due to the transparency the major portals have created, there is always a battle to not only instil confidence in the applicant, but to secure viewings and eventually a deal.
Prop tech has been inspiring the market place and like Appea, other companies have created apps with a primary purpose of providing a greater degree of efficiency, transparency and simplicity to the process.
Therefore, once your applicants are using your technology it is imperative that you keep them engaged, because if not, they could easily go elsewhere due to no barriers.
Prop tech is particularly prolific with the online agents offering fixed fee commissions. As a result, enabling the vendor to choose their property photos, liaise with the point of contact and assess the viewings completed on their property. Users can log in whenever they like, from wherever they are to keep an eye on the process, constantly keeping them engaged and providing them a sense of involvement.
Whether buying a property is a one off experience, or renting a property is annual, it is clear that whilst you always need to keep your eye on the end goal of winning the business, it is what you do from enquiry that will dictate your success. By offering applicants a way of engagement with you as an agent or the process will add huge value to their experience. It is therefore vital that when you choose to invest in some form of tech, be diligent in your decision making process and find out what it can do for your end users.
