Can estate agents ditch the bad reputation?
Estate agents have a bad rep. We know you work long hours in an increasingly volatile and competitive marketplace, but a quick Google search reveals what people really think of our industry. And it’s not good.
Of course, most estate agents are not evil, liars, and crooks! But when less scrupulous agents visit potential clients, they do tend to slag off the competition – especially online agents and hybrids. And this defence approach is unlikely to impress those people they need to convert. Ultimately, it’s damaging our industry as a whole.
But there is a better way.
Good marketing starts with an in-depth understanding of your vendor. In fact, this insight is key to satisfying customers and delivering service excellence. The more you know about your vendors, the easier it is to give them what they need. So, rather than going on the attack, we’d encourage all estate agents to spend some time figuring out the wants, needs, and motivations of their potential customers, and then use this knowledge to deliver an experience that impresses rather than frustrates.
This approach starts by asking some simple, but critical questions. Questions like why they are selling, where they would like to move to, how soon they want to exchange, and what their selling price aspirations are. Of course, this is just common sense. But too many estate agents are failing in this simple step, often resulting in customer aggravations later on in the process.
But it doesn’t stop there. Today’s buyers expect a certain level of interaction and information when making the smallest of purchases, and you can be sure that they expect the same experience when buying something as important as a home. By combining the very latest technology with excellent customer service you won’t just help your vendor to sell, you’ll also deliver a better home buying and selling experience for everyone involved.
At Houseviz, to help our estate agent clients better serve their customers, we’ve created a handy presentation pack. The pack – which can be given to vendors to consider – lists all the services we offer – from virtual tours to visiting services, to the very latest in property augmented reality. It also comes with a (low cost) menu of these services.
Check out this video to see how our interactive tours work in practice
Let’s face it; customers are just not interested in whether an agent is online, or on the high-street, (and they certainly don’t care about what agents think about their competition). All they care about is whether or not you can you meet their selling expectations. We predict that in the long-term, only estate agents who can step-up and provide vendors with access to the tools needed to meet these expectations will survive.
Written by: Amanda Lindsay – Director
Mobile: 07966 555707
Email: amanda@houseviz.com
Notes to Readers:
- Established as a PropTech a few years ago, Houseviz was created following years of experience within the property market. The company, which is driven by modern technology, delivers integrated property marketing services to estate agents in the UK and US.
- Houseviz has launched a new UK website which offers a full range of marketing services. The website gives those in the business of property selling the chance to see the wide-range of services offered by Houseviz, on a single platform, for the first time. http://houseviz.com/
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