Top tips for providing a customer friendly buying experience

When a prospective buyer is on your estate agency website, making sure the experience is as user-friendly as possible is extremely important! If a potential buyer can’t view the information that they want about a property quickly and easily, they will click off the site and possibly view a competitors’ website instead. However, if the entire buying experience is as seamless as possible, it makes the decision to buy from you so much easier.

Provide clear photos of all the main rooms
Make sure your property photos are clear on your website and you have enough of them to entice the buyer to view the property. Certainly when it comes to the main living areas, it can be frustrating for a potential buyer if they can’t see each room clearly, i.e. the living room, each bedroom, the bathrooms and kitchen.

Video tours
Video tours are an excellent website feature for any property listed on an estate agent website. For a buyer this can immediately provide them with a great insight and overall feel of the property that photos alone can never do. However, what can be frustrating from the client’s perspective is flicking through a gallery of photos and then finding that the video tour is really just a slideshow of the same pictures. It’s important that if you do offer a video tour feature that you really deliver on it. It has the potential to both impress and further inform the client on the benefits of the property in question.

Show your knowledge
Buyers want to feel confident that what they’re purchasing is the real deal. They want to know that when they invest their money into something that it’s going to give them a home they can really envisage living in and/or a return on their investment. Often a buyer may be interested in a house, but if simple questions at the showing can’t be answered – such as where the boiler is located or what services are shared with the neighbours – it can leave them put off and going in the direction of another property. It’s important to answer the basic questions about the property. Or you are at risk of losing the sale.

Stick to your appointments
The life of an estate agent is busy, as I’m sure you’re well aware! Looking after each and every vendor and buyer, as well as completing the phenomenal amount of administration work that goes into running an estate agency business, can run you off your feet! However, it’s vitally important that your admin work does not prohibit appointments with buyers. It’s suggested that this is one of the top gripes buyers have when describing the buying process and the overall experience they had with their estate agent. You also risk losing the client to another competitor if they show up for an appointment when you have just cancelled. Implementing a leading software solutions can assist with your everyday workload, enabling you to spend more time building business relationships with your clients. There are many solutions out there but be sure to carry out your research through demonstrations and reading customer testimonials, as this can assist you in determining the right solution for your agency.

Provide a brochure at the end of each viewing
Sometimes just having something to remind the client of the property after the viewing can provide a more complete and visceral experience for the client. Whether this be a physical brochure or a mail out via email to them, it’s a simple touch that goes a long way.

If they are viewing several different properties in one day it can also be extremely helpful for them to have something to look over at the end, allowing them to refresh their memories and summarise the key points of each property.

Selling and purchasing a home is listed as one of the most stressful experiences in life. Estate agents who can make this process as seamless and stress-free as possible will reap the rewards through higher rate of sales and more word of mouth referrals.

Offer your clients that something extra
Set yourself apart from the competition by adding value to your service. The Property Software Group offer a variety of additional services and modules that will enhance and complement the way you do business. From 2D/3D floorplans, 360 degree tours, through to interactive property tables; offering added value to your service can help set you apart from the competition.

To find out more about how Vebra Solutions can assist your agency, call us today on 08446 626 458, visit www.vebra.info or email info@vebra.com

Alex Evans

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