"This latest research confirms that understanding today’s consumers’ needs and investing in delivering the five-star customer service they are accustomed to in other areas of their lives is key"
- Ben Ridgway - iamproperty
New industry data reveals that 89% of consumers recently surveyed said that exceptional customer service is the most important thing to them when choosing any brand or service provider in all areas of their lives. When it comes to selecting an Estate Agent, over half based their decision on past experiences of working with them and customer service.
These findings have been released by iamproperty, following a survey of consumers who have sold a property in the UK in the last two years, to support Estate Agents to get ahead by exploring what buyers and sellers really want and understanding more about the experience they expect.
When asked what exceptional customer service looked like to them, 87% of respondents said clear, responsive and transparent communication mattered most, while 76% said that companies giving a realistic expectation of timeframes were the most important thing.
Lack of timely and transparent communication throughout the moving process remains a big frustration across the industry for everyone involved in transactions. This is where automation-driven technology comes into its own, working in the background to give consumers more of what they expect and value when working with other everyday service providers.
It is no surprise that when asked which big brands are great at customer service, more than 50% said Amazon, placing ahead of others including Apple, Google, Netflix and Uber.
Speed of service, clear communication, personalisation and the way in which problems are resolved are the things people value most about their Amazon experience. The secret to this success is automation, all designed with customer service and personalisation at the heart.
With a major decision like choosing an Estate Agent to manage a property sale, customer service becomes even more important. What respondents valued most from their experience of working with an agent was a friendly attitude (62%), followed by their local knowledge and expertise (55%).
These are things that automation can’t replace and will always require the human touch. However, automation can enable agents to spend their time in the places that add the most value to the client experience, without other parts of the process slowing down.
More findings from this survey, including the top reasons why consumers have previously chosen their Estate Agent can be found in iamproperty’s latest Tech of a Life magazine, which has launched to agents this week, bringing together thought-leading insights from industry experts.
Ben Ridgway, Co-Founder of iamproperty, said: "In our recent surveys of UK Estate Agents, they discussed the growing expectations and heightened emotional involvement consumers have, with speed and communication high on the agenda.
"As a follow-up to our agent discussions, we went out to the UK consumer to find out more. It’s a really interesting topic within our latest Tech of a Life, which is all about visionary thinking and looking to the future.
“Whether housing stock is high or low, one thing remains constant for agents – competition for instructions. This latest research confirms that understanding today’s consumers’ needs and investing in delivering the five-star customer service they are accustomed to in other areas of their lives is key, with a focus not just on getting great results for clients, but also on giving them great experience of working with you.
“Consumer priorities are always evolving, so we hope these fresh insights support agents in staying ahead. It’s an opportunity to find out what buyers and sellers really want in today’s market and think strategically about how to deliver this and attract new clients.
"Automation is going to become even more key to enabling the level of customer service that people are coming to expect across all areas of their lives, and it is a big focus for us in our innovation roadmap within new solutions we’re working on bringing to the market, and existing solutions in our iamproperty ecosystem.”
