With new incentives such as the Stamp Duty holiday and Help to Buy scheme in full swing, estate agents are experiencing a pre-Christmas rush, with buyers and sellers keen to make up for lost time and make the most of what is available before the end of March.
On the other hand, employee infrastructure has also changed dramatically this year. Changes to working hours and processes have meant that tasks can fall through the cracks, and standards can easily slip. The transition to working remotely has been challenging in some respects and rewarding in others, but tenant experience shouldn’t take the hit. Technology can help with each step of the property process to ensure standards are exceeded and clients buy or rent their properties in the most efficient and satisfactory way.
Leveraging proptech to improve the tenant experience
It’s a renter’s market, and with the backlog of COVID-19 still prevalent, tenants are faced with a wealth of choice when it comes to selecting their new home. This is where PropTech comes in. While agents were hit hard by the first lockdown back in March, the sluggish market has started to get going again, meaning that agents are competing to stand out from the crowd and get properties off their books.
To make the experience slick and seamless, companies are leveraging technology to give better insights into processes, including onboarding tenants, answering queries and providing templates. By providing insights into productivity and accuracy, technology can also help companies to make decisions which improve efficiency, such as allocating a member of staff to a particular task or group of customers based on their success to date.
Something it is clear to see is that agents really need to be on the ball with responding to applicants, even more so than before. Due to the sheer volume of requests coming in they might not be able to give a prompt response, resulting in the tenant going to look elsewhere. With the help of technology, the agent will get a reminder to respond to the tenant within a certain time frame and another nudge if they forget to do so. All of this converts to a lead – one that has been created super quickly. The agent can then get started on their next task and the tenant is happy with their experience.
Adopting a sophisticated service
PropTech isn’t as rigid as it used to be. Smart and sophisticated artificial intelligence platforms are automated processes with a sprinkle of human touch. Having the ability to mix and match different processes, in one playground-like platform, means that the human service can easily be interchanged with technology to create the best outcomes for all. While there is a misconception that technology is taking over traditional roles, what we are seeing now is that it can actually work in harmony with traditional services and processes. This is because companies now have the flexibility to decide on which specific parts of the pre-tenancy process they would like to become automated.
Thanks to this, whatever the status of restrictions on the market, agents can make the most of PropTech to be better prepared for all circumstances. Companies that have the right infrastructure in place to work quickly and efficiently will absolutely see their business change for the better. If you compare the traditional way of working to an automated, integrated platform, by the time a competitor has pulled up several different systems, you could have already completed a transaction with the help of technology. Using holistic software also means that platforms can be easily integrated with manual processes, alongside other systems, like DocuSign, that may already be in place.
With tenants and estate agents alike keen to plan for the future, they need to make sure they’re agile and flexible in the technology that they adopt. We have seen a huge change already this year and having the ability to use technology which adapts to changing circumstances is what will really set companies apart as we look to 2021.
