Technology is evolving fast as is the way individuals communicate with each other. It’s getting easier and faster to communicate with your users in the present age. This is drastically different from how we communicated even 10 years ago. This has had an effect on agents and how they communicate with their end-users. This is likely to keep changing throughout the decade.

Customers are moving towards communication channels that provide quicker responses. Communicating based on their availability, which is why digital works better for them. To meet these requirements, it’s important to adapt to keep these applicants engaged.

An Increased number of applicants prefer to communicate via WhatsApp or Live Chat. On average more than half a billion people worldwide use the service. The average user checks the service more than 23 times per day. Yet, agents rarely use it and stick to calls and emails.

There will always be a need for a human touch in the residential real estate industry. It is more about incorporating modern communication channels with traditional methods.

4 ways you can do to adapt to these changes and to better engage with your applicants.

• Introduce Live Chats on your website

Now more than ever it is easy to equip your website with a Live Chat option. This allows your customer support team to assist customers in navigating your website. Customers want answers to their questions in the fastest way possible, often without having to talk to anyone. 

• Use Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct Messages

Like Live Chat, Facebook and Instagram allow applicants to communicate with you. This is an opportunity to get to know more about your customers and the type of properties they are looking for. Not only can you understand your applicant better, but you can increase the probability of closure.

• Don’t be afraid to communicate via WhatsApp

Once a customer is interested in a property that you have to offer coordinating timing and details for viewings can easily be managed via WhatsApp, provided ofcourse that the applicant has consented to be contacted on WhatsApp. Providing a personal touch shows applicants that you care about finding them their new home.

• Use your social media and engage with your customers

Individuals spend more and more time on social media and here is where you can attract and engage your applicants. Post engaging and relevant content can help with brand awareness and develop trust between with your applicants.

Some best practices to keep in mind:

• Respond to the customer within a 1 hour period

This might be obvious, but don’t keep your applicants waiting. To ensure that your applicant becomes a loyal customer, the faster you respond the better. Applicants appreciate efficiency and are more likely to pick an agency that responds to their questions the fastest.

• Only WhatsApp your customers to have a conversation about the property. Do not use it for marketing purposes

Once you have communicated with an applicant ensure that you are not bombarding them with marketing material. Keep WhatsApp as a channel for communicating with the applicant to answer their questions and to help them find more properties.

• Always get proper consent

Under GDPR regulations it is important to always take the consent of your applicant. If at any point they do not want to be contacted via any channel by your team, ensure that they are not.

At XChange, we empower Independent Agencies to grow their businesses by connecting them to premium instructions in their given area. We believe that independent agents provide a far better service than bigger agents and have the ability to close deals faster. Our team of advisors provide resources to grow your business and increase your revenue. To learn a bit more about what we do, reach out!