Why digitising your agency processes can improve profitability

Toby Weiss

By Toby Weiss

01 December 2020

Digital transformation has been an effective and necessary business strategy for agencies looking to improve their profitability and growth ever since estate agency CRMs started to make waves in the PropTech market.

The KPMG Global PropTech Survey published in 2019 offered useful insight and research that highlights the key digitalisation requirements that customers want most from their PropTech partners, which included the improvement of efficiencies (65% of the time), cost reductions (47%) and helping to improve decision-making (44%).

Turning mundane and routine tasks into digitised processes can add incredible value to help agencies become faster, smarter, and more profitable. And in 2020, the drive for rapid digitalisation across agencies has accelerated as the need to connect and engage with customers remains a key pillar of exceptional customer experience. So, here are three connected reasons why agencies should make the choice to digitalise.

 

Creating efficiencies

Digitalisation allows for agencies to turn up the speed dial on their daily processes, both for the fundamental and the mundane. One of the most significant ways digitalisation achieves this is through automation – which is the practice of turning all the routine processes usually done manually, into machine-driven processes powered by a CRM. Automation is a monumental time-saver, which means more time to be reinvested into customer services, more time for managing enquiries and more time for getting stuff done.

Another way in which digitalisation creates efficiencies is through centralisation – having all your data on one single database, that can be shared across all your agency branches. This helps agencies to avoid the risks of data duplication that occurs on disconnected systems. And ideally, it puts everything agents need in one place to enable them to self-service the end-to-end customer journey to close deals faster and create a richer experience.

 

Saving costs

It goes without saying that the more efficient you are, the more money you save. But another famous saying is that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Agencies looking to digitalise their processes will find much to gain by investing in a powerful CRM – data from Forrester Research found that a properly implemented CRM can generate a 245% ROI for your business.

There is a lot more to it than simply cutting down on paperwork. Digitalisation can help agencies with planning daily tasks and streamlining workflows to speed up and track sales and tenancy progression, automate processes, so data is accurate and ensure that no opportunities are missed. At the end of the day, it helps agents become more productive and agency processes to become more efficient – which means savings to both time and money!

 

Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant, once said that “efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” 

 

Making decisions

The most effective CRMs offer powerful reporting tools and business-critical management dashboards to help agencies to track, report and act on key performance insights essential to their operations. And when it comes to profitability, the right analytical capabilities will provide agencies with a competitive edge to discover areas in high demand, monitor current instructions, identify those at risk of withdrawal and track conversion-to-instruction performance.

 

There is really no downside to doubling down on the use of analytics. Because when it comes to making better decisions, digitalisation has multiple touchpoints. Whether it is promoting communication between agencies and customers by using data to choose to whom, what and when to send marketing material; managing repair and maintenance work orders with landlords and residents; or streamlining renewals and post-tenancy requirements, agencies which choose to digitalise will be able to leverage their data to make smarter insight-driven decisions, improve conversion rates and drive revenue growth.

 

Looking for more from your software?

In the age of the digital transformation, an estimated 91% of companies with more than ten employees now use CRM software to facilitate their operations and customer interactions. But choosing a CRM that meets the requirements of your agency is no easy pickings. Reapit’s free-to-download CRM Buyer’s Guide for Estate Agencies offers software-agnostic advice on what to look for in a solution that will help you to drive stronger and more consistent profitability.

 

Guest blog by Reapit, the UK’s leading supplier for estate agency CRM solutions.

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Toby Weiss

By Toby Weiss

01 December 2020

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