image courtesy of wikipedia.
The real estate industry has recently discovered a revolutionary communication tool….The text message! I’ll resist the temptation to waste space with snarky comments about how agents are behind the times on tech, because frankly I don’t think that is what’s responsible for this late adoption. What had to happen to get agents to start using text messages in their prospecting was a much slower social evolution.
Even at my age (30 sob) I had a relatively reserved etiquette on when texting was appropriate. However seeing just how damn efficient text messaging makes communication allowed me to overcome any of those reservations, and I think that’s what has finally happened for the highly personal business of real estate. The use of text messaging for prospecting is pretty obvious place to start, and is gaining traction quickly, but what else is out there?
Quick and Effective Feedback
Text alerts have been around for awhile, but they are continuously growing in popularity in instances where users wish to prioritize the alert they are receiving.
Imagine if Amazon tried calling you? From an unknown number? How many times would it take for you to pick up the phone just to hear “Your package is here.” Even worse what if they left a voicemail? Ugh. Everybody hates deleting those. Email notifications serve the same purpose, but these days even light email users have more messages than they can effectively sort through.
Real estate is a service based business. Clients rate, and recommend their providers based on how well they feel they have been serviced. Like other service industries response times and feedback matter. If a client asks a question they want the answer quickly. They also want feedback on the things they did. “I just submitted my paperwork. Did you receive it? There are other buyers out there, and I really want this house. Did you get it? How about now?”
The higher the pressure is in the situation the more the customer will request feedback for reassurance. The question for the real estate industry is… How can we use text messaging to improve that?
Create your own Mechanical Turk.
In the late 18th century a machine called “The Turk” was constructed that could play chess. Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin were among the famous statesmen who played the machine, and lost. The secret however was that while the machine could move pieces across the board; there was no mechanical brain inside. The operators were actually some of the best chess players in the world.
To this day we still remember The Turk. Why? In a day where we try to make our automated tasks look as though they’re being performed by humans, the opposite fascination also occurs when we see a machine do something that only a human should be able to do. People love technology that’s helpful as much as they love people who are helpful.
Thanks for the history lesson, but what does this have to do with real estate?
As mentioned before quick, and effective feedback is very important. Text messaging accomplishes this, AND offers increased flexibility in WHO can communicate with a prospect. A very simplified example being that a client has the agents phone # saved, but not the office or transaction coordinators. Transaction coordinator needs a client signature, but can’t get a hold of the client so guess who gets blamed? The agent.
Automation is supposed to make things easy, but creating automation is actually quite complicated. I see agents goof up all the time trying to make themselves look like superheros using automated response tech. This is where the mechanical Turk can really come into play. Why wait or rely so heavily on tech to create that quick response time when a human could do it more effectively? Get your transaction coordinators, assistants, interns, and other support to help you provide fast, effective feedback in a consolidated system.
- “XYZ Realty: Your Offer Has Been Sumbitted”
- “XYZ Realty: Your Home Is Live On The MLS!”
- “XYZ Realty: Contract Changed Your Signature Required”
These are just a few of the possibilities. Some of these things could be setup to happen 100% automated, but why wait? Any person who has access to the information could be using text messages to communicate the information to the client, and templates can help insure that the personality of the brand remains consistent. Think of all the little things that go on in a real estate transaction that occur without the client’s presence. Think of all the things you ask of them, and how often are you able to give them a very satisfying “thanks you’re good to go”. If your transaction coordinator or assistant does this stuff already then leverage the high open rates of texting to help them get the message across even faster, and keep your brand present during the transaction.
Clients know and love technology as much as we do. They’re also not stupid. They know we run a business, and they know we’re not a superhuman. What they care about most is that we’re doing everything possible to service them. Whether it’s an automated system, a human sending a text, or a personal phone call as long as it gets done, and they’re in the loop we’ll be the person they recommend.
A very special thank you to my favorite NPR podcast Planet Money for enlightening me to the Mechanical Turk, and being the inspiration for this post. Click the link to listen to the story, and see how Amazon turned an army of people into a better web experience.
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