Real Estate Is Way Behind in Tech. Here’s Why and How to Fix It.
The opinions of entrepreneurs’ contributors are their own.
Real estate has opened up invaluable opportunities for millions of people, from real estate agents who generate great income by helping people find their dream home, to investors who are revitalizing rundown neighborhoods and creating new housing. But despite everything, there are some shortcomings. There is one in particular that affects real estate professionals the most, and spills over to everyone else who touches the industry in any way. The industry lags far behind in terms of technology, which has a dramatic negative impact on efficiency and profitability.
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If you are in the industry, you understand the importance of this shortcoming. Not only does this affect your sales, it also leads to more work, higher costs, and increased burnout. But when you use technology to be more efficient and profitable, it means you can pay your team more, perform better, have a more pleasant workplace, and serve more customers.
The first step is to identify where your bottlenecks are. For many, this is prospect and customer tracking. This is a relatively straightforward solution as there are tons of customer relationship management (CRM) tools available, including many that are specifically designed for the real estate industry.
Every large franchise has some type of CRM, but today anyone can afford one, right down to sole proprietorships who are just starting out. The key is to actually use it.
Most people just put names into the system and do nothing else until they get into a crisis and need to do business quickly. That does not work. The point of a CRM system is to build and maintain relationships with prospects and customers. So, you need to take detailed notes about these people and communicate with them regularly. Some of this communication can even be automated with drip campaigns, but be careful not to overdo the automation.
Remember, if you make people feel like a number, they are not going to be receptive. Just think about how you feel after receiving those automated, deaf emails or DMs on social media. Fortunately, modern technology can go way beyond maintaining relationships or finding business. What used to require a team of highly paid analysts can now be done with AI and big data.
Now you might be thinking, “This is crazy. There’s no way a computer can match the knowledge and experience of my team. ”But here’s the thing: AI is already running significant parts of your life, and you probably don’t even know it. The targeting for the Facebook ads that you use to market your business is powered by AI. The GPS that guides you around the traffic jam on the way to your next performance is powered by AI. And even Zillow, the real estate platform so many brokers hate, is powered by AI.
When doing a Zillow search, there are several criteria you can choose from, but what most people don’t know is that the AI behind the scenes is exceeding those criteria to find houses that you use a complex algorithm to analyze human behavior . Essentially, they use AI to give users exactly what they want. Not just based on their search parameters, not just what they say, what they want, but what they actually want.
AI is also used in evaluating potential development opportunities as it enables developers to analyze an overwhelming amount of data and use that data to make accurate predictions. This reduces the risk and helps developers move forward with their projects faster.
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While the real estate industry is far behind technologically, we can change that. New innovations are becoming cheaper and easier to implement every day. And if we want to remain competitive in the next few years, we absolutely have to. Otherwise, we will lose ground to those who use it properly.