Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is widespread and has understandably been around for a long time. However, a CRM for real estate features all the goodness of the typical cloud CRM - but with a host of powerful functionalities that render it ideal for the real estate market. Apart from doing the basics, such as centralizing customer profiles and assisting with building a CX strategy, a CRM for real estate packs a punch by offering key capabilities such as property evaluations and intelligent building analyses.
It’s important to remember that the real estate industry is widespread and intricate, connecting numerous facets. From building maintenance companies to rentals, organizations that deal with the purchasing, selling, and supervision of real estate are varied as they are complex. As a result, a CRM for real estate also needs to cater to such specificities so that teams have what they need to not only build their bottom line but also create a unique customer experience.
Here, we outline what’s truly unique about a CRM for real estate differentiating it from regular cloud-based CRM software. We’ll also look at tips and advice on choosing the best CRM for real estate, so teams know what to be aware of when approaching prospective CRM vendors.
Unique Customer Service Factors in the Real Estate Industry
- Long-term customer relationships are a must, not a nice-to-have.
Even the most straightforward and minor transactions in the real estate industry involve paperwork, legal formalities, and extended financing to close a deal. Therefore, driving customer loyalty is imperative - a CRM for real estate can help achieve this through intelligent recommendations and even forecasting.
- Failing to understand your customer can cost you dearly.
Evaluating the potential of a property before buying or renting it can make all the difference between a dead-end investment and a lucrative source of income. Add to this the fact that customer needs keep fluctuating, especially amid inflation and economic turmoil. Making adjustments with a CRM for real estate by constantly being on top of knowing your buyer’s story is vital after making a wise property decision.
- Buying and selling on a whim is a rarity.
Lead nurturing is a common CRM management tactic, which is highly applicable to the real estate industry because prospects always need time to decide - especially when it comes to buying and selling. While a CRM for real estate can facilitate lead management, it can take things a step further by conducting detailed market research to gauge who is actively looking to buy/sell and target communications accordingly.
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Key Features of CRM for Real Estate
- Property Evaluations and Revenue Forecasting
A CRM for real estate can integrate with sister applications, such as construction management or building maintenance, to share data that can power analytics. Cloud Business Intelligence (BI) solutions can be used to crunch the numbers, so property developers can understand the cost and regularly predict revenue.
- Smart Building Monitoring
Individual landlords and property management companies can make the most of intelligent building monitoring to track how tenants are using property and whether any maintenance tasks need to be executed. A CRM for real estate can therefore strategize communications by utilizing insights derived from IoT data to best handle customers and tenants.
- Workflow Automation
Automating administrative tasks (which are often mundane and repetitive) can free property management staff to focus on tasks that require more of their strategic and analytical attention. For example, sales force automation is a capability that a CRM for real estate can facilitate by programmatically following up with prospects, sending payment reminders, and even reporting on high-performing properties or staff.
How a CRM for Real Estate Can Help Enhance Customer Experience
- Centralize all customer data into a single yet omnichannel profile.
Unified Communications (UC) has always been one of the most sought-after trends for CRM - and a CRM for real estate is no exception. Maintaining a single customer profile means keeping copies in other systems is not necessary. At the same time, staff across the organization (including external stakeholders) can access and update data on a real-time basis, complete with version control.
On top of that, a CRM for real estate will also facilitate omnichannel communications; customers are free to contact your business through any channel they prefer, with all correspondence converging into a central profile that staff can use to respond - without having to toggle between different applications.
- Identify customer preferences and predict risks.
Your CRM for real estate can be infused with AI and machine learning to notice patterns within big data so those insights can be obtained for wise business decision-making. To further streamline reporting, self-service business intelligence can give otherwise non-tech-savvy staff the autonomy to run the numbers and save time when reporting results.
Tips for Choosing the Best CRM for Real Estate
- Always start with a business assessment.
Similar to purchasing CRM software, your new CRM for real estate will also require feedback from your team on what is wrong and what needs to be fixed. Gather staff from across the organization and ask them questions about the problems and bottlenecks they face with your current CRM system - and collate all findings into a brief.
- View demos and read reviews and ratings from real CRM for real estate users.
While randomly reaching out to prospective vendors can give you access to free demos, viewing CRM software reviews and rankings online can help you narrow down which vendors are ideal for a CRM for real estate. Using a combination of the two to do your research, making your final selection also needs to fall within your allocated budget, so no limits are exceeded.
- Scale based on growing requirements.
With the business landscape perpetually evolving, your CRM for real estate also needs to be able to grow with the times. This can be ensured with a CRM solution that is hosted, as virtual infrastructure can help businesses scale their applications with a faster time to market, minus exorbitant costs.
