You should be looking in several areas, such as:
- Lead generation – With almost 90 percent of consumers starting their search online, it’s imperative that you make the necessary investments to make sure they are ending up on your site.
- Web platform/CRM – It’s hard for me to imagine how more brokerages are not making investments in their websites and CRM platforms given the reality of today’s market. Trying to do this cheaply and then expecting consumer engagement is a recipe for disaster.
- Lead response – This is still a huge area of opportunity. Industry-wide, almost half of all Internet leads are not responded to. This is low-hanging fruit and there is no excuse for not making the necessary investment to increase lead conversion in an Internet-driven world.
- Post-close marketing – If the consumer had a good experience with your company, chances are they would use you again. What are you doing to create a customer for life, ensuring they come back three, four or five years later?
These are all consumer-focused investments, but there are many others from operations (i.e. transaction management, paperless, etc.) to investments you make within your offices in order to modernize the space and address consumer expectations.
Jose Perez is the founder and chief visionary of PCMS Consulting. PCMS provides innovative solutions leading brokerages require to enhance their market position and profitability.
For more information, visit www.pcmsconsulting.com.