The idea of ​​putting the customer at the business operations center is not new. Its objective is to solve the user’s needs better. This situation caused the birth, not only of software companies to improve the professionals’ processes in the real estate sector, but also new business models, which can be carried out, due to advances in technology. 

In general, in this new idea of ​​technology improvement, the first proptech companies to improve customer service are coming out. Some time ago, the first bots began to appear. Still, now, these bots are using machine learning and artificial intelligence, so this digital attention to the user is reaching a higher service level. These bots not only answer questions, but they can also search in databases to offer different solutions, they learn, and we hope that soon will be predictive, and able to provide answers before posing the questions. 

Of course, the bots do not rest, they work 24/7, 365 days a year, so that first user experience on the real estate agency website can be positive, even if it is outside the opening hours. One of these new trends is to collect leads and start a digital relationship so that the client does not have to wait for a human response. As sometimes, professionals have visits to make, complicated agendas, or other circumstances that do not allow them to respond immediately. 

Therefore, the user no longer waits, they can start with the webpage, the place from which the agent collects information, clearly improving the company’s response capacity. 

Perhaps the next step can be: 

  • That other bots generate leads
  • That technology allows to “push” and not “pull” in the leads generation
  • That we can be predictive regarding clients’ interests, knowing when they are going to need to change buildings and in being able, above all, to offer the best possible alternative to clients’ needs. 

And thinking about the future, why not advising our clients about the best way to sell (sale, transfer, crowdfunding, sale with the tenant), the best way to make their investment profitable (renting of furniture, renting of household appliances, placement of smart mailboxes), all of this also put the client at the center of the operations of a real estate company.

Gustavo Lopez

Operations director at the Real Estate Agents Association in Catalonia