Real Estate Software Expectations vs. Reality
Real estate software suffers a negative reputation, but is it warranted?
When it comes to real estate tech, getting software that actually works for you and your company is a tough nut to crack. Just like for Goldilocks, things notoriously turn out too small, too big, and rarely “just right.”
Some platforms turn out to be too complex for the team, with abundant features and build-it-yourself models that are more of a burden than a solution. Others are either too scant in functionality or require additional components to work properly. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Commonly, we find that the developers, real estate marketers, and other industry professionals we talk to have similar experiences around real estate software that negatively colors their expectations.
But regardless of whether you’re looking to completely revamp the business process at your company or just aid it with new software, your ability to match your specific challenges with the realities of available technology is vital.
Armed with our experience in real estate and in software, we decided to see how common expectations stack up against reality for digital tools in the new development industry.
1. Complexity
Software developers go to great lengths to make consumer-grade software a breeze to use; while an advanced user can customize to their heart’s content, essential functionality and ease of use are accessible to all levels of know-how.
But few expect this of business software, which has a reputation for complexity, difficulty in use and lengthy implementation.
Software environments like Salesforce allow users to customize whatever they desire. The entire platform is essentially a ‘sandbox’ where companies can build and set up their own processes. While this offers an impressive array of functions, it also requires abundant resources and dedicated dev teams to launch and handle. This, in turn, leads to increased maintenance costs and impaired productivity for teams — adding to the perception that real estate software is overly complex and requires extensive resources and training.
But the reality is that introducing a sophisticated, custom-made piece of software is overkill for most companies in the real estate business. A much better choice is to opt for a more tailored solution which will offer customization for the sake of workflow rather than a sandbox for your IT team to play with.
With the right digital tool on the front lines, you and your team can achieve much better results than with conventional pen-and-paper methods. In order to accomplish this, the new platform should match the individual needs of your company and be able to grow with it.
2. Functionality
Let’s say you just found a great off-the-shelf CRM to store and maintain your buyer information for the upcoming new development project. It’s affordable and the CRM’s website proudly says that their platform can be used in every industry.
It sounds promising, doesn’t it?
While this may seem like a dream come true, you should prepare for a disappointment. Universal tools will cap your potential to grow and limit your team’s performance. Without the specific features to support real estate’s particular process, it’s very common for teams to start branching off into using other, smaller platforms or stop using the technology altogether.
In addition, few other industries operate as ‘on-the-go’ as real estate, where agents might be signing deals, adding new leads, and pulling stacking inventory plans from their office desk, on their way to the show home, and in front of a client.
If you want more in-depth insights and functionality that supports your agents from the presentation center to signing, then you need more than that.
Industry-specific software should be flexible and adaptable to the changing market conditions. A dedicated platform will always give you a more focused workflow than a generic one because developers behind it are in the know about industry best practices and emerging trends.
Another advantage of using a dedicated solution is that it can receive quick fixes when needed. With a narrower user base, developers can actively listen to the community feedback and update their product accordingly.
3. Workflow
In our modern, high-tech world, real-estate software should come bundled as one platform and have a responsive design fit for smartphones, desktop computers and tablets. This way, your team can dedicate more time to the actual work instead of switching between unwieldy applications — or fumbling to pull out the laptop in front of a buyer — to get the job done.
Inefficient technology processes consume resources and cut into time better spent closing deals.
In reality… such software exists! Marketo and Salesforce integrate seamlessly enough to create a very smooth workflow, while industry-specific software like Spark gives the new development industry a strong all-in-one platform that works on a variety of devices.
At the highest level, a unified platform allows you to save time and resources by cutting down on multiple licenses, IT team bandwidth, and maintenance costs. And on the day-to-day level, your team is able to work more effectively thanks to a bird’s eye view of the whole business.
4. Resistance
With many of our clients, initial conversations often revolve around the expectation of resistance to new real estate software.
Negative perceptions around its complexity, interruption to workflow, and lack of functionality mean that many are hesitant to put the time and effort into digital technologies available to new development. Even if your new CRM gets approved by the management, the new tool can end up disliked by the very people who are going to use it. New technology might just turn into a huge waste of money.
But the reality is that the industry is moving increasingly towards the proptech, fintech, and other forms of real estate-catering software. As the technology improves and evolves, people are increasingly leaning on software and hardware tools to make their day to day more efficient. Think about smartphones, home-management devices like the Amazon Echo, and wi-fi enabled appliances.
User experience and the ability to keep up with the existing business processes will determine the platform’s usability. After all, it’s the users who decide to adopt or reject it in the long run.
Is real estate software worth it?
Regardless of the perceived complexity and functionality of the software you’re looking at, it’s vital to make sure that your team’s actual needs and processes weigh in on the decision you make.
Working together with the tech vendor can give you a lot of insight into questions of whether the team will actually use it; how difficult the resistance to change might be; and whether the software will be a burden or actually help you to improve existing processes.
Just like with new developments, the research that you do before undertaking the project will help to inform your team on the real risks and rewards — allowing you to make informed decisions and select software that supports the success of your business.
Thinking about how software can improve your workflow? Check out this blog about what to look for in a CRM for new home development!
Remember to leave us some 👏👏👏 if you enjoyed this article!
This blog was written with Dawid Bednarksi, freelance copywriter and blogger at OctoScribe. When he’s not writing about tech, he’s enjoying the simplicity of analog photography and daring bike trips with his wife.
