JOEL DAVOREN, FRANCHISE DIRECTOR, RE/MAX AUSTRALIA & RE/MAX NEW ZEALAND
In this tech driven world, where does the real estate industry fit in?
Technology is not destructive, it doesn’t even have to be disruptive. And it is not making us any ‘less human’.
Technology is increasing the human contact. Technology can be leveraged to enhance our client contacts.
Today, and ever increasingly with each ‘tomorrow’, If you don’t have connection on a digital platform, the human relationship will suffer.
We should be using the digital tools at our disposal, on our desk and in our pockets, to make our relationships stronger.
Consumers already conduct digital interviews prior to choosing service providers.
They visit our websites, follow our social media, all for the purpose of assessing us as professionals. That’s happening today and will continue; and we’ll need to be increasingly refined in what and how we are represented digitally.
The best of the plethora of tech-driven tools are people-orientated. They need to be elegant, increase productivity, simplify, streamline and allow you to connect.
Video messaging platforms such as Bomb Bomb, Streaka, FaceTime, Skype, and Facebook are designed to enhance relationships through connecting visually at a higher level of engagement. Why stop at emails and text messages when you can add ‘face-to-face’ to the engagement?
Others like HomePrezzo and Homepass allow real estate agents to interact with clients and facilitate the purchase, sale or rental of property.
The leading innovators demonstrate a trend away from ‘click-to-buy’, making it an unlikely disruptor to our industry. Our focus on technology needs to be at the back-end of our business because that is where we and our clients will benefit.
As owners of a master franchise, at our level, our clients are our members.
We are introducing a number of innovations, not least of which is Precinct.
Precinct is perhaps the single greatest opportunity to redefine and evolve our network. It is the online evolution of the RE/MAX® philosophy of building collaborative and enduring relationships and networks through personal relationships, networking, training and events.
Among numerous great features are its ease of navigation, mobility, scalability and its fit with existing processes and systems that work. It is designed to be future proof, and maybe best of all, it’s an exciting and fun place to interact.
The Precinct technology platform is a long term project. Starting simple, it will provide members with access to resources, live and recorded training, marketing templates, chat rooms to share knowledge and live data feeds, and single sign-on functionality.
Precinct, which is built in partnership with Microsoft, will continue to evolve and be ground-breaking technology in the real estate industry.
At RE/MAX, we don’t equate technology with disruption.
Media contacts:
Joel Davoren, Franchise Director, RE/MAX Australia & New Zealand – M. +61 411 435 505
Lyn Cox, RE/MAX public relations – M. +61 418 793 096
About RE/MAX: RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. With more than 120,000 agents and almost 8000 offices globally, nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX.