Property industry can learn to use this lockdown time to innovate

Paul McNeive

Couple Looking in Real Estate Agent's Window

February 18 2021 02:00 AM

PROPERTY professionals continue to work remotely and at reduced levels of activity. The key to unlocking high-margin areas such as investment sales will be the ability of overseas purchasers to travel here and inspect property, and that is some way off. Domestically focused markets will reopen sooner, as viewing restrictions are eased.

But this hiatus does offer an opportunity for thinking and innovating, something we are normally too busy to do. Are we merely hoping to survive and go back to doing everything the same way as soon as possible? Or is there opportunity in the change that the world is experiencing?

Property generally, and particularly estate-agency, have been slow to change. With the exception of a burst of online marketing and conveyancing over the last five years, the same services are provided in much the same way as fifty years ago.

Challenge all of your staff to come up with one big new idea over the next month. Don’t limit this to senior staff. Ideas can be discussed over Zoom calls, either in small or large groups, helping to keep everyone connected. Encourage everyone to dream and to try to think differently.

But how can we think differently? One advantage is that you are currently out of your old working routine. I always get my best ideas on holiday, when away from everyday habits. Take long walks and allow yourself to be inspired by what you see. Read international newspapers and watch TED Talks.

Try approaching your business from the other way around? Have your directors picture the lives they want in five years’ time? Their family, their house? What income will they need to provide that dream? Now, what changes do you need to implement to make that income happen?

Another technique is to list the things that you definitely must not do over the next 12 months. That starts a conversation.

The more you dream, the more you innovate. A brilliant Scottish thinker, Watt Nicholl, whom I put in front of my clients, forced Hitachi executives to compare televisions and cheese. Someone suggested putting holes in television screens, like the holes in Swiss cheese. That led to inventing “picture in picture” technology and Hitachi earn royalties from most electronic devices made in the world.

I chatted with Eoin Flavin, Head of Innovation Practice at STEPSTONE Consulting and he provided food for thought. “ Estate agents should think of themselves as matchmakers ,” he suggested. “The world is changing, and so are consumers needs, so agents should be talking now to consumers, home-workers, CEO s, startups. What do they really want? Then you can improve the supply, and match the need to the provider.”

“Monitor your markets. Do field surveys. The best ideas can be cheap, but only if you understand your market,” he added. He cited the Wadala level-crossing in Mumbai which had a terrible death rate from pedestrians being hit by trains.

“Behaviour architects” realised pedestrians could not judge the speed of the trains. Painting sequences of sleepers yellow, solved the problem.

Lastly, Mr Flavin suggests, use this time for “AB” testing of your website. As the buying process moves increasingly online, you should capture data on how users are behaving on your website. What words, designs, colours get the right buyers to the right properties quickest? Software interfaces offer interchanging “A and B” versions of websites, so you can track what works best and make smart changes.