The opportunities opened up by technology in the lettings field have been enormous, yet many letting agents simply use their website as a glorified shop window. Like any agency window, the properties displayed need to be regularly updated and presented in a way that inspires tenants to take things further.
But a good agency website is more than a simple property search tool. If that's all it did, it would be a bit like only being able to get the news on TV!
The first thing many prospective landlords do is check out local letting agents’ websites. Does the home page give a clear impression of the "personality" of that particular agency? A list of features is one thing, but does it highlight the people behind the business and the company ethos?
Our website has a very contemporary feel to it – highly reflective of our agency. And just as you might expect to receive fair and honest lettings-related advice from the specialists in our office, so our website also contains various articles which we believe will be of interest to our customers.
However, the most important benefit derived from our huge investment in technology is the amount of time released by our enhanced efficiency. Because the system captures and automatically matches tenants to properties (within our manually predetermined parameters) we have more time available to do what we do best – look after our customers through personal communication.
Therefore, and somewhat ironically, our use of technology has streamlined us to the extent that we have been able return to, and develop, the traditional service levels appreciated by so many of our satisfied customers to date – landlord and tenant alike.