The real estate industry is booming thanks to lower-than-ever mortgage rates. As such, it’s very much a sellers’ market, since sellers are listing their properties at a time when more potential homeowners than ever before are looking to get into owning real estate and are talking to lenders. That being said, it’s hard to say it isn’t at least sort of a buyers’ market, too, since mortgage rates are so low that anyone looking for a primary residence will be able to potentially save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan.
At the same time, many people are looking into real estate as an alternative investment able to be purchased through platforms like Yieldstreet. If you’re wondering “Is Yieldstreet legit?” the answer is very much yes! However, there are other ways to make money off of your property if you’re willing to keep it separate from your primary residence and use it as a rental property instead. Learning how to convert your home into a rental and become a landlord isn’t necessarily for everyone, but it could be a great option for you if you’re interested in collecting rent each month from tenants and serving as a landlord.
Whether you’re wanting to invest in a rental property or are looking to sell your home, technology has a major role to play in how you perform this task. One specific subset of tools, specifically focused on the voice of the customer technologies and customer experience can be a major way to ensure that you get the value you want from selling your current home or establishing consistent rental income. Voice of the customer (VOC) tools offer an impressive way to survey potential tenants or homebuyers, helping you make informed decisions as a property manager or as you work with your real estate agent to sell your primary residence.
Read on to learn about the ways that soliciting customer feedback and thinking about the customer experience could ultimately land you the renters or homeowners you want to make the most out of your real estate transaction.
The impacts of VOC tools on property managers.
Many businesses and corporations use voice of customer tools as a way to gain honest, unfiltered insights from customers about how their company is doing and where they can improve. Some voice of the customer tools involves carefully-worded survey questions, while others are focused on creating heat maps and determining the usability of different platforms such as apps or websites. All of these applications can help property managers better understand what current renters are looking for as well as how current tenants feel about their current home.
When it comes to learning about what current renters are looking for, soliciting feedback about the real estate market can give you valuable customer feedback about the sort of price sensitivity and amenities most renters are looking for as they consider a rental property. While you can always look at rent prices in your area, it’s much better to hear directly from potential renters, since if you include different utilities with the rent price, the value of your rental is bound to be perceived as worth the higher price versus a lower-priced property.
At the same time, using the voice of customer tools to learn what your existing tenants think about your customer service and maintenance can be just as crucial to your success. If your tenants aren’t happy with the management fees associated with their rental property, they may find a different apartment to rent. This is why it’s vital to the success of your property management company to do your due diligence and leverage the voice of customer tools to learn more about what you’re doing well and where you can improve your rental property.
Venterra CEO John Foresi has made a name for himself in the Austin, TX area in the world of property management because of how customer and employee-centric his business is. His property management company is consistently singled out as one of the best places to work in the region, something that couldn’t be possible if it weren’t for paying attention to what employees and customers think about the business. The good news is that with the voice of the customer tools, it’s easier than ever to understand your customer loyalty and how tenants feel about your rental rates and the terms of your lease agreement.
How VOC is impacting home listing for real estate agents.
The downside of selling a home in the 21st century is the fact that social media means that it’s easier than ever to see hundreds of home listings in under an hour online. As such, anyway that you can get an edge regarding what first-time homebuyers are looking for in a new home can be crucial to crafting the perfect property listing description. Real estate agents can thus gain valuable customer insights and market research by asking the right questions and leveraging a voice of customer program.
A perfect example of this has to do with harnessing the power of on-site testing and heat maps in order to learn more about what sorts of features are the most appealing to potential homebuyers as they browse an online listing. Especially with the growing trend of creating listing-specific websites for new properties, having a heat map can give you valuable insight into what pieces of the website are being accessed the most. That could be a down payment and mortgage calculator that’s included as an on-page widget, or it might be a link to watch a virtual tour of the property. Knowing this information helps you know what to bring up as a real estate agent when you’re showing off property at an open house.
Focusing on customers is ultimately one of the best ways to close sales. This is because by completing focus groups using the voice of customer technology, you can gain a much better understanding of what features and amenities are most appealing to potential renters or buyers. Voice of customer tools are making waves in all sorts of industries, and especially in a sector as personal as real estate, the customer insights offered by VOC data and the right voice of customer program can really improve your bottom line.
