The underlying fundamentals of the Sydney housing market remain strong and agents have every reason to be optimistic but they need to change as their customers have changed, according to social researcher Mark McCrindle.
Mr McCrindle of McCrindle Research reminded more than 300 Ray White agents at the group’s Super Sales Day – The Modern Customer last week, that they shouldn’t be discouraged by recent changes in the market.
“For those agents who have only ever seen a boom cycle, this is very normal and the fundamentals remain strong but that does mean you need to change as your customers have changed,” Mr McCrindle told the agents.
“We have more cultural diversity than ever before, and all agents need to understand the customer of today is not just an Australian-born detached house seller.
“The bulk of our population growth is through net migration, and the number one country of birth of an Australian born overseas is Asia. Patel is the most common name in the phone book in Parramatta.
“In Sydney we also have more new housing approvals for units than detached homes, so unit stock will rise.
“On top of this our population is ageing and the lifetime value of a customer has never been greater.
“People now are active in the property market throughout their 50s, 60s and beyond as they live longer.
“So we are also seeing generational change with the influence of technology and people’s expectations around communications have never been higher.
“That is part of the challenge. Agents also need to understand the best platform to stay in touch with their buyers and sellers as email may not work for everyone.
“If you are trying to communicate to anyone under the age of 30, you need to have a YouTube channel. YouTube is the biggest social media platform, it’s bigger than Facebook. It is also the number one search engine for Australian teenagers, they spend longer searching on there than Google.
“So agents need to add video-based communications as these are the buyers of the future.”
Ray White Sydney Metro CEO Andrew Crauford said the timing of Mr McCrindle’s session was perfect as all agents needed to hear there had been a “huge shift” in client’s expectations.
“It’s been a subtle yet dramatic shift,” Mr Crauford said.
“Our clients need more from us than just the transaction. They want our guidance, they need to know about the timing and how to style their home for sale. They want to be involved deeply in all aspects of this current market.
“Agents also need to know that a client’s expectations of them has been formed well before they even meet. Clients will measure their experience with us from the very first moment they meet us – which is often online.”
Mr Crauford said relationships often took years to nurture and many agents today felt that the volume of communication that was now required is “all too hard”.
The Super Sales Day agenda was designed to challenge agents’ thinking.
Ray White head of marketing Lisa Pennell spoke to the agents about the group’s customer satisfaction program, the only one of its kind among its rival agency groups.
“We want to survey everyone that we are in touch with – our buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords, people who didn’t buy or sell through us, so the only disruptor to our market is us. Our customers want an experience with us and we need to measure all of our interactions,” Ms Pennell said.
A customer experience futurist Dr Emily Verstege said experience was everything to clients, it’s not price.
“Hustling costs money but focusing on customer experience is essential. But how does focusing on customer experience grow your business? It will grow your business and grow your market share and new customers cost seven times more than the ones you’ve already got,” said the Brisbane-based physiologist.
“It’s hard to get heard. The human brain has the ability to process 36GB of data per day which is about how much information we’re given and we’re struggling to take in more information because our brains are full. ”
Experience is everything that makes you feel something and 80 per cent of the information we process is via sight – its visual.
“It’s hard to get new customers and new customers cost seven times more than the ones you’ve already got. Why? It costs money to put people in at the top of our funnel,” she said.
“Stop the spin, we need to keep our customers in the middle of the funnel. Focusing on customer experience stops spin and drives revenue higher.”
Agents also heard from Anna Musson who has rapidly become one of Australia’s most respected and well-known etiquette experts.
“The etiquette of the customer experience is all about what do customers want,” she said.
“Manners will make you money and always be punctual but not early,” she said.
