Would it surprise you that:
27% of agents and 21% of brokers spent between $501 – $2,000 on technology in the last 12 months.- The top three tools that respondents plan on purchasing or replacing in the next year are: iPad (16%); Smartphone (15%); and digital camera (12%).
- The most frequently used operating system is Windows 7 (38%).
- The most popular smartphones are iPhone (52%), Android OS (45%), Blackberry (3%).
- 91% of REALTORS® use social media to some extent.
- The top places where REALTORS® place their listings are realtor.com®, Zillow and Trulia
The National Association of Realtors published interesting statistics in April of 2017 that surprised me. The New Year is quickly approaching with several people evaluating the goals that they want to accomplish in 2018. Also, many organizations push for their teams to gain and close sales for the final quarter of 2017 to add to the profitable numbers with end-of-year goals.
As a part of my self-evaluation for lessons learned and to create target goals for 2018, these statistics were found as a result of the questions I was asking myself.
- How many agents have shifted to using technology resources that millennials love?
- Do they know how their target market likes to communicate?
- Do real estate agents, mortgage brokers, inspectors, etc. understand who their primary customer is?
- Are their systems secure?
Consider the following infographic for a moment.
During my search for employment, I spoke with a Redfin representative that was looking for talent. The representative informed me that their interface was built based on what millennials need with their home purchase experience.
As a result of what the representative informed me of, I’ve become a fan of Redfin Corporation because of their forward thinking to recognize that their primary customer audience is now millennials.
It shocks me that the most used operating system by 38 percent of the realtors is Windows 7. Is there an awareness of the security concerns that this creates for their customers? There is a lot of proprietary and sensitive information being exchanged with home purchases. Millennials are extremely busy with their schedules and they prefer technology interfaces that are secure with their private information.
Conversely, if Nielson Group is reporting that only 5 percent of the global population in rich countries have the computer literacy that businesses need, maybe this information shouldn’t be so surprising.
It seems to me that it is glaringly clear that we have to change how we communicate and collaborate with our customers. With 34 percent of the millennials being the realtor target audience, it’s time to consider a different way of doing business. Every effort is an initiative that needs professionals to help navigate the customers to what they want. They want a better experience. Changing to the technology tools they like will:
- Engage the customers
- Retain the customers
- Offer real-time transparency and status reports for all of the stakeholders
- Help with security concerns if the right IT professionals are in place
- Help with driving our sales targets because we’re meeting the customer needs with how they like to communicate
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