Why 2018 is the time to re-evaluate your CRM

With AI, driverless cars and digital business models all set to become even more prevalent from 2018 and beyond, what does the future hold for innovation in the property sector?

Over the past three years, approximately 190,000 new homes have been built annually in the UK, 26% more than in the preceding three-year period. And, with around 218,000 new build completions anticipated by 2020, the market looks set for steady growth.

But ahead of the building and development activity, what can housebuilders be doing right now to pave the way for the potential challenges ahead? And what significant changes should be made to streamline processes and procedures?

Dorne Wood, sales manager for ContactBuilder, stresses action: "There’s no escaping the very real fact that CRM technology will eventually become embedded in every aspect of housebuilding activity, with even more emphasis placed on the merging of people with their devices and platforms, leading to the golden nugget: intelligent customer data.

"Although using CRM correctly can and should result in a big business payoffs in the form of lead generation and sales, now is the time to challenge and scrutinise whether current software and existing service providers are adding real business value in the form of email analytics, marketing intelligence and advanced user experiences.

"Improving CRM operations early on in 2018 will pay dividends over the long term and will allow sales teams to carry out more streamlined activities including accurately tracking and monitoring leads, assessing the effectiveness of email campaigns and securing reservations, all in real time.

"With capable software such as ContactBuilder in place, integrating and consolidating data is a user-friendly process, and enhances the user experience right from the off. There’s no doubt that developers are in a better all-round position to welcome in the new year with valuable customer data available at the touch of a button."

Dorne offers a few CRM pointers to help housebuilders in 2018:

1. Get mobile – mobile has become the preferred channel for the majority of marketing communication, and because ContactBuilder has been optimised for mobile since 2016, it has given sales teams working in the housing market a true competitive advantage in the field of customer intelligence. In addition to providing real time up-to-the-minute customer information, users can conduct searches within seconds, even when they’re out and on the move.
2. Integrate – our experience with clients in 2017 has highlighted the need for CRM technology to be fully optimised to integrate with existing email systems and property portals, to ensure all information is captured in a single location, at the touch of a button. At ContactBuilder we aim to get all of your communication channels singing from the same sheet, and capturing all of that oh-so valuable data in the same place, consistently.
3. Educate & cleanse – the world of marketing communications is set to change substantially in 2018. New legislation concerning data protection and handling is very much imminent, so all businesses should be taking legal advice as to the state of their current practices. ContactBuilder is equipped to offer compliant storage for customer data, but businesses must be sure their existing data is first compliant.

To discover more about ContactBuilder or to book your very own personal, no-obligation demonstration, visit contact-builder.co.uk.