Here are four ways data can improve your business

21 May 2018 7368 Views

How can you use data to benefit and better your business? It’s something you’ll no doubt have asked yourself down the years, but with so much data available it can be hard to decide what’s important and what will be most helpful for growth.

Agents now have access to vast amounts of data about the housing market; used right, this can give you a clearer indication of what your customers are after and how you can meet these needs. In a competitive, challenging and fast-changing marketplace, this can make all the difference – as understanding what your customers want is more vital than ever before.

By using data effectively, you are able to easily discover the demographics, estimated property valuations, desirability and more of a given area. What’s more, you can enrich your knowledge of your consumers, including their interests and location.

This key info, when used properly and efficiently, can help you to make informed business decisions in a logical and rational way.

Jeremy Snyman, Zoopla’s Data and Analytics Director, outlines four key ways in which you can use data to change your business for the better.

Build trust through data

Despite living in a highly digital age, most people still prefer the knowledge, personal touch and expertise offered by agents. You can use data to build trust and improve your customer relationships by helping consumers to get a clearer picture of the area they are looking to buy in. Sourcing important information such as crime rates and the rate of property price rises, for example, will help them to feel more at ease.

Gain insights into customer wants

Tools such as Google Analytics – which enable you to view the demographics of your traffic and what visitors to your site are searching for – can help you analyse your customers’ needs. If the majority are searching for a ‘4-bed detached house’, for instance, you may wish to make sure you have a range of 4-bed properties available on your site.

Be relevant to customers

The importance of honing your message – and being relevant to customers – can’t be underestimated. The days of blindly throwing money at marketing in the hope that you generate some leads are long gone, with the availability of data allowing you to target customers with exactly the right message at exactly the right time. Tools like Google Adwords allow you to target potential customers, with data around their age, location, interests and past interactions with your brand ensuring you reach the right people.

Adopt PropTech tools to grow your business

An increase in the amount of data has been met with a growing number of PropTech products on the market. These can be highly useful, but it’s important to take small steps, one thing at a time, rather than taking a leap into the unknown. You should offer digital services slowly but surely, with an overall end goal in mind. Ensure you pick the products most appropriate to you and your business needs.

Remember, this does not replace what you already do – good PropTech products enhance the relationship between agents and consumers. Make sure that the tools and data you use work together to offer insights that can help to make the performance of your agency better.

At Zoopla our job is to assemble data and technology in one place, in turn helping agents traverse the fast-moving world of PropTech. It might be our digital marketing services to help you target the right customers, or our data services to help you get a better understanding of the wider market, but all will be brought together by the native integrations in our property software and PropTech offerings.