Year-end is coming up, and traditionally, that’s the time for any business to look back on the year and examine what went well, what could have gone better, and where they can improve for the next year. In real estate, that reflection is especially important because the industry faces more seasonality than most other industries.
One area that’s especially important to consider is how well your members were able to work on the go. After all, mobile work isn’t just becoming the norm anymore—it’s already established. And that means it’s up to your organization to make sure you can support agents in staying on the go.
How much do people really rely on mobile tech?
It isn’t news that mobile tech usage has been on the rise for years now—but the actual usage numbers are still rather surprising. According to a recent survey, American consumers tend to check their phones about 144 times per day, and will spend almost 4.5 hours on their phones in a day.
Those numbers say two important things.
First, they point to exactly how reliant your members’ clients are on mobile technology. And the numbers from the National Association of REALTORS® back up this theory:
Over 76% of homebuyers use the internet for their home search on a mobile phone or tablet.
Second, they illustrate that if your members are going to reach their clients where they already are, they need to be just as invested in mobile tech. And in nearly every case, they are—96% of them use smartphones with email and internet access every day.
And when they’re spending so much time on the small screen, there are ways your organization can help them stay productive.
3 ways your organization can help agents stay mobile
Prioritize mobile-first software.
We’re all familiar with the idea of mobile-responsive websites and software, but mobile-first is another topic entirely. Where mobile-responsive sites and software are designed for desktop first and later adapted into a format that works for small screens, mobile-first is software—usually an app—that’s designed for mobile devices first and foremost.
For example, think about social media apps like Instagram and TikTok. They were apps first, and that shows in how simple they are to navigate and use on smartphones.
Pro tip: Stay tuned to see what we’re doing to help you bring a mobile-first experience to your members!
Focus on connections.
Real estate is all about connections—and many of those connections happen through social media apps and text messages these days. In fact, NAR reported that 93% of its members preferred communicating with clients through text messages, and 89% preferred email!
For your organization, this means the priority needs to be helping members stay in touch when they’re on the go. This could look like:
- Providing methods to share listings and information through a mobile app that centralizes conversations
- Giving agents ways to create essential reports like CMAs on the spot, so they can share even when they’re away from a computer
Keep things simple.
The key to good mobile-first software is that it can effectively put the right information in front of the user right away. If people need to dig for information, that can put them off of using the software—and as an organization, that causes major problems for agent adoption of a member benefit.
We know what it takes to stay mobile—and we’re here to help.
At Lone Wolf, we know it isn’t always a simple matter to keep members on the go. Whether your members need better ways to start conversations, stay in touch, or close out the deal, we’re here to help you build a member benefit that works for them.
So let’s talk about how we can help.
