Pick Up The Phone
By Mark Moffa
Managing Editor
Kathleen Carlin-Russell penned a great Critique last week about the need to pay attention to at least some of the latest technological advances in order to stay relevant. But as a follow-up, I have some insight to share from my time in San Francisco last week at the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference. Amid a whirlwind of information on the latest apps and digital developments, there was a subtle but crucial underlying theme: customer service. And the most important aspect: answering the phone.
As everyone tries to figure out how to harness the iPhones and iPads and Droids and whatever else for their businesses, old-fashioned customer service cannot be forgotten. Two stats shared at Inman illustrate this point: agents report that phone call leads exceed emails by a margin of more than 5 to 1. And — here’s the biggie — one study shows that 70 percent of the people who call and get voicemail will hang up and never leave a message. Seventy percent! Think of all those lost leads because you couldn’t answer the phone.
Ironically, the great thing is that technologies are out there to help make sure you don’t miss a phone call. At the Inman conference, we saw a developer create an app in two days called Call Juice, which will rout incoming calls to any available agent. As with many of the best business practices, its brilliance lies in its simplicity.
Of course, if you want to take answering the phone to the next level, you can. It is possible to have different phone numbers created for each listing, and also for each website or publication in which you are advertising that listing. This way, the app will know exactly what property someone is calling about and where that person saw the property — and you will see all of that information on your computer screen before you even answer the phone.
So, as you try to figure out how to make today’s mobile web work for you, don’t forget the basics. No matter how you handle your calls — the old fashioned way or though the latest app — just make sure you pick up the phone. In today’s market, you can’t afford to have leads hanging up.
