Ever tried to search for that hot new restaurant on Google, and they don’t have their webpage up yet, or it just says, ‘Stay tuned for more info’? You know they’re open, but there isn’t any information about them – no phone number, menu or booking functionality. Frustrating, isn’t it? Where does that frustration get directed? At Google? Your phone? Or the business itself for not updating its web listing?
Now imagine you’re a commercial property owner looking to find information online on agencies in your area and all you get are listings saying, ‘Contact for address’, or ‘Contact agent for more info’ or ‘Price on application’. Vendors are doing just that – they’re using online and digital channels to assess who’s got the best stock like theirs, who’s been doing the best deals in recent times, what prices have been achieved, the quality of the listing content, etc. They want all of this information in the one place, so they can be sure to find the right agent for them.
According to our research, 47% of vendors and landlords are less likely to contact an agent for help on their commercial property journey if the agency's listings do not provide enough information1. This begs the question: What do your listings say about your agency? And how can you ensure you’re not turning away prospective customers?
The best thing you can do is keep your listings up to date. This applies not only to your active listings, but your sold and leased listings too, as these are still a great source of potential leads for your business. Be sure to include how the listing was sold or leased, the amount of time it took, the property value and other past successful results.
Read through our checklist to ensure you’re doing all you can to make your listings as attractive as possible to vendors, landlords, business owners and tenants.
1. Internal REA data 2017 realcommercial.com.au consumer survey May-June.