Using iPad to increase productivity in real estate

iPad in Business: Harcourts South Africa

Harcourts South Africa is a real estate company that prides itself on excellent customer service. Whilst their roots extend across the globe to New Zealand in 1888, Harcourts’ vision is set fi rmly on the future, as they continually strive to improve their systems, o∂ er higher levels of service and train and equip their sta∂ to achieve the best possible outcomes for their customers. Their top priority is to provide their agents with the right knowledge and expertise and to foster honesty and integrity, enabling them to establish relationships with their customers based on trust and respect. Harcourts knows that real estate is about people’s needs and aspirations and their commitment to fulfi lling these has led to their success.

With the launch of iPad, Harcourts quickly realised that it was going to be a game changer for the real estate industry. In order to raise their competitive level of service, Harcourts decided to actively engage with technology and develop a range of iPad only apps for their agents to use in the fi eld. Their 3 apps eOne, eCampaign and eInspect, focus on contact and task management, securing seller mandates and rental property inspections respectively. In real estate, time is precious and information is powerful, so the main objective was to provide agents with the right tools to give them instant access to a vital set of updated information required to service their customers better. With the implementation of iPad at Harcourts, and the use of their internal apps, agents are now more mobile, professional, e∑ cient and productive.

“We knew that iPad and the apps that we have created were going to be a game changer, but we could never have imagined the knock-on e∂ ect. The more people that use this, the better our company has become.” Anton Jansen van Vuuren, CIO, Harcourts South Africa

“When iPads came out, our head of eBusiness, saw that this was going to be a game changer in the real estate industry. And that immediately changed our business.”

Anton Jansen van Vuuren, CIO, Harcourts South Africa

Company Snapshot

App recap

• Harcourts is a Real Estate company specialising in Residential, Commercial, and Rural Property sales as well as Property Management services.

• Harcourts International was established in New Zealand in 1888.

• Harcourts South Africa was established in 1993.• Over 130 franchise o∑ ces and over 25 rental

franchises. • Over 1000 agents. • iPads were implemented in early 2011. • There are 3 apps used: eOne, eCampaign,

eInspect.

Harcourts depend on a variety of iPad business apps to get things done faster and more e∑ ciently, namely eOne, eCampaign and eInspect. Each app ensures that the fl ow of information is consistent, updated and readily accessible which allows their agents to provide an unrivalled level of customer service, on the spot.

eOne is a contact and task management app which allows agents to have all their contacts, tasks and notes updated on their iPads in real time. This enables agents to grow their customer base while ensuring consistency and data integrity.

eCampaign is a customisable listing presentation app which is used to secure the mandate from a potential seller. The map functionality on iPad allows agents to retrieve details on what other properties have sold for in a suburb, within a specifi c price range. Additionally, agents are able to access sales data from the deeds o∑ ce directly from the app. These tools allow the agents to give

accurate market related selling prices and price counsel their client who is listing their property. eCampaign also acts as a marketing planning tool and is used to record marketing activities that will occur during the mandate period. These activities are plotted on a calendar for the seller, ensuring that they are fully informed and aware of the process.

eInspect is a white labeled app designed for property inspections which Harcourts have customised to support their needs required for rental properties. With this app, Harcourts is able to build a detailed history of all of their rental properties that is easily accessible to their agents through a search or map functionality. For each rental property, a full report, including images and comments is created and signed by both the tenant and the agent, once the inspection is concluded. The reports are then mailed to the relevant parties instantly.

“It’s Harcourts’ vision to become the number 1 real estate company in South Africa. Technology is going to be a big part of getting us to number 1.””

Anton Jansen van Vuuren, CIO, Harcourts South Africa

“We want to be the preferred real estate company. And through technology and these apps, we believe we can attract the right people and make that happen.”

Anton Jansen van Vuuren, CIO, Harcourts South Africa

Increasing productivity and customer service to drive sales

After introducing iPad, agents found that it was far easier to use the technology than the old paper-based system. Previously, agents would rely on printouts and written notes and would have to make numerous trips to the o∑ ce to input information into their central web based system. Now, they are able to use their iPad to gather up-to-date customer information, access property sales data and inspect properties wherever they are, instantaneously.

Not only are the agents providing a more professional service that provides them with a competitive advantage, but they have also seen improvements in productivity and e∑ ciency with user-friendly apps and time saved as a result of

“We realised that the better you use technology, the better your customer service experience is.”Anton Jansen van Vuuren, CIO, Harcourts South Africa

“In order for me to be e∂ ective in my business, obviously customer service is top priority. I need to have information.”

Charmain Strauss, Senior Property Consultant, Harcourts Rhino

having all the information needed immediately. Tasks that would have previously taken 2 - 3 days to complete can now be done in a matter of minutes. Due to increased productivity, April 2014 was Harcourts’ best performing month ever. They experienced a 20% increase in commission on sales which is in direct correlation to an increase in the number of properties sold*.

A growing team of skilled agents is another critical ingredient to driving sales in the real estate industry. Since the introduction of iPads at Harcourts, and the revolutionary set of apps available to agents, Harcourts has seen a 20% increase in agent numbers from 2013 to 2014**.

Connected in New Ways

By using iPad and a set of fundamental, user-friendly apps for their agents, Harcourts have taken innovation into the fi eld. At Harcourts, connecting their agents with essential information and providing them with the tools to be more productive, has translated into a record breaking increase in sales and acquisition numbers of qualifi ed sta∂ . iPad has also allowed Harcourts to provide a more professional and convenient experience for their customers, which separates them from their competitors and drives sales.

“Using the iPad is something that really separates us from our competitors and gives us a distinct advantage in many of the areas that we operate.”

Simon Smith, Business Owner, Harcourts Full Circle

*This is based on the year on year comparison with April 2013. **This is based on the year on year comparison with the agent intake between 2012 and 2013