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Buying a house is one of the most important financial decisions in a person’s life. It’s an expensive, long-term commitment and must be well thought through before making the leap. Naturally, potential clients for real estate companies will proceed with caution.
Real estate agents and companies can overcome buyers’ hesitance by answering their questions and making information about the property easy to access.
Years ago, this meant meeting with every single buyer face-to-face and giving them an in-person tour of the property they’re interested in. But the digital age has changed all this. Thanks to live chat for real estate software, agents can connect with customers virtually in real time! Adding a live chat widget to the official website is one of the best decisions a real estate agency can make in 2024.
If you buy or sell property and are looking for better ways to engage your potential clients, it’s time to incorporate live chat into your communication and marketing strategy.
Why real estate businesses need live chat
In 2024, live chat is the undisputed favorite method of communication for real estate clients. A 2019 survey that covered 14 industries and 56 million live chat conversations found that live chats in the real estate industry had the highest customer satisfaction rate, a nearly perfect 98.56%.
Many factors make live chat services and the real estate industry a perfect match.
The modern homebuyer is a digital native. This means they prefer to do their own research before connecting directly with real estate agencies. Data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reflects this. An overwhelming 97% majority of homebuyers used the internet to do their research, and 51% of them went through with purchasing a home that they found online.
Real estate companies need to be easily accessible in this online market. The bare minimum is posting property listings on your website and maintaining a strong social media presence. Live chat services can often be the difference maker in distinguishing your company from the competition.
When it comes to online support channels, live chat is the most popular. It is preferred by 41% of all customers, beating out phone (32%), email (23%), and social media (3%).
How real estate live chat services yield positive ROI
Modern, AI-powered live chat software falls under the category of automated marketing tools. They can independently touch base with customers, share information, and perform basic workflows without human supervision.
A study by the Annuitas Group found that using such tools can increase lead engagement and sales by a massive 451%.
Apart from better customer engagement, live chat services also reduce labor costs. Real estate companies don’t need agents to interact with every website visitor and answer every inquiry. Instead, live chat services can qualify each lead and only pass on the ones likely to convert or those with more complex questions that need to be answered.
How to choose the right live chat software for real estate
Despite its clear benefits, some real estate companies still haven’t added a live chat widget to their website. If your company is one of them, it’s beyond time for you to fix that.
With 38% of customers more likely to buy from companies that offer live chat on their website, this technology can boost your sales and lead generation strategies.
However, like with any new technology, there is an adjustment period as traditional customer engagement methods give way to modern ones like live chat. The reason why some real estate firms don’t offer live chat services is simply that they are unsure about how to do so.
Let’s look at the factors you must consider before choosing a live chat for real estate.
Real estate live chat service requirements
Live chat for real estate differs from other industries. Customers have certain expectations when interacting with real estate firms that must be met across various touch points, especially live chat.
The goal is to replicate the experience of interacting with a real estate agent in person, win the customer’s trust, and eventually make a sale.
To do so, your real estate live chat solution must be able to perform these critical tasks:
- Handling property inquiries: When a potential customer visits a website, they should be able to view available property listings immediately by interacting with the live chat widget.
- Scheduling property viewings: Most potential homebuyers will want to see the property with their own eyes before completing a purchase. A live chat service can streamline this process by automatically scheduling appointments between real estate agents and interested buyers.
- Sharing detailed information: A picture is worth a thousand words. In the real estate industry, customers are much more easily influenced by photos and videos than words. Any live chat solution for real estate should be able to show off visuals of the listed properties.
- Capturing and converting new leads: Every real estate website visitor is a potential customer. Live chat services reduce churn by capturing essential details and connecting with every visitor. Real estate firms can gather initial information about what website visitors are looking for, qualify the leads, and take steps to move them further along the sales funnel.
Features to look for in live chat for real estate
- Integration with CRM systems: Some customer relationship management (CRM) platforms offer live chat as an add-on service. Still, getting a dedicated live chat solution that can easily integrate with your real estate firm’s software solutions is better. Standalone software offers more features, functions, and customizable options than CRM add-ons.
- Multimedia support: Live chat software must be able to support multimedia and text messages. Potential real estate buyers want to see property images and videos, floor plans, and design blueprints before spending money, and live chat is the perfect platform to share these files. If a customer requests a virtual tour of the property, the software has to be able to deliver an immersive experience.
- Mobile-friendly UI: A mobile-friendly user interface (UI) is critical because most customers browse on their smartphones. A clunky UI is a massive turn-off, leading customers to abandon their interaction with the live chat.
- Automated AI assistance: It’s unreasonable to expect agents to be available for live chats with customers 24/7. However, giving delayed responses to queries is one of the fastest ways to lose customers. Thankfully, modern live chat software can integrate with automated chatbots that leverage artificial intelligence (AI). They can respond promptly, answer the most frequently asked questions, and connect customers to a human agent at all hours.
- Scalable solutions: Live chat solutions have been shown to increase customer loyalty and boost sales. So, choosing software that can accommodate your current customer base is not enough. As your real estate business grows, your live chat solution should be able to scale up with it and meet the rising demand in the next few months or years.
LiveChat: The ideal communication platform for real estate companies
Live chat technology has benefited all businesses, not just real estate. In fact, the estimated value of the global live chat market in 2030 is $1.7 billion.
Real estate companies have a plethora of live chat software to choose from, but not all of them will be a good fit. LiveChat is a comprehensive solution that meets all the requirements of the real estate industry.
Here are some of the ways LiveChat simplifies customer engagement and property sales for real estate companies:
- Pre-set messaging: With LiveChat, you can greet website visitors with canned responses and discover their reason for visiting. LiveChat also integrates with ChatBot, an AI-powered assistant that can answer common customer queries independently.
- Multi-channel integration: LiveChat enables real estate firms to connect with customers on their preferred channels, whether it is WhatsApp Business, Messenger, Apple Messages for Business, or other major channels.
- AI automation: LiveChat leverages AI technology for various workflows that would otherwise take up most of a real estate agent’s valuable time. It cuts down response times, summarizes customer queries, and offers smart reply suggestions for agents.
- Advanced analytics: With customers’ consent, real estate companies can personalize and target their marketing to individuals thanks to LiveChat's ability to gather data. This advanced data analysis helps real estate companies boost conversion rates and improve the overall customer experience.
Are you interested in taking your real estate business to the next level? Sign up for a free 14-day trial of LiveChat and witness its positive impact firsthand!
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