A director at the UK’s largest estate and lettings agent has said online agencies will fail if they continue to “compromise” customer service by focussing wholly on price.
Vince Corley, sales director for estate agency at Countrywide, said high street services are still most popular with customers, and that the flat fees charged by online-only businesses would make them unsustainable in the long-run.
Countrywide CEO Alison Platt confirmed in June it is drawing up plans for its own online agency, either through launching its own service or via acquisition.
Corley told EYE: “Online is important but our online presence combined with the strength and recognition of our established high street brands is the model that works most for the varied needs of our customers. In Q1 2015, around 50% of enquiries came from offline, and this hasn’t changed.
“There is a danger that digital and no frills become interchanged, while our view is that digital can and should continue to be developed to meet customers’ changing needs and expectations while not compromising on service and only focussing on price.
“If online agents want to provide a quality service to their customers, their fees make their business model unsustainable in the long run.”
He said that Countrywide agents are noticing that in certain areas, traditional approaches to high street agents are still more popular than making contact online.
He said: “For instance, we have three very strong brands in Cornwall and Devon. In this area, more than half of vendors (54%) come to us through offline channels, highlighting that they clearly want a direct and personal approach with branches. In Cannock the majority of our customers come to us via offline channels through a strong local newspaper, but just ten miles away in Walsall it’s the opposite.
“With a clicks and mortar agent, the home buyer can take the next and natural step of speaking with a knowledgeable locally based expert who can provide a much higher level of personalised customer service, building trust with the client on the most important and personal transaction they will ever make.”
And he added, in an every changing world, it was important that agents made the most of both high street and online, to best grow their businesses.
Corley added: “When looking to sell or let a property, it is important that (the business) is in front of as many potential buyers as possible. We’ve always embraced the digital space – we were founding members of Rightmove and Zoopla.”
Comments (7)
Oh by the way, Millers was bottom in Cornwall and Devon until Tony Wainwright went in and he has left now as well, adios Millers. You screwed that one up as well
Vince, enjoy your salary while you can. As MD with Palmer Snell you achieved zip and sucked up to Bob, Said all of the right things but never showed anyone what good looked like. Countrywide used to be a force until people like you and Bob and pennels got a grip and just look at the mess now. Diverse income yes, but there is a guy on the high street who sells the big issue, plays guitar and begs. He to has diverse income but both in the gutter
Based on the 2 most high profile agents, their cost of acquisition and servicing of new business is higher than their sale price.
And these companies have both had multi-millions thrown at them through crowd and private investor funding.
These millions are being washed away in annual losses to date.
And when your point of difference is price, you’ll always get someone else willing to do it cheaper. So it’s a race to the bottom.
The only hope for price led online agents is that the cost per acquisition will fall (despite the fact that it continues to increase…).
Hope ain’t a business plan I’ve ever put my money into. Price led models fail.
Countrywide have the right strategy with a clicks and mortar approach. They are centralising and getting economies of scale though combined resource and having a leaner front end. Very similar to the transition in banking. Fewer high street branches, more online / phone service provision
“And he added, in an every changing world, it was important that agents made the most of both high street and online, to best grow their businesses”
Blimey, cutting edge stuff………Has he only just worked this out?
‘speaking with a knowledgeable locally based expert who can provide a much higher level of personalised customer service’
Have Countrywide employed some new staff then?
Yep! They have!
‘Yes sir, we do charge a little more…… it’s because we used to have 1000 offices’.