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CRM in real estate: features, best platforms & adoption guidelines
November 5, 2024
Real estate CRM systems enable agents and brokers to manage marketing campaigns and property listings more effectively, optimize sales and customer service operations, and ultimately close more deals and boost customer retention.
Itransition provides a full range of CRM implementation services to help real estate agencies and brokerages adopt customer relationship management software aligned with their unique needs and requirements.
Key CRM software capabilities for real estate
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Marketing & lead management
- Multi-channel marketing campaign orchestration
- Marketing automation, such as automated posting and content generation
- Lead capture from multiple touchpoints (website, social media, etc.)
- Lead segmentation for targeted social media and email marketing
- Lead scoring and prioritization based on engagement, personal details, and other metrics
- Listing management, including listing creation, monitoring, and matching with suitable buyers
Sales management
- Contact management to consolidate, track, and store data on contacts and respective properties
- Sales pipeline management, including sales task planning and lead progress tracking
- Sales process automation, including automated follow-ups and visit scheduling
- Multi-channel customer communication (IP telephony, email integration, etc.)
- Contract management (document generation, invoicing, contract status tracking, etc.)
- Sales quota and referral commission management
Customer support
- Automated case management, such as case routing and escalation of high-priority cases
- Customer portals and chatbots for self-service ticket submission, case status monitoring, etc.
- Field service management to schedule property maintenance and other on-site activities
Analytics & reporting
- Customer analytics to monitor sentiment, engagement, and other metrics
- Marketing campaign performance and ROI tracking
- Sales and revenue forecasting based on sales prices, team member KPIs, property days on the market, etc.
- Location intelligence (lead and property location monitoring, visit tracking, etc.)
Turn to Itransition for seamless CRM implementation
Best real estate CRM on the market
Real estate companies looking to implement a CRM solution within a relatively short time frame, with reasonable upfront costs while dedicating minimal maintenance effort in the future, can choose one of the many CRM platforms available on the market.
This market-leading platform offers a wide range of generic CRM features, out-of-the-box integrations, rich customization options, and real estate-oriented extension packages, which make it easy to tailor to the business needs of realtors.
Key strengths & capabilities
- AI-powered marketing automation, including automated lead segmentation and content generation
- Email marketing, web content, and in-app experience personalization based on customer data
- Sales force automation covering account and opportunity management, quoting, contract management, and other workflows
- Sales pipeline tracking to monitor deal progression with the help of real-time alerts and sales dashboards
- Multi-channel virtual buyer assistants and service chatbots powered by Einstein AI to serve clients 24/7
- Advanced analytics to monitor marketing campaign performance, forecast sales, and track sales team KPIs
- Mobile app enabling agents to manage listings, property visits, and other tasks from their smartphones
- AppExchange app marketplace offering real estate-specific add-ons and integrations with Zillow and other relevant data sources or services
Limitations
Expensive modular licensing and a steep learning curve
Pricing
- Multiple tiered plans for each product starting at $25/user/month
- Billed annually, except for specific starter plans (monthly or annually)
- 30-day free trial
Microsoft’s suite of CRM and ERP products can be a good fit for realtors in need of a comprehensive business solution thanks to its broad feature set, AI capabilities, customization opportunities, and industry-specific add-ons.
Key strengths & capabilities
- Customer data platform to create client profiles and group clients into segments based on shared attributes, helping track tenants, buyers, or property owners and keep communication logs
- Сustomer journeys personalization to engage clients with tailored content, messages, and recommendations on suitable property listings, open houses, or property-related services
- Sales pipeline management features to define sales action sequences and monitor sales tasks with the help of automated updates
- Property listings management to manage and track property details (e.g., location, price, size, features) and with the help of custom workflows to notify agents when a listing needs to be updated or when a property is sold
- AI-powered scoring models for lead and opportunity ranking and prioritization
- AI-based recommendations on the best next sales actions to close deals
- Sales analytics features covering conversation intelligence, sales performance tracking, and revenue forecasting
- Self-service and automated customer support capabilities, including community portals, chatbots, and smart case routing
- Microsoft AppSource online marketplace with a wide selection of real estate apps for Dynamics 365
Limitations
Complex configuration and limited ready-made integrations with third-party apps
Pricing
- Multiple plans for each product
- Full licensing guide available on the Microsoft website
- Billed monthly
- 30-day free trial
This open-source platform provides an ensemble of highly customizable CRM and ERP applications that real estate companies can use to create an industry-oriented customer relationship management solution.
Key strengths & capabilities
- Automated lead capture from multiple lead sources, including emails, social media interactions, and website visits
- Lead segmentation to launch targeted email marketing campaigns
- Predictive lead scoring to calculate the probability of a successful conversion based on various metrics
- Opportunity management features to plan calls, meetings, or other activities for each opportunity and record these interactions for further analysis
- Sales pipeline management to set up pipeline stages and related tasks for each sales team through a drag-and-drop tool
- Customer communication management, including off-the-shelf email templates and a VoIP system featuring automated call logging and rescheduling
- Reporting dashboards to analyze cohorts, leads, and opportunities and visualize sales team KPIs
- Apps Store with dozens of Odoo-based apps featuring real estate-specific capabilities like property management
Limitations
Steep learning curve and complex customization requiring development expertise
Pricing
- Licensed SaaS version available with two plans starting at $24.90/user/month
- Billed monthly or annually, with a discount for the latter option
- Free SaaS version available (one application only, unlimited users)
REsimply is an intuitive, all-in-one CRM platform offering listing and lead management functionality fully aligned with the needs of the real estate industry.
Key strengths & capabilities
- List stacking feature to consolidate property seller data from marketing channels and other sources and identify the most promising sellers
- Marketing automation tool to streamline drip campaigns and other initiatives
- Real-time notifications to alert agents about new opportunities, such as leads visiting your website
- Lead management features, including customizable lead lifecycle stages and lead summaries automatically sent to agents’ mobile phones via text messaging
- Buyer management system featuring bulk email sending and buyer/property matching capabilities
- Contract management tool featuring e-signature capabilities for signing online forms and closing deals more conveniently
- KPI dashboards to track the performance and ROI of your marketing strategies (social media campaigns, SMS blasts, etc.)
Limitations
Technical issues with the telephony feature and limited customizability
Pricing
- Three plans starting at $99/month (1 user)
- Billed monthly or annually, discount for the second option
- 14-day free trial
Lofty is an AI-powered CRM solution providing real estate agents, brokers, and teams managing customer relationships with comprehensive marketing and sales management functionality.
Key strengths & capabilities
- Social media marketing tool to automatically post listings, generate listing videos, and track social engagement
- Property listing website builder with drag-and-drop controls and a library of out-of-the-box site templates
- Dynamic lead scoring to prioritize leads based on their online activity, property information, and other metrics
- Listing management feature to monitor property listings and their price variations and match them with the most suitable buyers
- AI-based analytics and forecasting to track and predict sales team productivity and progress against your business goals
- AI assistant to automatically contact hot leads, notify agents about property visit requests, and help schedule appointments
- Mobile app featuring real-time lead updates, in-app chat, and automatic dialing
Limitations
Poor customer support and several features requiring specific add-ons
Pricing
- Three licensing plans
- Price upon request
Real estate CRM platform selection factors
Capabilities
- Off-the-shelf functionality
including real estate-specific features, covering most (or ideally all) of your CRM needs
- Customization options
including low-code/no-code tools, to modify out-of-the-box functionality in line with your specific CRM needs
- Integrations
capabilities ranging from pre-built connectors to custom API development tools provided by the vendor
- Mobile CRM functionality
enabling on-the-go access to data and features
Reliability
- Scalability
to serve an expanding user base and handle increasing data flows without performance issues and service disruptions
- Cybersecurity features
preventing CRM data breaches or leaks
- Compliance
with relevant data management regulations and security standards
Terms & conditions
- Pricing model
suiting your usage scenario, either per-user or tiered by feature set
- Free trials
to let your end-users test the platform before committing to it
- Managed services
provided by the platform’s vendor, including maintenance, support, and updates
- Contractual obligations
involving unexpected costs for premium services or other issues
User feedback
- User rating
on popular peer-to-peer review platforms like G2, Capterra, and Gartner Peer Insights
- User reviews
highlighting the platform’s pros and cons in terms of usability, functionality, customer support, and other factors
Examples of CRM platform adoption in real estate
Salesforce implementation for Bruntwood
A major commercial property management company in the UK teamed up with Itransition to implement a customized Salesforce CRM solution for lead qualification, property visit scheduling, contract management, and tenant onboarding. The solution, which features custom pages and business logic and integrations with third-party tools like DocuSign and CheckFront, helped our client boost conversion rates by 15% and shorten sales cycles by 10%.
Odoo implementation for SAKR Real Estate
A Lebanon-based real estate development firm specializing in smart construction implemented Odoo CRM to automate lead management, reporting, and other processes previously performed manually. The solution, which includes two modules for property sales and procurement respectively, enabled the company to effectively manage a rapidly growing volume of real estate leads with the help of advanced features such as a customized lead prioritization algorithm.
Common real estate CRM integrations
Consider integrating your real estate CRM software with other applications and data sources via custom APIs, built-in CRM platform connectors, or integration services like Zapier for seamless data exchange and centralized control over your operations.
Real estate CRM
Real estate portals, marketplaces & listing websites
Social media
ERP software
Accounting software
Payment gateways
Communication tools
Real estate portals, marketplaces & listing websites
like Zillow or Realtor.com to capture leads and gather property or market trend information
Social media
including Facebook and LinkedIn, to streamline promotional content posting, identify potential leads, and monitor sentiment and engagement
to ensure data consistency and process harmonization between CRM and other business functions
to ingest customer data for seamless quoting, invoicing, and revenue monitoring
Payment gateways
like Stripe or PayPal to track and process financial transactions, such as lease and rent payments
Communication tools
like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to enable customer interactions directly from your real estate CRM software
CRM adoption benefits for real estate businesses
Unified data & process management
- Consolidated data on leads, customers, and properties in a centralized repository
- Visibility and management of all your customer-related business operations through a unified tool
Superior operational efficiency
- Optimized sales workloads through lead and opportunity ranking and prioritization
- Automation of client-facing and back-office operations
- Team coordination across departments through sales pipeline management and task planning
Effective lead management
- Maximized lead generation via automated audience segmentation and omnichannel targeted marketing
- Lead nurturing and conversion through lead scoring, customer/listing matching, and sales force automation
Stronger client relationships
- Improved customer satisfaction with personalized customer journeys
- Increased customer loyalty through automated support, effective field service, and faster case resolution
Implement your real estate CRM with Itransition’s guidance
Our CRM services
CRM consulting
Our consultants orchestrate and supervise your real estate CRM project to help you overcome potential roadblocks, speed up software launch and adoption, and maximize the effectiveness of the adopted solution.
CRM implementation
We help you build and implement a custom or platform-based real estate CRM solution, making sure it fully aligns with your customer relationship management needs and corporate workflows.
CRM to foster human relationships in real estate
According to the National Association of Realtors, 89% of sellers sold their homes with the help of a real estate agent in 2023. Furthermore, 39% of sellers who turned to real estate agents found them through the recommendations of friends and family. This should give us an idea how the role that interpersonal relationships still play in the real estate industry. CRM software can help in this regard, enabling real estate professionals to automate their clerical tasks and free up time to nurture leads and serve existing clients more effectively.
If you want to implement a robust real estate CRM solution that will help you strengthen your customer relationships and increase revenue, turn to an expert partner like Itransition.
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