Who’s wagging whose tail now?
Who’s wagging whose tail now?
UK Property Market Insights – Written by Viewber Co-Founder, Ed Mead
EVs (electric vehicles) are a classic example of where an industry is changing leaving many existing suppliers caught like rabbits in headlights. In the EV case much of it’s caused by politicians using a well-intentioned, if blunt, green agenda that’s simply handing Chinese EV makers a massive advantage. Arbitrary deadlines and a lack of forward thinking from politicians, across the board, have meant the only people able to produce affordable EVs are the Chinese – who, with subsidies and cheaper labour are able to produce cars 40% cheaper than EU and other producers. Hence the public is buying them whilst European manufacturers look on, fairly horrified I’d imagine, as politicians flip flop on dates, enforce rising and swingeing charges (per vehicle) if a certain percentage of cars aren’t EVs, fail to invest in charging points and have import duties to level the playing field. The Chinese must be finding it hard to stifle their giggles.
In the property industry there’s been something of a revolution since 2016, when a raft of tech businesses launched in the property space. Many didn’t survive, or consolidated, until you now have many well established, profitable and reliable suppliers capable of changing archaic (and often arcane) processes for most property businesses to significant advantage. But still, traditional service providers – often wedded to out-of-date methods and seemingly impervious to change – continue to frustrate consumers. The fact is it’s young, agile agents and managers, who’ve grown up in an amazon on demand world, who are now emerging and will supplant old fashioned and established providers unless they change.
Part of the risk associated with changing processes has been that suppliers were novel and vulnerable to failure – so trying something new came with, often, existential risk. That’s no longer the case with reliable suppliers able to back up property businesses with proven new approaches to old problems. Whether it’s modernising many horrendous CRMs, progressing sales, visiting properties out in the field, showing upfront data to buyers in the simplest way possible, finding the best way to advertise properties, getting fire doors checked etc. etc., there are now a myriad of often simple solutions out there that are proven to work.
As someone who worked in agency for so long, I get it. I made many mistakes and was lucky that none were catastrophic – but the issue now is that new businesses, flushed with the experience of having worked for, and understood what was wrong with, bigger agencies are now able to incorporate best practice with modern methods, from the ground up. These agents will be able to provide an even better service, tailored around those looking to rent or buy (and please don’t remind me the seller is paying – this works for them too) for less money in more places. As such I can’t help but feel we are reaching a tipping point – Gen Z really are the on-demand generation and are about to become the main buyers and renters.
Question is – are you willing to move with the times, or rely on your past?
