Have you heard of BPO services and wondered what they are and why a real estate business needs them? Forbes explains that BPO is short for business process outsourcing. And it entails outsourcing or delegating your company’s processes to an external firm.
This isn’t about hiring a freelancer to edit your property listings or create marketing newsletters. You’ll be outsourcing an entire business function like marketing, call center services, or accounting to a third-party company. With that said, let’s do a deep dive into what real estate BPO services offer and the benefits.
What to Outsource Using BPO Services?
What a BPO service provider does is provide remote, offshore, or near-shore talent to complete your business’s back-office or non-core tasks. In the real estate landscape, services your business should be outsourcing include:
- general administration
- lead generation
- data entry
- customer service
- accounting
- market research
- content marketing
Note that each service can be customized to match real estate industry standards. For instance, under data entry, your outsourcing vendor could focus on all data linked to real estate processes, like:
- client (seller and buyer or tenant)
- information
- leasing contracts
- property sales records
- buyer/seller contract agreements
- title deed information
- property insurance policies
Advantages of BPO Services for Your Real Estate Business
1. Boost Operational Efficiency
Whether you’re a real estate broker, property manager, or developer, you know every process or transaction in your business is time-consuming. Chances are, you’ve been thinking of ways to offload some duties that take all your time and affect your profit levels. One of the most promising options you have is to outsource to a real estate BPO service provider.
These vendors strive to optimize workflows or reduce inefficiencies by implementing automation. For instance, your external team could automate lead management to track hot leads for your company. So, instead of searching for leads manually, you’ll have systems or tech-enabled tools doing that. With all that extra free time, you could meet prospects or explore innovative ways for growth.
2. Reduce Expenses
Approximately 60% of business leaders say cost reduction is their number one reason for outsourcing. True, outsourcing services can save your real estate business tons of money.
The question you’re probably asking yourself is how? Well, BPO services eliminate monthly salaries, office rent, equipment, employee benefits, and the need for technologies or software licenses.
Outsourced teams work remotely, so they have the expertise required to complete tasks and own the latest tools. Ideally, all these expenses would be off your budget, hopefully improving your company’s bottom line. Money saved working with BPO services can be reinvested back to expand property listings and customer base.
3. Increase Your Firm’s Capabilities
BPO services give you access to expertise and advanced technologies to handle all your labor-intensive duties. So, instead of paying attention to tasks where your skills are not needed, you can be more proficient in expanding your capabilities.
For instance, say you excel in converting leads and closing deals. Your external team can handle tasks like data entry and answering calls while you focus on bagging more clients.
Another thing about leveraging BPO services is access to round-the-clock support. According to STAFFVIRTUAL, access to support 24/7 ensures your real estate operations get the attention they need whenever needed.
For example, outsourcing your call center to BPO services enables you to provide customer support after office hours. You can take advantage of round-the-clock services to expand your reach to customers located in a different time zone, which results in increased sales.
4. Enhance the Customer Experience
Real estate BPO services are useful in improving the customer experience (CX) because they thrive in personalizing services. An outsourced team could research your clients’ preferences and customize marketing materials.
Here’s an example: A customer searches for a family home on your website. Your marketing team can use a chatbot or type form to collect details like property size and features, location, and budget.
Then, they can send over property ads or listings that match the customer’s expectations to ensure they find the right home. Your external team can also enhance CX by providing quick resolutions, interacting with clients on a personal level, and addressing them by name.
5. Promote Agility
Adding agility to business processes is one of the top goals for outsourcing real estate functions. Ways outsourced professionals make your property business agile include:
- Providing valuable insights into changing market trends and regulatory changes based on the latest market research and analysis. Doing so helps you make informed decisions, like adjusting operations or services to suit market changes.
- Using technologies to automate operations, thus boosting accuracy and supporting wise decision-making efforts.
- Personalizing solutions and enhancing compliance. Typically, clients are attracted to realtors and property management companies with positive reviews and zero cases of legal issues.
- Continuous performance monitoring and process optimization.
These practices can help you identify opportunities to compete with other agencies and remain resilient during difficult times.
Conclusion
When you get into the real estate business, using BPO services is something you don’t want to ignore. Outsourcing some or all of your business functions can cut costs and improve efficiencies. Outsourcing gives you access to industry expertise, knowledge, and innovative technologies that boost your company’s capabilities, enhance customer experience, and promote agility.
Sources:
Business Process Outsourcing | Forbes