Text messaging: somehow, for most people, it’s just… well, easier.
We hear (or feel) that familiar alert and we’re often on it in a flash – eager to know who is reaching out and why.
Perhaps it’s because it’s more likely to be a family member or friend with something to tell us.
Perhaps it’s because there is almost zero effort required to open up an SMS and quickly respond with just a few quick clicks.
Instant gratification: just the way we have all come to like it.
For some reason, email doesn’t have quite the same effect on us.
Perhaps we associate it more with our work lives and so feel less inclined to jump when asked.
Perhaps the extra formality of an email – and the few added clicks required to open, read and reply – sub-consciously encourages us to delay or even ignore it.
Whatever the psychology, the facts are that SMS messages have an open rate of 98% and most people read their texts within five minutes.
In business, that kind of potent reach and engagement can have a big impact on all of the important KPIs; which is why an SMS-enabled, feature-rich, and fully-integrated communications platform is a must for certain vertical sectors.
Real estate is a perfect case in point.
“Sixty eight percent of home buyers and sellers say they want to receive property information and converse with their agent via SMS – that makes text messaging the sector’s most important form of communication,” says Tony Graham, Head of Product Marketing at leading global CPaaS provider Plivo.
“Combine text messaging with automated voice messaging and real estate organizations really are maximizing the potential for their communications to cut through quickly and effectively.
“Where speed of delivery and high client engagement rates are so key to securing a deal in that sector, a modern, powerful and easy-to-use ‘all-in-one-place’ communications platform can make all the difference.”
Plivo’s cloud-based platform cleverly integrates with customers’ existing phone systems and databases to enable mass or targeted messaging that can be easily configured.
Automated voice and/or text messaging can schedule showings with sellers, renters, landlords, and their agents; send offer updates and notifications; broadcast alerts about new listings, price reductions, and open houses; share new listing images and links to virtual tours via MMS.
For real estate management organizations, the same smart functionality can inform homesharers when a property is ready, and provide door entry code information; send rent reminders and payment confirmation; inform tenants of repairs and inspections; and accept alerts from IoT devices.
Two-factor authentication and one-time passwords provide robust login security; plus user organizations can add a click-to-call button to their website for immediate voice calls and deploy an interactive voice response (IVR) menu system to help deliver that all-important satisfying communication experience.
For example, Plivo customer Houst – which manages homesharing properties – leverages the platform to the max by assigning a fixed virtual number rented from Plivo to each of its properties.
It means Houst can identify callers not just by their own number, but also by the number associated with the property they’re calling about: enabling agents to access all relevant property AND guest information within seconds.
“The Houst example shows that our real estate customers are able to easily integrate Plivo with their existing real estate software platforms,” says Graham.
“During Covid, it was particularly useful for our customers to be able to connect to their customers via automated text messaging for vacation rental updates because it made for a truly no-contact rental experience.
“Now, post-Covid, it has become the desired way in which the majority of people want to communicate.
“Enabling that via a cloud communications platform as a service provides an easy way for businesses to add new communication capabilities to existing applications without having to build those capabilities from scratch.
“This can save businesses time and money, while also providing them with more flexibility in how they communicate.”
Learn more about how Plivo can help your property businesses leverage the power of smart real estate communication.
