Communication is vital in business, and modernizing communication technology allows businesses to run more strategically and efficiently. Real estate, in many ways, has been slow to adopt advanced technologies, but AI and automation have helped streamline tasks like maintenance processes and communications with tenants. However, companies in the investment, development and property management space often communicate with investors, as well. Unlike interactions with tenants, interactions with investors are an entirely different ballgame, often including formality and urgency.
Investors want a full picture of their portfolios at all times, and it can be hard for real estate companies to provide it to them without a lot of time, resources and manual leg work. There are tax documents, monthly billing statements, questions on capital returns and financials to contend with. Investor relationships can be complicated because there are so many moving parts and there is so much money at stake.
Technology is slowly moving into this space in the form of CRM software to help real estate companies streamline investment management communications and enhance the bottom line. But how do you know what you need in a CRM system?
Determine Your Investors’ Needs
A great first step in implementing these systems is to determine what your investors’ biggest needs are. There is often no one source of information for a full picture of their investments, so investors may find themselves asking real estate investment management the same questions about their financials month after month. A CRM system can save them a lot of time by giving them immediate insights into their investments any time they want. Furthermore, it saves the real estate companies handling these investments the resource drain of pulling this information.
For example, sharing property performance reporting is a big part of the investor-investment management relationship, and every investor has a slightly different interest in what performance indicators they want to see. It could be leasing activity, maintenance or general operations. These reports typically take time to customize and share, so it’s important to find software that can do this quickly.
What To Look For In CRM Software
• The software should be nimble and easy to implement. Nimble software is technology that can effectively accommodate a variety of needs, adjust to meet those needs and serve more than one purpose.
• The software should be able to fit into your existing workflow so as not to disrupt any current business processes. Find a solution that is compatible with your current platform — there’s no need to do an entire rip and replace. Without that compatibility, adding a new CRM system to the mix could potentially cause more headaches for real estate professionals, hindering processes and creating more work.
• The software should be user-friendly. You don’t want your teams fidgeting around with software that is not intuitive. It is critical for systems to be user-friendly because if they are not, you’ll lose time and resources trying to understand them and incorporate them into the overall workflow. Additionally, easy-to-use systems require less training for the staff, resulting in faster onboarding and happier employees.
• The software should look professional to investors. Make sure the software is easy for investors to use as well. If the software requires a lot of time to understand, it doesn’t add value for your investors. If necessary, once software is implemented, walk investors through the different software features to ensure you don’t leave them with questions about functionality.
Ultimately, keeping investor relationships healthy requires top-notch communication. The right CRM system for your business will aid in keeping the lines of communication as open and as transparent as possible. It’s up to you to do your research to find the right one.